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

by Robert Hoffman

  That’s a rhetorical question. While Kate would most certainly want laws in place to protect her children’s profitability if they were working in a traditional acting environment, she absolutely did not want any restrictions placed on her ability to exploit them herself. Petersen had been pushing for legislation to protect children working in the entertainment industry, and specifically reality TV, at the very same time that Kate Gosselin and TLC/Discovery Communications had been aggressively exploiting the Gosselin children and forcing them to work and “perform” since the day they were born.

  When Paul Petersen’s name came up on Kate’s Twitter again in 2011, it absolutely infuriated her:

  Final word: reality kids are NOT acting. They are living&breathing in own environments! Huge difference!Leave them all alone!

  SHE WORKS HARD FOR NO MONEY

  When the very wealthy Kate Gosselin appeared on the Wendy Williams Show in September of 2011, she very predictably played the victim and moaned to the world that she doesn’t have enough money. As usual, Kate repeated her overused and stale mantra about how terrible she has it and how hard her life is.

  Williams: “So a lot of people are under the assumption that you made a ton of money doing Kate Plus Ei8ht so that you should be ok for a moment.”

  Kate: “Wouldn’t that be nice?

  As of 2012, Kate was still pleading poverty and looking for the public’s sympathy.

  “You could offer me every last dollar on the planet.

  I don’t work for money. I cannot compromise my morals

  and standards to get paid a ridiculous amount of money.”

  – Kate Gosselin

  NO LIE

  What adult do you know who continually has to say “no lie”? Kate says “no lie” in just about every interview she gives and often in her tweets. Does she say “no lie” because she lies so much? Here are some examples of her saying “no lie” in her tweets:

  GM!I failed 2day!Didn’t run bc did not sleep ONE wink-no lie..remem that GREAT coffee@4pm?Yep,it kept wrking all thru nite!:( TOM=game on!

  that was a memory filled day! My kids STILL thank me for him EVERY day, no lie. Nearly a year later:)

  NO lie. Was talking to a good friend abt that 1 hr ago—her mom was only ch and was shocked too! Lol

  I drive the bbb w all 8. The large suv w 6 or less &my little car(2 carts of groceries fit in it- no lie!) when just me!saves gas!

  It is very common to hear Kate say “no lie” because chances are she is, in fact, probably lying.

  THE GOOD MOM

  “I’m not out to win any awards.

  I’m out to be the best mother I can possibly be.”

  – Kate Gosselin

  A member of Kate’s family told me that Kate had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, but she refused to take medication to control her moods. That diagnosis was confirmed for me because of something I witnessed in November 2009. I couldn’t believe my eyes on this one particular day, especially after having watched Kate on a daily basis for six months. Was she taking medication this day? Something was dramatically different about Kate, and I have never seen it again since.

  This was one of those days that I wish the Gosselin kids could have had every day. It was Kate, being a good mom and having fun with her beautiful children. I can spot a photo-op a mile away, but this day seemed different. Kate seemed at ease and relaxed, just out enjoying her family. Regrettably, I was the one who called the lone paparazzo to the playground that day. Looking back, I feel bad about that, but at the time, I was just doing my job. In the tabloid world they say, “If there are no pictures, it didn’t happen.” I wanted a photo-backup of my reporting. Plus, this particular paparazzo was a good friend of mine, and he had always been good around the Gosselin kids.

  This is what I saw.

  Jon and Kate Gosselin PA Reporting

  November, 2009

  Kate pulled the Sprinter van out of the garage at 10:00 am and loaded up the sextuplets with Judy’s help. This was very unusual and I was excited to see where they were going. No paps were on the scene yet as I followed the van along the winding country roads, going 50 in a 40 mph zone. Luckily there was a car in front of them going slow or Kate may have lost me. She has a lead foot.

  They pulled into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot and parked. NO DRIVE THRU! First time ever. Judy jumped out and helped offload the kids and they all went inside and sat down. Kate went to the counter to order donuts and drinks for the group. I waited for Kate to return to the table and then went inside to order donuts. By this time the pap that I called got there and he came in to take a few pictures. Kate started screaming “Get him out of here!!!”and the manager started yelling at the pap so he left. They got into a shouting match on the way out the door and the manager got on the phone and called the police. I went out to my car and we both pulled off the Dunkin Donuts lot. Kate ordered two dozen assorted donuts and the kids dug in and had powdered sugar all over their faces and were very happy. Kate usually makes a point of saying that she only prepares organic, healthy food for the family. It was so nice to see the kids having fun with Kate. It’s been a long time coming.

  A few minutes later the police came and went inside and then came out and went across the street to the pap. He told him that the owner is very upset but that he couldn’t stop him from taking pictures from across the street. I parked somewhere else to watch in the event that the police tried to detain us while Kate drove off as they’ve done in the past, just to give her a head start.

  After about thirty minutes, they all came outside carrying boxes and a bag with their extra donuts inside to take home.

