Jon and Kate plus Emeril Lagasse and ‘American Chopper’
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It wasn’t easy, but Jon and Kate Gosselin persevered through a veritable media storm of speculation about their marriage and still managed to mark an important personal milestone Monday -- the 100th episode of their TLC reality program, ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8.’
Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse -- who knew the Bam! master made house calls? -- dropped by the clan’s home to help celebrate. And he even succeeded in getting the couple, whose rocky relationship has been tabloid and blogosphere fodder for months, into the same room as they prepared a green-bean casserole, chili mac and granola. (The husband and wife did not appear together for interview segments.)
And in an unlikely bit of cable cross-promotion, the Gosselins will get another celebrity visit -- the gang from TLC’s ‘American Chopper.’ The culture clash will air Thursday on ‘American Chopper.’ The ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ version will run next Monday.
It’s an unlikely pairing, admitted Paul Teutul Sr. of ‘American Chopper.’ The Gosselins’ program “is not my kind of show … but I can honestly say I never gave it the opportunity to really watch it.’
In the episodes, Jon commissions the building of a motorcycle for himself -- even making a trip out to New York to see the deed done. Kate gets herself a pink scooter.
Teutul said the experience was much different than he expected. For starters, the kids were well-behaved and Kate wasn’t bothered by the motorcycle crowd.
“I thought she would be more intimidated,’ Teutul said. ‘When I got down there, she came out and sat down and I sat next to her. We threw blows a little bit. And in a matter of minutes, we were like old friends. I had the chance to spend most of the day with her. And she even got on the bike with me.”
Not surprisingly, the paparazzi were there to capture the moment.
As for the state of Jon and Kate’s relationship?
“There was not too much communication between them,” Teutel said. “Not when I was there, anyway.”
Let’s hope the couple doesn’t find themselves on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!” anytime soon.
-- Yvonne Villarreal
