Kate Gosselin Admits Making 'Many Mistakes' -- So Can We Please Give Her a Break Already?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Jacqueline Burt 3 hours ago

Since the debut of Jon & Kate Plus 8 back in 2007, mother of multiples extraordinaire Kate Gosselin has generated a near constant stream of controversy: First, for simply giving birth to six babies at once (after having twin girls); next, for "bossing" her husband and children around (did she really have a choice?); and most recently, for displaying what many considered "diva-esque" behavior following her divorce from husband Jon. Still, has any of the criticism been fair? (I say NO, but more on that later.)

Now that the kids are getting older (twins Mady and Cara are 12, and sextuplets Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, Leah, and Aaden are 9) and the fame-induced firestorm is dying down at last, Gosselin can conceivably take a minute to look back at the last 10 years of her life -- which is exactly what she's doing in the new issue of People magazine. 

"I made so many mistakes, of course," she says.

It feels like a whole other lifetime ago ... and sometimes I don't even remember much of it. Both when the babies were first born and during the divorce, I was on survival mode. I feel like I've lived two lifetimes already. I'm not the same person I was ... I don't even recognize her.

Honestly, that makes me kind of sad -- I liked the person Kate was back then. See, I was fairly obsessed with Jon & Kate ... when the show first came out, partly because all of her (super-adorable!!) babies vaguely resembled my own (half-Asian) kids. My daughter is actually the same age as Mady and Cara, so she liked tuning in, too. What struck me at the time was how down-to-earth Kate was -- and how strong. I'm sorry, but any working mom (Kate was a nurse, something which deserves respect in and of itself) who can manage to raise eight very small children and run a household relatively smoothly is doing something right. Sure, she was short-tempered at times (who wouldn't be?), but I think that mostly stemmed from her intense need for things to be organized -- and with six babies and two toddlers, you'd HAVE to be incredibly organized just to keep everybody alive! As for her "diva" stage, having been divorced myself, I recognized Kate's glam makeover and high standards for what they were/are: The tentative, sometimes misdirected steps toward reinvention so many of us take when we split from the fathers of our children and start new lives. 

The point is, of course Kate Gosselin made mistakes -- we all make mistakes, even those of us who aren't trying to raise eight children while going through a divorce as millions of people watch. She's just a mom like you or me with an unimaginably full plate, and it's not fair to judge the woman by any other standards.

Do you think Kate Gosselin is unfairly criticized?

Image via People

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jacqueline Burt

has written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites. She is easily bored and often tired, so she requires constant entertainment to keep her awake. Dance, Monkey! Dance! 

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