Jon and Kate Gosselin announced their separation on last night's much-hyped episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8. This surprised no one, as tales of Jon sweatily cavorting with coeds and Kate's utter nastiness have been littering the tabloids for months. What did surprise me is that the Gosselins will be doing what Sandra Tsing Loh is doing with her kids: instead of just having Jon or Kate move out, the couple's 8 children will remain in their Pennsylvania mcmansion, while the parents switch off living there.

In her post describing Tsing Loh's set up, Liza already pointed out the major cracks in this scenario, like what happens if Jon continues seeing that 23-year-old he's been photographed with? Then would it be Jon, Kate, and the Jerk Who Broke Up Mommy and Daddy's Marriage Plus 8? Even though we probably won't get to see how this plays out in Tsing Loh's case, it looks like we'll be able to watch what happens with the Gosselin's arrangement almost in real-time. The couple has no plans to stop filming the show.

Tags: divorce, jon and kate plus 8, jon gosselin, Kate Gosselin, sandra tsing loh

I know that we are supposed to hate Jon Gosselin, the unfaithful half of Jon and Kate Plus 8. But after watching the mesmerizing debut of the fifth season last night, I can't help but cheer him on. Finally, someone rebels against the constant intrusion of the camera! What's happening to Jon Gosselin is exactly what happened to the Jim Carey character in the last half-hour of The Truman Show. He is behaving like a caged animal, restless and sweaty and desperate to escape.

For those of you who avoid tabloids and the TLC network, Jon and Kate are parents of eight small children whose every birthday party and minivan ride has been chronicled on the show. ("A holiday letter that never ends," Hank Steuver called it.) Now it looks like he had an affair, and they can barely look at each other, although of course that's no reason to cancel the show, is it? Quite the contrary. She seems absolutely illuminated by the latest turn of events. "I'm here every minute, for the kids," she said several times.

Motherhood with eight kids can be brutal, but motherhood with eight kids and a reality show and a best-selling book to promote isn't all that bad. He, on the other hand, is thoroughly emasculated. He quit his job and now stays home while she's on a book tour. "I can't write," he explains. He is dark and sardonic and seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown—or drunk. "I thought they were going to barbecue it," he says about the magician's rabbit at the birthday party. Which, given the circumstances—eight little kids, a biting wife, paparazzi in his bushes—seems an entirely normal reaction.

Photograph of Jon Gosselin by Thos Robinson/Getty Images

Tags: jon and kate plus 8, jon gosselin