Kate and Jon Gosselin’s Drama-Filled History: Alleged Affair, Custody Battles, More

Credit: Gregory Pace/BEI/Shutterstock

Kate and Jon Gosselin's Drama-Filled History: Alleged Affair, Custody Battles, More

Kate and Jon Gosselin have been making headlines for more than a decade. The former couple, who tied the knot in 1999, introduced the world to their family following the birth of their sextuplets: Alexis, Collin, Joel, Hannah, Leah and Aaden. After the family of 10 — Jon and Kate also share twins Mady and Cara — were featured on two Discovery Health specials in 2005 and 2006, they landed their own reality series, Jon & Kate Plus 8, in 2007. The first two seasons of the show aired on Discovery Health before the series moved to TLC. Despite their August 2008 vow renewal ceremony in Hawaii, tension between the pair was visible on the show as they disagreed over how to raise their eight children. In May 2009, Us Weekly broke the news that Jon had allegedly been unfaithful and Kate filed for divorce just one month later. "Parents of multiples have triple the divorce rate,” the mother-of-eight said in a May 2009 episode of their reality show. "I was thinking we were going to beat that. I don't know if I can say that anymore." Their divorce was finalized in December 2009. Kate was awarded full legal custody of the children and though the couple shared physical custody, Jon claimed in January 2016 that he hadn't seen all 8 of his children in three years. Later that year, the pair's custody issues made headlines again when Kate revealed that Collin, one of the sextuplets, was in residential treatment for behavioral issues. [jwplayer TgMmm4vu-zhNYySv2] “We are both court ordered not to speak about the care and custody of our children in detail. I’ve known all along where [Collin] is, but the world doesn’t know, and I’ll leave it at that," Kate told Good Morning America at the time. Jon's lawyers, however, said in a statement to Us that his ex-wife wasn't sharing the "whole story" with the world. “Jon is bound by the court order. Needless to say, certain comments and statements that are being made are very upsetting to Jon, but given his obligation to the court order, there is not much he can do right now,” his lawyer Kristen Doleva-Lecher said in November 2016 adding that Jon was also “very upset by certain statements made to the press” and that he feels “the whole story is not being told.” Two years later, Jon revealed that one of the sextuplets, Hannah, was living with him full-time in Pennsylvania, rather than with her mother in North Carolina. He was granted sole physical and legal custody of Collin in December 2018, and the teen joined his sister and father in Pennsylvania. “I wish that all my kids would just be together, hang out together, go to the mall. Just hang out together,” Jon told Entertainment Tonight in May 2020. “Kate and I don’t live that far away from each other, but I feel like there is an invisible wall. [The kids] should be able to just get together. ... I have no qualms about it. If they want to go meet each other, go ahead. I feel like it’s more on the other side." Keep scrolling to see all of Jon and Kate's ups and downs over the years: [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of TLC

Enter TLC

Jon and Kate gained popularity in 2007 after Jon & Kate Plus 8 started airing. Fans were captivated by their relationship, which often included arguments between the couple over raising their eight children.

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An Alleged Affair

Us Weekly broke the news in May 2009 that Jon was allegedly having an affair with a third-grade school teacher named Deanna Hummel. “This isn't healthy for her. But she is refusing to help herself, so here I am trying to help her myself. I hope this clears the air,” Deanna’s brother Jason told Us at the time. While Jon admitted he showed “poor judgment,” he denied the affair. 

Credit: Courtesy of Mark Arbeit / TLC

Filing for Divorce

Kate filed for divorce in June 2009 amid the scandal. "Parents of multiples have triple the divorce rate,” an emotional Kate said on a May 2009 episode of their TLC series. "I was thinking we were going to beat that. I don't know if I can say that anymore."

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Jon vs. Kate vs. TLC

Amid the couple’s divorce proceedings, Jon told CNN’s Larry King in October 2009 that he had “an epiphany” and didn’t want his children on TLC anymore after the reality series was renamed Kate Plus 8. After the network filed a breach of contract suit against Jon in October 2009, he filed a countersuit alleging that TLC violated Pennsylvania’s child labor laws. Jon and the network reached a settlement in February 2010. 

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Divorce Finalized

The duo’s divorce was finalized in December 2009. While the former spouses were granted shared physical custody of the kids, Kate was granted full legal custody. Her lawyer told Us at the time that Kate “will continue to reside with all eight of her children in the former marital home.” 

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Jon Slams Kate

Months after their divorce was finalized, Jon’s lawyer told TMZ that he planned to file an emergency petition for primary custody after his ex-wife joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars in April 2010. Jon’s lawyer told the outlet that Kate was “an absentee mom."

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Headline—Making Romances

After their split, Jon was linked to multiple women, including both Kate Major (who went on to marry Michael Lohan) and Hailey Glassman at the same time. Kate, for her part, was rumored to be dating her bodyguard Steve Neild and millionaire Jeff Prescott. As of November 2018, Kate is still single and Jon is dating Colleen Conrad. 

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Kate Claims Jon Hacked Her

The exes found themselves making headlines again in August 2013 after Kate alleged that Jon hacked into her computer and phone to get personal information about her for a tell-all book written by his friend titled, Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled the World. According to USA Today, Amazon and other larger distributors stopped selling the book amid the scandal. The suit was dropped in November 2013. 

