KATE GOSSELIN: HOW SHE FOOLED THE WORLD - THE RISE AND FALL OF A REALITY TV QUEEN

by Robert Hoffman

  There will also be special actions that will have to be managed or prepared for, i.e. getting the children ready to go to the park, go to school or be picked up by the nanny, or hooking up a new television for the children to watch.

  Jon and Kate will act as a tag team, where on alternate days the player (either Jon or Kate) will only be able to get the others help for a limited amount of time. When both of them are taking care of the kids, the player gets a time bonus, as there will be less running around to do.

  Kate could barely contain her excitement over the possibility of this game. She exclaimed, “sounds fun! Do it!!!!” to Julie May and Jon.

  FREEBIES

  “All mine. All mine as far as the eye can see.”

  – Kate Gosselin

  I could write page after page about Kate asking for and getting everything for free, but my words would be written off by Kate and Discovery as more lies. So instead of simply listing and describing all the freebies that were showered upon Kate and the Gosselins, I will provide specific details straight from the sources so you don’t have to take my word for it.

  This is my reporting entry for US Weekly detailing just one occurrence of Kate expecting and demanding goods for free. Her words and actions paint a very clear picture of how she views herself.

  A clerk at a local department store had an amusing experience with ‘Kate the celebrity’ as she put it to me in 2009. She was working the makeup counter and Kate was there for almost an hour testing products and asking for free samples of everything. Then, when the clerk totaled up her bill, Kate demanded to see the store manager to ask why she was being charged so much. When the manager told Kate that that’s what the items cost, Kate laughed and told them that she was Kate Gosselin and she’s on television and she’s not used to paying for things.

  Kate stormed off telling them that she would never shop there again. This was a store that, years before donated thousands of dollars worth of clothing and furniture to Kate, when she may have actually needed it for her kids.

  The remainder of this chapter summarizes numerous emails to and from Kate, and occasionally Jon, about goods and services that were offered to, and almost always accepted by, the Gosselins. I have copies of every email I have summarized here, but due to legal concerns, I have not reprinted all of them in their entirety. I have included dates of the emails, the names of senders (in some cases, I have included only first names and a last initial), and pertinent text, along with responses from Kate. I have not included email addresses from private citizens not associated with a company.

  Pay close attention to the dates of the offers, then read “The Lies and Times of Kate Gosselin” to see how the dates coincide with the times she was crying poor during her church speaking engagements.

  HAIR PLUGS

  Kate received an email from Dr. Jae Pak of the New Hair Institute offering to donate his services for free hair plugs for Jon. She sounded very excited when she forwarded the email to producer Jen Stocks. She said “YEAH!!!!!!! Ye-HAW!!!!!!!” and asked Jen when they could schedule it. She wanted to know if they were doing it on their own or filming it, but either way there were going to do it.

  CONDOS

  On June 24, 2008, Jon forwarded an email to Kate from a fan who was offering Jon and Kate the use of two condos on the beach in the Caribbean. Jon asked Kate, “After Hawaii how about this place for a winter retreat.”

  In her email, “Lois F” explained that she and her husband loved Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht. She said they had recently purchased a condo in the Caribbean on an island called Isla Mujeres off the coast of Cancun. She described it as a three bedroom condo right on the beach with beautiful views from every room. Lois F said her sister had also purchased a condo on the same floor as hers, and Lois thought it would be a wonderful place to film a show of Jon and Kate and the children on vacation. She said that between the two condos there were six bedrooms and four bathrooms and that they were the only condos on the third floor so they would have the entire floor to themselves.

  Lois then described some possible opportunities for filming the children, including a small turtle farm, a dolphin discovery program, and a small and very colorful town. Sheesh. Even perfect strangers were coming up ideas for filming the crap out of the kids.

  After learning of the offer, Kate gave Jon her standard response to all things free: “Yes please!!!!!”

  SAGGY BAGGIES

  Kate was THIS close to ditching Dr. Glassman’s magic touch to get her “saggy baggies” done for an all-expense-paid trip to San Diego to have the surgery. Could it be possible that she just didn’t want the procedure filmed?

  On June 24, 2008, Jon sent along an email to Kate from “Tricia,” patient care coordinator at Brucker Plastic Surgery in San Diego. The subject line in Tricia’s email was “Breast lift surgery”. Tricia explained that she was a fan of their show and their “beautiful children!” and she had seen the tummy tuck episode where the surgeon had dismissed Kate’s request for a mastopexy (breast lift). She said she had spoken to her employer, Dr. Michael Brucker, who was one of the “premier plastic surgeons in La Jolla”, about Kate’s situation. She wrote that if Kate was still considering a “mastopexy and/or augmentation procedure” and she wouldn’t mind a portion being filmed, Dr. Brucker would be more than happy to offer his services at no charge to complete her “mommy make-over.” Tricia also said that if Jon were considering any cosmetic procedure, it would be their pleasure to extend their services to him at no charge. She said they would also cover Kate’s (or Jon and Kate’s) stay at The Hideaway, which is a retreat for patients recovering from cosmetic surgery.

