by BRIANNA SICILIANO Social Media Coordinator
Kate Gosselin and her eight children have returned to the TLC Channel, premiering their new season on Tuesday, January 13. Kate, who divorced from her husband Jon in 2009, has been pretty busy over the past few years, and her family finally decided to re-open the doors of their lives to the world.
Within the first few minutes of the new season’s premiere, viewers are shocked at Kate’s new look. She is no longer a mom who is WAY out of fashion with her short hair and plain outfits, preoccupied by her little ones. Instead, she has hair extensions, a full face of make-up, and wears flattering, fashionable outfits. For a mother of eight, she looks incredible! When I get older, I hope I age as nicely as she has!
The theme of this first episode is getting ready for (and going on) a summer vacation. Kate left the destination as a surprise until the kids were all loaded on a plane, but while packing their outfits the day before, she threw in a bunch of hints like “they mainly grow blueberries,” “I’m mainly trying to pack right now,” and “It’s not my main concern.”
Can you guess where they went? Because none of the innocent, eight kids figured it out. Maine!
The twins, Mady and Cara, are 13 (nearly 14) in this episode, and if you watched the show years ago, you will recall their very different personalities. Mady is not afraid to speak her mind; she is sassy and her life seems to revolve around her technology, specifically her phone (which her mother seems to always take away). Cara, on the other hand, is much quieter (she tends to keep to herself) and loves outdoorsy, athletic activities.
The sextuplets – Alexis, Hannah, Aaeden, Collin, Leah, and Joel – are all 10 years old, and each child has a completely different personality. As you watch the episodes, you get to understand which child is which.
When the Gosselin clan gets off the airplane in Maine, they drive over to Plimouth Plantation, which is where the pilgrims arrived. Here, the Gosselins spend the day like pilgrims did. After dressing up in ‘summer’ pilgrim gear, the family gathers hay and grass from the fields, places the grass and hay in baskets, and feeds a little family of goats with what they found. Then it is time to make and eat their own food as well––the pilgrim way, of course.
When their day at Plimouth Plantation is complete, the family heads down to their beach house in Lincolnville, Maine. The house is gorgeous, but it is definitely not your typical beach house. First off, there is no sand on the beach! Instead, there are rocks and boulders. The weather outside is not hot and sunny, but instead rainy and cloudy. Needless to say, this vacation was not really a ‘beachy’ vacation (at least not as of episode one).
The kids sure have grown up from their toddler days, but that does not mean the tantrums have ended. Little things stir up arguments, like for instance Alexis, Leah, and Hannah have their own little tantrum about who gets to sleep on the top bunk of the bunk bed.
Kate and her children are still the same, but different in a way. It is pretty interesting to see how their lives have changed in the past few years.
Their show, “Kate Plus 8,” airs Tuesday nights at 8 on TLC. Watch the show and comment below on your thoughts. Do you love this family as much as I do?