I don't really care what happens to them, sucks for the kids I guess, but they will be fine. I personally see this as a ratings angle, to obviously boost ratings which it definitely has. Right as everyone was starting to tune out they start having problems.
I stopped tuning out because a family on a very limited budget trying to raise 8 kids would have been crazy, then you see them actually become more rich and rich from the shows success and then it's like "So... your wealthy... and you have 8 kids instead of 1 or 2 spoiled ones." Then the thoughts of how much their making kind of sinks in. $75,000 per episode, plus product placement and endorsements, the $20,000 they make from Seminars, they make money from every single thing in their "life" - which May be their life, but it is not reality. Everyone watching them lives in reality, not a bunch of life actors who live in an almost prop stage house that are thrown free things all the time.
I would be doing the exact same as them however, look at SOME of the free things they received:
- Free beds
- Front-loader washing machines
- New furniture
- Free solar panels for "Going Green" episode
- Clothes from Gymboree and Gap
- Mady & Cara birthday at American Girl Place (2 dolls and birthday package for 2 adults & 2 kids): $710
- Trip to Florida Key's for Jon's 30th birthday
-Tickets to Dutch Wonderland amusement park: $309.50
-1/2 an organic cow from Natural Acres Farm: $1,395.00
-Tickets to Philadelphia Zoo: $104.00
-Tickets to Walt Disney World: $654.00 per day
- Utah house rental (estimate: $5,000), ski lift tickets $72 for six days), ski school lessons ($140 per child)
- Upright piano, which they got rid of when they moved into their new $1.1 million home : $5,550-$6,350
- Violin: $100-$300
- Old house re-carperted
-Crayola Factory Tour: $90.00
-Teeth Whitening (for Jon & Kate): $1,310 (average price for 2 adults)
-Hair plugs (Jon): $5,200 (average cost)
-Sesame Street Place tickets: $509.50
-Day with Thomas the Tank Engine: $180.00
-Beach trip to North Carolina, house rental, Jeep tour
-Sight & Sound Christian theatre tickets: $236.00
-SkyBox at Phillies game
-LegoLand tickets: $550.00
-San Diego Zoo tickets: $278.00
-Grand Wailea Resort (Hawaii) for 2008 vow renewal: Suites range from $725-$1,080 per night.
-2 purebred German Shepherd puppies: $1,000-$3,000 per dog
- Please Touch Museum tickets: $150.00
- Giants grocery store: $5,000 in gift cards and a year's supply of diapers
I strongly feel that their "divorce" is an angle set by the producers and the couple themselves.