  Kate responded to Jon that she had just been obsessing about “my saggy baggies!!!!!” She said, “Wanna go..... Or stick to Dr Glassman and NOT film!????”

  LANDSCAPING AND FENCING

  This email exchange between Kate’s bodyguard, Steve Neild, and her manager, Julie May, is interesting because it shows that Steve was involved in getting landscaping and fencing estimates for Kate in October 2008. This was around the same time that Jon said that Kate told him their marriage was over. It also shows that Discovery was paying for everything, as usual.

  On October 6, 2008, Steve sent Julie May a quote for fencing from Amity Fencing. He told her there was a choice of either three plank or four plank horse style fencing. He said he had also gotten a quote for “just the area across the front to the driveway entrance and then down the horse driveway to the barn” and additional fencing if they wanted to fence the rest of the road frontage. Steve said it was not necessary to do that if they could create the smaller secure area. He thought it might be a good concession to make to DCL, to show they were prepared to save them some money.

  Steve told Julie that this was their first quote so they might be able to go back to the fencing company and ask for a better price. He also explained to Julie that the price did not include the cost for Jon and Kate’s contractor to build stone pillars around the steel post gate supports, or additional wiring out to the gate if required.

  Julie replied to Steve thanking him for the information. She told him she would get it to Discovery, but she would love to get them the quotes all at once, including the landscaping related to security.

  MAKEUP OF THE RICH AND “GEORGOUS”

  A series of emails between Kate and the president/creator of Mally Beauty sounded like an over-the-top meeting of a mutual admiration society. It was mutual as long as “Mally R” continued to shower Kate with free beauty products, that is.

  On December 8, 2008, at 12:34 PM, Kate checked in with Mally to see if she had mailed Kate her latest shipment of beauty in a box. She said that she was “so so low on supply” and that it was scary because “I NEED to be beautiful, as you know!” Kate also said that if the shipment had not been sent yet, she could use some more of the light pink natural eye shadow called “natural2knockout”.

  At 1:12 PM that same day, Mally R wrote to Kate that her shipment was on the way. She told Kate, �
��P.s. you are already beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

  Kate replied to Mally at 1:17 PM, telling her “You are marvelous.... And georgous indeed!”. She said she had run into some PR people who had met Mally, and “they all say you are SO georgous! :)”.

  On December 29, 2008, Mally sent Kate a note wishing her “Merry Christmas, Beautiful!” and asked if she had gotten her stuff. She told Kate she had some new things to send her as well.

  Kate thanked Mally and said she had received the shipment. She then asked if Mally could include lots of medium foundation/powder in the shipment of new stuff she was going to send. Kate told her that she loved the holiday colored lip gloss she had received. She signed off telling Mally, “you’re.... Georgous as usual! :)”.

  (Note to Kate: It’s gorgeous; not georgous. Don’t blame spell-check. You misspell it always and everywhere.)

  ANN TAYLOR

  The Devil wears Ann Taylor, but only if the clothing is free. On Wednesday, December 17, 2008, Kate sent an email to Kate Foster, an Ann Taylor representative, to tell her how much she enjoyed her recent “shopping jaunt” to the Loft. Kate said that she had sadly spent the entire gift card quickly and had made appearances at Lofts in “Louisianna, New York City and Lansing, Michigan!!!!” Kate said that the store employees “are never shocked to see me seeing as they ALL know that all I wear is the Loft!!! :)”. She then wondered if there was “a card refill on the horizon?” and said that she loved wearing a new outfit for each book signing.

  Kate gushed that she was “shocked and amazed at the skinny jeans you sent in a size 27. Can’t find them around here and LOVE the skinny fit!!!!”

  Kate Foster said that she would be happy to keep the cards coming. She said, “Let’s make a deal...I’d love to do a press segment...perhaps you shopping with an entertainment or morning show at LOFT with our designer?” She then asked Kate if she had a publicist or producer that she should discuss this with, or if Kate made those decisions. She told Kate she could send out a card next week, and wanted to know what Kate thought she would need on an ongoing basis.

  Kate sent Julie May the response from Kate Foster and asked if they could do this because she wanted that “supply to keep coming!!!!” She told Julie she wanted to do “whatever it takes... I obviously love their stuff and spend AT LEAST $500 per week there.”

  GYMBOREE

  On Wednesday, December 31, 2008, at 4:23 AM on New Year’s Eve, Kate sent a last-minute request to Juliet Montague of Gymboree requesting free stuff. Kate said she knew it was New Year’s Eve, but she was hoping Juliet would be willing to call in a gift card number to the Wyomissing Gymboree so she could pick up “some fresh stuff for our resume of filming” on Friday. Kate said they had been off for the “last three weeks- yeah!” She also told Juliet that she needed some things for Cara for her ski trip to Utah, which was also being filmed. Kate thanked Juliet and said she hoped to hear from her soon before the stores close.

  Juliet replied to Kate telling her she would definitely call in the gift card for her.