  Instead of going back home, Kate drove to a residential neighborhood in affluent Wyomissing and took the kids to a playground. It was a picture-perfect day. The sun was shining, the leaves were falling. Kate and Judy unloaded the kids and turned them loose on the playground. They went crazy running down the hill to the various swings etc. They were yelling and screaming and having so much fun. They ran straight to the sliding boards and monkey bars. Kate and Judy walked together talking and smiling. They seemed more like friends or sisters than employer/employee. The pap kept a safe distance while shooting so as not to upset Kate while I went and sat on a nearby bench to observe. (Sounds creepy, I know. But everybody there knew who I was and who I was working for. It was business.)

  Judy brought her very little dog along for the trip and the kids and Kate took turns holding the leash. At one point Kate got herself all tangled up in the leash and was struggling with it for a few minutes. She jokingly yelled “Judy, you didn’t teach me how to operate this!” It was one of those leashes that you push a button and it winds itself up. Kate was having fun like I’ve never seen before.

  Kate had her large Dunkin Donuts coffee in her hand while strolling around between kids. She got on a seesaw with Leah and bounced her up and down. The kids were just having a blast running back and forth between rides.

  Joel got himself stuck hanging on the monkey bars and started screaming for help. Oddly or not, he instinctively yelled for Judy instead of Kate and Judy came running and helped him down.

  Four kids were riding up and down on two side-by-side seesaws and Kate came over yelling “who wants to go to the moon? Who wants to go to the moon?” The kids were yelling “Me, me, me, me.” Then Kate yelled “to the moon!!” and grabbed one end of the seesaw and slammed it down, but it bounced Collin up in the air and he came down hard and slammed his face on the handlebar. I felt so bad for Kate because she hurt her child when she was just trying to have fun with him. She was being a little overzealous, as Jon does sometimes, maybe being aware of the media watching and wanting to be supermom. She quickly scooped him up in her arms and comforted him, wiping away his tears. She gave him TLC (Ha!) and sent him back out to play.

  Judy and the girls were on the arm bridge monkey bars, where you hang by your arms and pull yourself across. Judy did it first and Hannah and Alexis tried to follow. They weren’t strong en
ough to make it so they hung there until Judy could help them across. Not nearly as dramatic as when Joel got stuck. When Hannah got to the other side she yelled to Kate “Mommy, Mommy!!” and blew her a kiss. Kate blew two kisses right back to her.

  Judy was swinging on the bars now showing Joel how to do it. He was trying his hardest and she yelled “Go Joel you can do it! You’re almost done!”

  Now Kate was hiding from the boys at the bottom of the tunnel slide and when they came out the bottom she growled like a monster so loud that she could be heard I’m sure for a block. The boys loved it and were laughing hysterically and Kate kept doing it for them.

  Kate was alone holding the little dog’s leash and she said to him while laughing, “You got a leaf on your face.”

  Then another little girl came over with her mother and the girl was holding a branch and Kate said loudly “Oh my! I thought you were going to throw that stick at the dog. I almost died!”

  Moving across the playground to where Alexis and Hannah were on a little Kiddie seesaw, Kate did a vertical jump up and landed in the middle of the two girls, balancing on the seesaw. She stood there for a few moments and jumped back down. Having watched Kate for six months, this was completely out of character for her. She genuinely looked like she was having the time of her life with her kids and it was so nice to see. Kate and Judy were laughing together and talking across the playground.

  Next, all of the kids ran over to the ‘diaper swings,’ the ones with the built-in seat and the bar that comes down to hold you in. Kate said to them, “you guys are soooooo big. You used to fit in these with no problem. The kids wanted to swing in them so they jammed themselves in and Kate and Judy pushed them. When they were getting them out of the swings, Joel got stuck and it was so funny to see. Kate was holding him stretched out vertically while Judy was trying to untangle his feet from the swing. This went on for two minutes until Judy got him loose. Kate said to him, “say thank you Judy and mommy.”

  Now for the excitement – A Wyomissing park worker came driving up in his park pickup truck and got out and was walking around picking up branches. When he got close to Kate and the kids he said hello and the kids were talking to him and then Kate joined in and they stood there talking for thirty minutes while the kids played. He was a big guy wearing a neon green shirt with the sleeves chopped off. Very rugged-looking. Kate was very engaged in the conversation and kept it going. Their body language was very flirtatious. Kate was smiling the whole time and was very talkative, kicking leaves around and rocking back and forth. They talked alone for fifteen minutes while the kids played nearby. At one point they both took out their cell phones and appeared to be entering the digits of the other. I was close enough to hear his name and there’s no doubt in my mind that this was a potential hookup. Several times he tried to say goodbye and get back to work and Kate kept chatting him up. I thought this was fantastic to see. After everything that she’s been dealing with and all the rumors, she very much deserves to meet a new man or at least flirt with a hot guy.

  I know the area very well and will try to find him and check into what was said between them.

  He was very good with the kids and was talking to them and playing around with them. When he said goodbye, the kids followed him to his truck and one of the boys yelled “By mister man in green!”

