Before she pulled together a fine Sweet 16 party for her daughters Mady and Cara, Kate Gosselin brought the drama on the Tuesday, January 3, episode of Kate Plus 8. The single mom cried, yelled and worked her way through an admitted “little stress meltdown,” part of what she called a tough emotional week watching her oldest girls hit a milestone. Watch a scene from the episode in the video above.
Kate began venting her frustrations frantically on the morning of the birthday party, shuffling tasks such as grilling salmon sandwiches and looking for a lost recipe under a cutting board, all while yelling at the kids. As she’s shown on this season, Kate isn’t afraid to lose her patience.
“I can’t take the arguing about birthday parties,” Kate said loudly. “This is why we don’t have parties.” Between tears, Kate said she wanted the party to be “beautiful” for the girls. “I am so invested in this party,” she said.
Mady — who picked the party’s fall theme, complete with straw, campfire and a sunflower cake — pleaded with Mom to cool her jets when stressing out about getting everything done. “It’s not stressful,” Mady said, trying to calm Kate.
“It is stressful,” Kate said, “because nobody will do anything.”
When rain threatened the outdoor party, Kate put in a crucial call to a friend, finding a last-minute new indoor venue. The clan relocated to a well-themed private restaurant space instead of outside their house, showcasing Mom’s ability to shift in the moment.
The party went well, with lots of smiles and hugs, and ended with guests looking at home videos of the girls when they were babies. “That was my favorite birthday party, including [my own], that I’ve ever been involved in,” Kate said in the postparty interview.
Before the party, cracks in the planning process started to show when Cara and Mady joined Kate on the hunt for cool supplies, such as cake and artsy crafts. A disinterested Cara said she doesn’t even like parties. Kate then began driving Mady crazy, suggesting endless options for plates and decorations. Mady wasn’t interested in Mom’s flood of ideas, and instead rolled her eyes and threw her hands up.
So will the Gosselin girls be driving now? Both girls said they didn’t care much for rushing to get their driver’s licenses. Instead, they took sort-of driving lessons from Kate on the John Deere Gator in the driveway turnaround. This proved to be a challenge for Mady, who wound up in Kate’s flower bed.
“You’re in my plants,” Kate said. “Put it in park, please. Mady, it’s getting dark.”
Tell Us: Did Kate cause too much drama before the Sweet 16 party?
Kate Plus 8 airs on TLC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
