In 2005, the world fell in love with twins Cara and Mady, and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah, and Joel. The children made their television debut on Discovery Health Channel’s one-hour special, Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. Many tuned in to watch the life of the Gosselin family. America’s fascination with multiples proved lucrative because two years later, the Gosselins landed their own show on TLC called Jon & Kate Plus Eight.
They say money and fame changes a person. While we don’t know the most personal details of their marriage, life wasn’t the same after fame. Nasty public feuds, trashing each other on talk shows, and just overall creating concern for the well-being of their children. Jon and Kate have been in a public custody battle for what seems like forever. Years later, the pair are still in the public eye, and here are 15 reasons why.
15 Aside From Hannah, The Rest Of The Children Cut Off Collin
According to Jon, "There’s no contact between Collin and his other siblings. So, the problem right now is we have parent alienation and we have sibling alienation." It's pretty sad how Jon and Kate's nasty public and personal feud has affected the children. The divide between the kids is awful. The siblings should at least find some common ground.
14 Jon Was Having An Affair… Allegedly
With 8 kids it’s only natural to hire a nanny. For some people, they fear having a nanny would cause problems, like an affair for instance. According to ABC News, former Gosselin nanny Stephanie Santoro came forward claiming she had an affair with Jon before his separation with Kate. Jon denied it, but the damage was done. The media took the claims and ran with them.
13 Kate Gosselin's Brother Sued Her For Putting The Kids On Television
You ever been sued? It’s not a fun situation. So, imagine that and your lawsuit being blasted all over the media. That’s exactly what happened when Kate’s brother and his wife sued her for putting the children on television. They claimed the Gosselins were exploiting the kids and it was creating psychological damage to them, according to Us Weekly.
12 Kate Put Her Son Collin In An Institution
Yeah, you read that right. According to Jon in an interview with Dr. Oz, “Kate institutionalized him without a diagnosis, and then created a diagnosis. I pulled him out of the institution. He was wrongfully institutionalized. Just because he was a difficult child, it did not mean he needed to be sent away.” In a letter smuggled to Jon from Collin, he wrote that Kate abused him.
11 TLC Put A Crazy 10-Year Gag Order On Jon… But Not Kate
So, TLC put a gag order on him for 10 whole years according to Jon in an interview with Dr. Oz. It’s understandable if he was trashing the channel left and right, but he wasn’t. To make matters worse, Kate was free to trash Jon all she wanted, which she did. Also, they still kept working with her, and not the parent who wanted to take his kids off the air. Very shady.
10 Jon Got Full Custody Of Collin And Hannah
There must have been some truth to Jon’s story about poor Collin being institutionalized, because he won full custody of him. Apparently, some of the sextuplets don’t agree with Kate’s parenting because 4 months prior, Hannah went to live with him permanently. It makes you wonder if at any point Jon will get full custody of more kids.
9 Kate Went On Dancing With The Stars And Lost
After her divorce and departure from Jon & Kate Plus Eight, Kate decided to join Dancing With The Stars. In 2010, she tried to tango her way into our hearts, just 3 months after her divorce was finalized. Hey, just because one show stopped doesn’t mean the bills do.
8 That Time Whoopi Goldberg Saw Right Through Kate's Nonsense
It all started when Kate went on The View. In a custody situation, Kate Gosselin took it upon herself to interfere with a custody agreement. Her reasoning? She didn’t like the babysitter Jon hired. While everyone kissed up to her, Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t having it. “When you go in to a custody thing with someone you have your specific time and their specific time and you’re not supposed to walk on [their time].” Well, Whoopi wasn’t wrong.
7 Poor Hannah Was Yanked So Hard An Ambulance Was Called
In 2017, according to In Touch Weekly, Hannah Gosselin decided to leave with her father after an orthodontist visit rather than her mother. Hannah refused to leave her father’s side and remained in the car. Well, Kate did not like this because as she was screaming, she kept yanking Hannah so hard she hurt the poor child’s arm.
6 Kate Couldn’t Stay Away From Reality Television
After the cancellation of Jon & Kate Plus Eight, Kate decided that reality television was her calling. Dancing With The Stars, Celebrity Wife Swap (which doesn’t make any sense since she wasn’t married, but go off I guess), Kate Plus Eight, Celebrity Apprentice, and Kate Plus Date. It seems like she and the camera became best friends.
5 Kate Sued Jon For, Wait For It, Hacking Her
Kate sued Jon for identity theft, wiretapping, and invasion of privacy. She claimed he went through her email and bank accounts. Allegedly, he did all of that for material for a tell-all book. After being married to someone for 10 years, it’s not likely you need to hack them for damning information.
4 Half Of The Kids Stopped Talking To Jon
While Jon has custody of 2 of the 8 kids, 4 of them don’t speak to him. Jon claims, "The other four aren’t talking to me, but they’re talking to Hannah.” It makes you wonder why some of the children side with one parent rather than the other. Is one more lenient than the other, or is one trashing the other?
3 Kate Was Blatantly Racist With Her Asian Impression
“Naturally I slanted my eyes to show him my best Asian impression which made him [Jon] smile. I married an Asian. I have eight biracial children therefore I’m the last person that could be called racist.” Based on her response to her purposely slanting her eyes, there’s nothing you can do but shake your head.
2 Kate Skipped Out On Her Own Child’s Custody Hearing
The day before the hearing, Kate asked for it to be postponed. Naturally, her request was denied. What did she do in response? She decided to play hooky. She and her lawyer didn’t even show up to Collin’s custody hearing. Jon, you know, the parent who did show up for his child, won full custody.
1 The Time When She Made Tony Dovolani Quit Dancing With The Stars
When Kate joined Dancing With The Stars, her partner Tony Dovolani didn’t know what he was in for. During a heated exchange, Dovolani actually quit the show in the middle of rehearsals. She was so unbearable he literally walked away from the show. Eventually, he came back but it was a pretty dramatic scene to watch.