  After he left, Kate yelled to Judy to “call her and find out her ETA.” No idea who they were talking about. Ten minutes later, they packed it up and held hands walking back up the leafy hill to the van where an attractive blonde woman was waiting with her daughter. They loaded up the kids as well as the new little girl and headed back to the Gosselin house for lunch. I heard Kate say to her kids, “wow, first you get donuts, then you go to the playground and now you get to have a friend come home for lunch and to play!”

  They went back to the house and everyone went inside and stayed there unti 3:30 when it was time for Kate to go to the bus stop and pick up Mady and Cara.

  It was a quick stop and the twins jumped in the back and Kate raced back home to finish the play date. The mom came to the house to pick up her daughter just before dark and everyone was inside for the night it looked like. Kate put the Sprinter van back in the garage and Judy left a little after 5 pm. Long day for her but she looked like she had as much fun as Kate did.

  A few months later, while still digging for information, I made a new friend, strictly by coincidence. The friend turned out to be the ex-wife of the big, rugged guy that Kate was chatting up at the playground. The man’s name is extremely unique and the ex-wife told me the story first, never knowing what I had seen at the playground that day.

  She said that her ex got reprimanded at his job with the Wyomissing Borough for bragging about having a sexual relationship with Kate Gosselin.

  I would guess that the guy was making the story up to impress his friends but there certainly may have been a date or two with Kate. Who knows? The paps shut it down when it gets dark and I’ve never been able to catch Kate with another man, even though that was something I had hoped for while working for US. That would have been a big story.

  BAD BLOG

  “Nothing that you read on the Internet or in print is true

  unless it is approved by us.”

  – Kate Gosselin

  The Gosselin story has been kicking around the blogosphere for several years now, with some distinct and separate camps of fanatics expressing their opinions – the Kate “haters” and the Kate supporters, or “sheeple.” There are also the bloggers who hate Kate, but don’t like to be called “haters.” It can be a bit confusing at times.

  Many people on the blogs claim to be “insiders” or claim to have information that they put out there as fact. Others claim to have “expert opinions.” There’s even a local blogger from Wernersville who claims to be Kate’s “neighbor.” That’s a bit like saying that Mars is a neighbor of Earth.

  Kate Gosselin doesn’t really have any neighbors, and she doesn’t live in Wernersville, PA. She lives in Lower Heidelberg Township, which is a rural area a couple of miles from the small, time-forgotten town of Wernersville. One day when I was bored, I measured the distance from Kate’s driveway to the “Welcome to Wernersville” sign. It is exactly 2.0 miles.

  I live 10 miles from Kate’s house. I have lived in the area my entire life and I know it well. I drove to the Gosselin house every day for years, so I am also very familiar with the surrounding areas.

  There is no question that Jon and Kate had neighbors in Wyomissing and Elizabethtown, PA. However, Kate now lives on a 23-acre property, surrounded by a fence and a few thousand acres of farmland. At the end of her driveway is a metal gate, which is about a football field away from her house. That’s as close as you’ll ever get to ringing her doorbell and dropping off a pie. Her “neighbor” across the street lives on 600 acres surrounded by cornfields. There’s no sign of any entrance to his property, but if you drive past Kate’s house, down the street a bit, and look very closely in the winter when the leaves are off the trees, you can see his huge house off in the distance. Kate’s “neighbors” are local farmers. The closest living person you may see if you’re driving to Kate’s house is the little old man and his big dog that live a quarter-mile down the road on the corner.

  If you have ever seen tabloid photos of Kate and the kids trick-or-treating at Halloween, it sure as heck wasn’t in her “‘neighborhood” of Wernersville. You’d have a better chance of seeing the Loch Ness Monster than seeing Kate Gosselin knocking on the door of somebody in Wernersville. In the past, Kate would pack the kids up and drive them three-plus hours to Maryland to trick-or-treat in her bodyguard Steve Neild’s neighborhood. I know this because I followed her there while working for US Weekly.

  As far as the bloggers go, the “haters” and the “sheeple” take things to extremes, but a case can be made for both sides. Both groups are basing their opinions on what they have seen on television and what they have heard coming from Kate’s mouth,
or from her thumbs via Twitter. They each have fringe members who are prone to wild speculation and who can be unspeakably vile and cruel.

  The “Kate lovers” have bought into the television image of Kate as the super-organized, controlling, no-nonsense supermom that was sold to them by Discovery/TLC. That’s understandable, I suppose. Lots of people believe what they see on television. Lots of people also believe in little green men. To each his or her own. Some of her fans are young; some are naive; some are simply ignorant. Some of the “sheeple” are probably much like Kate, and see no problem with her words and behavior. I suspect that a lot of Kate’s supporters also sympathize with her because they fell hook, line and sinker for the lies that she and Discovery crafted about Jon. The one indisputable fact about her most die-hard fans is that they ALWAYS give excuses and look to lay blame elsewhere for Kate’s obvious mistreatment of others, her bad behavior, her lies, and her ignorant and insensitive statements.

  It will be interesting to see if any of Kate’s fans change their opinion of her after reading Kate’s own words and finding out how she really treats her children and dog, and how she makes fools of other people via email. I wonder if they will feel betrayed when they find out how she really feels about her fans, and how fake Kate’s “reality” world really is.