What is your deal, Jon Gosselin? Jon was once the averagest Joe on television, patiently taking his eight children to the zoo as Kate henpecked away on the once banal Jon And Kate Plus 8. But somehow the balding former IT analyst became a lover-juggling, rumor-stirring man-animal whose every move sets the gossip world afire. Jon became JoGo, turning his sunglasses to the paparazzi and taking meetings with champs like Christian Audigier and Michael Lohan. It’s been weird.
But to hear him talk on Larry King Live last night, he wants nothing more than to get his children off this crazy train, however belatedly. “I had an epiphany…and I said, ‘I don’t want to be this person anymore,’” said the reluctant JoGo. “I’m asking not to be on the show and I’m asking my children not to be on the show. I mean, I don’t want them to film anymore. I don’t think it’s healthy for them. And I—the reason I don’t think it’s healthy for them is that we’re going through a divorce right now. And I don’t think it should be televised….’” With that, a nation of concerned parents clutched this penitent papa to their bosom, wailing for The TLC Corporate Machine to let those children be.
Or maybe not. Kate’s laywer scoffs that these pleas are “less a change of heart and more a change of strategy,” and a TLC staffer told the Chicago Sun-Times “this is all about him trying to milk this thing for all the money he can.” Meanwhile, JoGo was caught checking out real estate in LA before his interview—where better to avoid publicity—and Star is crowing that Hailey Glassman, the honey JoGo said was “empowering” him on Larry, may have revealed their break-up on Twitter. Do you think he has his kids at heart, or is this just a ploy for a payoff?
[Photo: Getty Images]
