End Of An Era: TLC Airs Last Episode Of Jon And Kate Plus 8
Nov. 24 2009, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
The Jon And Kate Plus 8 saga ended - for now - on Monday night as TLC aired an hour long last episode of the hit show.
Jon, Kate and the kids were first introduced to the world in a one hour special entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins which aired on May 14th 2006 and the show quickly went on to become a smash hit, catapulting Jon and Kate to tabloid stardom.
Considering the turmoil that is going on in their real lives, with a messy divorce and law suits galore the last episode was moderately drama free, with no showdown on the sofa between the warring parents and just a slightly tearful goodbye from Kate.
Instead TLC aired some one on one interviews with Kate and Jon, where Kate said that the end is a "bittersweet goodbye" and "totally avoidable", and Jon said that he has learned from his mistakes and moved forward.
Kate went on to say that she wants Jon to be a "hard working parent that wants the best for their kids" and Jon claimed that he now knows what he needs to do to be friends with Kate. That's probably news to her!
TLC showed a clip of Jon and the kids selling lemonade to raise funds for the local fire station, which prompted Kate to comment that she worries Jon's actions sometimes are a "publicity stunt".
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Gosselin Divorce Will Be Final By End Of year
In what turned out to be their last televised outing before Jon closed down filming, they also showed a clip of Kate spending a day at the farm with the kids where they got to ride on a hay cart, hang out with the cows and even have a go at milking!
Finally Jon and Kate's parting shots.
Kate confessed that whenever she runs errands it always crosses her mind that it should be her in the passenger seat with Jon driving.
Jon for his part said that their marriage may have failed but that their family shouldn't fail, vowing "I will always be there for my kids, no matter what."
Finishing off a tearful Kate said she was sad that the show had been "cut short", but that it had been "a great run". Kate said she was "very grateful for the opportunity, for the memories, for the memories on tape." And that she was "thankful for the support".