Why Jon and Kate Are Everywhere

Kate Gosselin went from a dowdy, sweatpants-wearing nurse to a Nobu-dining celebrity on a first-name basis with Kelly Ripa; soon-to-be-ex-hubby Jon was a much-pitied, constantly-berated dad, and now a keg-standing, nanny-seducing frat boy no one can stand. How did this couple become the biggest tabloid story of the year, appearing on more than 50 covers since March? Nancy Jo Sales attempts to find out in Vanity Fair.

“It became a show that was completely suited to a multi-platform world,” says a TV critic. “You can’t just watch Jon & Kate on television and understand it anymore.” Not to mention, adds the Star's editor, “The show was never as interesting as the two of them in real life.” Add to that a financially hungry tabloid media, and the couple's growing addiction to the limelight (see Kate’s so-called spontaneous bikini photo ops, Jon’s budding friendships with K-Fed and Michael Lohan), and only one thing is certain, says the former Us editor: “ten, 15 years down the road, the E! True Hollywood Story: The Gosselin Kids.” (More Jon Gosselin stories.)