  Kate emailed Juliet again the next day wishing her a happy 2009. She thanked her for “fixing yesterday’s issues!” and then continued on to tell Juliet that she had a handful of items on hold at the Park City Mall in Lancaster, PA. Kate was far too busy to go pick up the freebies herself, so she said she was going to send a film crew member to pick up the things she needed the next day for the next day’s shoot. Kate said that she also had an item on hold at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, and the crew member would be picking that up as well. Kate told Juliet that the total of items was less than 10, and asked if it would be possible for her to supply those stores with a gift card number. She told Juliet that the crew member would probably get to Lancaster around 11:15 Pennsylvania time, and to the Wyomissing store some time after that.

  On yet another occasion, Kate desperately cried to the Gymboree representative that she needed more money on her card. She said, “I’m over my gift card amount....help! Please call the shoppes To tell them what to do?!”

  CREST WHITESTRIPS

  There was nothing too big or too small for Kate to try to get for FREE. In this case, she had received some Crest Whitestrips and needed more. She raved to her contact, “Katie,” about how wonderful and “amazing” the dry whitestrips are and told her that all the types she sent her were “more than wonderful.” She told “Katie” that whenever anyone asks her about her white teeth she tells them about how great the Crest Whitestrips are. She then told “Katie” that “any more supply” along with those “amazing Olay daily facials” would “always be much appreciated!” Kate cheerily signed off with a “Thanks again! Have a white (teeth) day! :)”.

  FREEBIES, FREEBIES EVERYWHERE!

  So much free merchandise was rolling into the Gosselin house that Kate couldn’t keep track of it all. On January 20, 2009, at 11:34 AM, “Amanda B” from Media Motion International sent an email asking Kate if they had received the “Honest Tea merchandise?”

  Kate replied that she thought so because she saw some in their cabinets. She then asked Jon if they had received it. Kate also said that she would “love all that they would send” because “We love love love their stuff!”

  NIAGARA FALLS

  On February 6, 2009, Julie May wrote to Kate about an offer for a “trip situation” to “Niagra” Falls. Julie told Kate that it might be a possibility for the summer since Kate had mentioned “Niagra” Falls as a fun destination. Julie said she was keeping a “stack of possible things” so she wanted to pass it along.

  Kate responded, as usual, with a “Yes please!” and suggested that they go in early June right after school got out.

  ELECTRIC FENCE

  On March 17, 2009, an offer came in from a company in Reading, PA, who wanted to donate invisible fencing for the new puppies at the Gosselin’s million-dollar compound. Kate accepted immediately, saying, “yes... asap! they ran three miles away the other day!!!”

  LASIK SURGERY

  On April 3, 2009, Julie May forwarded Kate an email that had originated on March 27, 2009, from “Liana M” on behalf of Dr. Robert Maloney, a “world-renown” ophthalmologist. Liana said that Dr. Maloney had followed Jon and Kate’s story and noticed that Jon struggled with glasses. She said the doctor wanted to talk to Jon about LASIK surgery, and if Jon was a candidate, he would fly him to Los Angeles and do the surgery for free. Julie May forwarded the information to Kate on April 3, 2009.

  This offer for free LASIK surgery came in for Jon only, but Kate hijacked it for herself as well. She replied to Julie with a “yes please for both.” Kate then said she had always wanted LASIK and she could get it done on one of her trips to Los Angeles.

  TOILET PAPER

  On April 14, 2009, “Joni S” from Discovery sent some good news about free toilet paper. Who wouldn’t want that? She said that Ad Sales had just sent a bunch of Charmin their way, and asked them to confirm that they received it at their Sinking Spring address.

  Kate didn’t know if they had received the Charmin, so she replied, “I have not . . . Jon have you?”

  CAMPING EQUIPMENT

  On May 20, 2009, at 2:04 PM, good old Joni from Discovery sent an email telling Jon and Kate to be on the lookout for free camping equipment that was being delivered to their home for filming of the backyard campout episode. Joni said she wanted to give them a heads up that the camping equipment was headed their way via their Sinking Spring address.

  DIVORCE, REALITY STYLE

  “Jonathan – I am so very thankful for you.

  Thanks for taking care of me, loving me and for

  brightening my day each & every day. And especially thanks

  for helping me and working together with me so we can be

  a successful team … at least until we’re 100! :)

  Thanks (ahead of time) for taking me to Hawaii and marrying me! :)

  I love you so much!”

  – Me

  In looking at Kate’s writings, it would appear tha
t Kate at one time really did love Jon, and Jon really did love Kate. Kate was still speaking lovingly about Jon in her journal as late as July 2007. Kate has said repeatedly that the filming of her family for the television show had nothing to do with their marriage falling apart, and ultimately ending, but it seems that the love stopped right around the time that the filming started.

  In Kate’s journal she wrote that Sidney Portiere quoted his father as saying that “the measure of a man is how well he takes care of his children’ and that made her think of Jon!

  Kate said about Jon in Multiple Blessings that it struck her as very impressive how he was capable of bathing, feeding, swaddling, diapering, dressing and entertaining to infants all day long and then going to work all night.

  In Eight Little Faces, Kate wrote about Jon that he is her balance, her strength and her stability.

  So what happened that got them to this point, when Kate said this to Jon? “I am not going away so you can either do the stuff I ask or live miserably!