One of the most popular TLC reality shows, Jon & Kate Plus 8 chronicled the lives of
then-married couple Jon and Kate Gosselin while they navigated their chaotic lives being
parents to twin daughters and sextuplets. As the show gained more popularity, so did
Gosselin's problems. Unfortunately, just a few years into the show, the reality TV couple
called it quits - ending their 10 years of marriage. And what the world saw next was
a messy divorce whose ramifications haunt the family even today.
So, what happened to the golden couple of reality TV after their bitter breakup?
Despite the divorce, Kate along with her kids continued starring on the show which was then
renamed as Kate Plus 8. While Kate and Jon’s onscreen drama was over for good, the former
couple continued to slam each other in court and the media. The exes had agreed to ‘rotate’
in and out of the house but the complicated arrangement didn’t pan out and the custody
battle intensified.
In 2016, Kate revealed to People magazine that her son Colin had ‘special needs’
and was sent to a live-in program to facilitate his learning skills and further his growth.
That explained his absence from the show from then on. And in 2019, twins Madelyn and Cara
also left the show to start college at separate universities in New York. The final ‘Kate
Plus 8’ special was centered around them as they prepared to leave for college.
Ever since their split, Kate and Jon have struggled to co-parent and the custody battle
between them has only got messier with time. Jon won the custody of sextuplet siblings
Hannah and Colin who are living with him and his girlfriend, Colleen Conrad, in his Pennsylvania
home. Hannah moved in with her father in 2018 whereas Colin joined her later that year.
With the older twins away at college, Kate only has custody of four of her children right
now; Joel, Alexis, Leah, and Aaden. Jon does not have a relationship with his six other
children and has not spoken to them in many years. He has publicly said that Kate and
the other children alienated him and Collin, although Hannah still has a relationship with
Madelyn and Cara.
In 2020, during the ‘First Class Fatherhood’ podcast, the dad of eight revealed that he
was in an annoying custody battle with his ex that has been lingering for 12 years. He
also spent $1.3 million in legal fees before winning custody of his two children. Confessing
that reality TV damaged his children, he accused Kate of continuing to film the children against
his wishes. He even filed a petition for contempt against Kate regarding the same who filed
a counterclaim against him, accusing him of publicly embarrassing her and tarnishing her
reputation.
The drama between the ex-couple intensified when Kate publicly accused Jon of being physically
abusive to Colin. In a since-deleted post, Colin had accused his father of some serious
crimes. “My dad is a liar. Yesterday he beat me up and thought nothing of it, he punched
me in the face and gave me a swollen nose and I started bleeding. He then continued
to kick me in the ribs after I was on the floor. He is a liar.”
Jon was investigated by Child & Youth Services who found Colin’s claims to be ‘unfounded’.
The District Attorney also confirmed that no charges or citations were filed regarding
the alleged incident. Jon later explained that he had to use a ‘therapeutic restraint’
on Collin when the teenager was in a ‘manic state,’ but insisted that there was ‘no
punching and kicking’ involved like Collin originally claimed.
“You do not punch and kick your children. You do not kick a child,” Kate lashed out
at Jon. “I don’t want to hear any excuses from anyone, not from his father, not from
local law enforcement, not from court personnel whose job is supposedly to ensure the best
interests of my children," she told People. "There is a child abuse law, PA 23, section
8i states that doing any of the following, regardless of whether it causes injury, is
child abuse, and first on that list is kicking. Period." She adds of Jon, "I don’t want
my children around him. Enough is enough.” However, the alleged incident seems to be
done and dusted and well in the past. In January 2021, Kate finally sold the family’s
mansion for a whopping $1.1 million saying she was having financial issues that came
with the apparent end of her reality TV career. The reality TV mom reportedly packed up her
bags and moved to North Carolina with her four children, with an insider telling In
Touch Weekly that the kids were not all ‘on board’ with the move. Jon, meanwhile, has
shown a desire to reconnect with his estranged kids. In an interview on the Dr. Oz (auzz)
show, the 44-year-old expressed hopes of reconnecting with all his estranged children and said they
are all welcome in his home any time.
"I've said before I'm welcoming them back into our house and if they're willing to come
or reach out or anything like that," he shared on the show. "I'm more putting it on them
because I've reached out and given the olive branch.” He further explained, “Now I
can't explain half the things I've done in the past or why I've done things but maybe
those are table conversations we can have in person. I'm opening my house in open arms
if they're willing to come."
He also revealed that none of his kids who live with Kate reached out to him after he
was hospitalized with Covid-19. "I hope they develop a relationship with Hannah and Collin.
I hope that one day I can be part of your life. I'm glad that I got a second chance.
I was more concerned about myself in the hospital and getting better and getting back to my
family. I miss them."
We sincerely hope the much-awaited reunion of the Gosselin family happens sooner than
later!