As final episode airs, an open letter to the Gosselin children

We are so relieved to be able to say this: The final episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 airs Monday, November 23, 2009, on TLC.

Dear Mady, Cara, Alexis, Joel, Colin, Hannah, Leah and Aaden,

When your grandparents were just your age, a world phenomenon that was the Dionne Quintuplets was born. They weren't born in some remote, third world country, with little idea for basic human rights, education, normalcy and privacy. Indeed, they were born in Canada, just a few hours north of our border. North Americans flocked in droves to see their circus act.

But in the decades that followed, we began to realize the errors and mistakes that were made during their upbringing. The girls themselves became adults and were able to speak up and tell us where we went wrong. And as multiples became more and more popular in recent years, most parents realized how important it was to keep their little ones' lives as normal as possible, to not let what happened to the Dionnes happen to their multiples.

But in 2004, you came into the world, and something was different. For some reason, people forgot the Dionnes. Cameras were turned on, a circus act was reborn, and your lives were forever changed. We can't begin to pin down everyone who is responsible for what was done to you, which unfortunately, begins with your parents. But it also certainly includes a little cable network called TLC, a parent company called Discovery, and every person in your life who did not speak up about what was happening and help protect you. Sadly, those who did speak up were often cut out of your lives, and we hope as you grow older they will be permitted to be reintroduced to you.

But we want you to know that there were thousands who gathered on the Internet to speak up. There were thousands who said, "this is not right." We posted our outrage all over the Net. We e-mailed, called, and wrote to TLC. Some people even tried to communicate with your own parents, friends, and family. We have been trying to stop this for a long time, Gosselin children. We have tried to change things for you, to make this better for you. We are so sorry we couldn't have done more. We are so sorry this happened to you.

You are permanently the "Plus 8" and you must live with that. You can't change that, but you can change other things. Surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart. Surround yourself with people who want to give you a normal life, who value and respect you. Surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, and not for your 15 minutes of fame and what little money may be left from that. We hope those who wronged you will someday understand what they did and make amends to you, and that you are able to repair broken relationships and broken trust. We wish you all the best in your relationship with your parents, and we hope you will seek out professional help as needed to assist you in coping with what was done to you by those you trusted the most. Do not be ashamed to get help. Do not be afraid to say "no" to those who continue to seek to harm you. And know that there were people out here who have wanted all the best and more for you since the moment we met you, and who will also forever remember the atrocities that happened the first several years of your lives.

We'd like to say this will never happen again. Perhaps know that some good has come of this. You have provided another hard lesson in what happens when you exploit a child's privacy for a dollar. In 1998, the Dionnes settled with the Canadian government for $28 million. Sadly, however, no amount of money can allow you to reclaim a childhood lost.

We wish you wonderful lives, and we hope we never see you faces on our TV's ever again. You deserve so much better.

Sincerely,
Those who Cared