Jon & Kate Stop Speaking Publicly About Family Matters

There is no question that the lives of the Gosselin family will never be the same. Once a reality television phenomenon centered on a young, loving family with 8 beautiful kids, they have morphed into the worst of reality television culture - including gratuitous rumor-mongering and headline grabbing. TLC - formerly known popularly as The Learning Channel - is caught in the middle of the Gosselin family meltdown, now having to change gears to try to save its ratings juggernaut.

It's unlikely that the show is going to be viable moving forward, even though there will be a new format when the show starts airing in August. The public has been drawn into the drama surrounding the break-up of Jon and Kate and the kids are no longer the focus of the show. It will be impossible for viewers to tune back into a show that will now focus intentionally on the kids and the single parent that will be handling them on any particular day.

The viewers that actually did watch for the sake of the kids and the family will likely not come back, now that the fantasy of a large, happy family has been shattered. Kate Gosselin recently had a cookbook publication canceled, since it was based on the idea of cooking for a large, functional family.

"During this very difficult time we will be working to focus solely on the needs of our family," the Gosselins said. "This includes no longer commenting publicly or reacting to media stories and speculation. Our goal is to do the very best for our children and that will be done as privately as possible. We appreciate the understanding, support and well wishes from so many. Thank you."