Credit: Courtesy Jon Gosselin/Instagram

Estranged From His Kids

In 2016, Jon claimed he hadn’t seen all eight of his kids together in three years. “Most of the time, I get four. I haven’t seen all my kids together in about three years. I only get what I get,” Jon told Steve Harvey in January 2016. 

Months later, he told Entertainment Tonight that twin daughters Mady and Cara “stopped coming” to his home when they turned 12 or 13. “I was just like, 'Hey, do what you want, be with your friends' and then it just became, ‘They're not coming,’” he told the outlet in August 2016. "Then I had six [kids]. I was just focusing on the ones that did come and then a couple years went by and then Collin stopped coming. I thought, maybe he just wants to do stuff with Mommy or whatever, and then it became long—term."

Credit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin/Instagram

The Truth About Collin

Kate revealed in November 2016 that Collin, one of their sextuplets, was seeking treatment for behavioral issues. Jon shot back through his lawyer, who told Us at the time that the “whole story is not being told.” 

“We are both court ordered not to speak about the care and custody of our children in detail,” Kate said on Good Morning America in November 2016. “I’ve known all along where [Collin] is, but the world doesn't know, and I'll leave it at that."

Credit: Courtesy of TLC

Custody Dispute

The former spouses were involved in a custody dispute at their children’s orthodontist office in August 2017.  “The call came in at 1:10 this afternoon for a verbal domestic argument … over the custody of one of their 13-year-old daughters,” a spokesperson for the Wyomissing Police Department told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “No one was arrested and the daughter did go home with the father after she expressed that was her desire to do.”

Credit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin/Instagram

Hannah Moves in With Jon

Jon confirmed via Instagram Live in August 2018 that Hannah, one of their sextuplets, had moved in with him full time. 

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Back in Court

According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Jon filed for full custody of Collin and stated it would be in Collin’s best interest to live with his father upon his release from an inpatient program for children with special needs. (He is set to come home in December 2018.) Us confirmed in November 2018 that Jon and Kate will appear in court on December 4, 2018, over the custody of Collin. 

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A Win for Jon

Us exclusively confirmed in December 2018 that Jon was granted sole physical and sole legal custody of Collin after Kate and her lawyer did not show up to their scheduled court hearing. A source told Us that Kate asked a day earlier for the hearing to be postponed, but her request was not approved.

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New Normal

Jon spoke to Us in December 2018 about moving forward after the custody hearing. “I would never … I would always go to court, no matter what,” he told Us about Kate’s decision to skip the hearing. As for Collin’s relationship with his mother, Jon admitted he doesn’t know what is going to happen. He added: “Let’s get him home and transitioned.” 

In regards to for his relationship with his other children, Jon noted at the event that Leah, Alexis, Joel and Aaden aren’t speaking to him, but they do communicate with Hannah, who resides with him.

“I don’t get involved now with what the kids … it’s what the kids want to do. If they don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, as long as they keep up with their sibling connections,” he said at the time. “Eventually, if they come around and they want to talk to me, that’s cool.”

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Still Fighting

Jon, who still has Collin and Hannah in his care, claimed he fears for the safety of his other six children during a bombshell interview with DailyMailTV in September 2019.

“I do know what she’s capable of, whether it’s mental or physical [abuse],” he alleged of Kate, who did not respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment  “I have two kids in my house who left a whole pile of money behind. They left fame and money and came to my house. They left it all behind.”

Jon added that he’s worried about how “isolated” Mady, Cara, Alexis, Leah, Joel, and Aaden have been from the real world over they years. 

“I’m glad they have great grades and all this stuff, but in an uncomfortable social situation, like college or an environment that’s not suitable to white collar demographics, it’s going to be difficult for them and intermingling with other races and demographics and geography,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult because they’ve been isolated so much and they haven’t been taught those life skills.”

During the same interview, Jon provided new insight into Collin’s stay at Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute, alleging his son wrote him a letter begging him to come home.

“I told Mom [Kate Gosselin] I want to live with you, she said no. But right? She can’t choose for me. I’m old enough now, I’m YOUR son, not hers,” Collin wrote in the June 2017 letter obtained by DailyMailTV. “She was abusive to me after I left your house. I’m sorry. Take this to court because … you’re my dad, my savior. … I’m counting on you to get me out of here. Daddy, I love you. save me. Please come FAST. I love you. Help me. BYE.”

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At Odds

“We don’t have a relationship right now,” Jon told Dr. Oz of his ex-wife in November 2019. “We don’t talk, nothing. It’s very nothing. The only time I see [Kate] is in court because we have exhausted all opportunities to coparent. It’s just never going to happen. We just have different aspects of how we want to parent. … We’re moving down the path of, two more years, we’re going to have all adult [children].”

Credit: Shutterstock ; Courtesy Collin Gosselin/Instagram

Collin’s Relationship With Kate

As Mady, Cara, Leah, Joel, Alexis and Aaden celebrated Mother’s Day with Kate in May 2020, Hannah and Collin remained in Jon’s care. Collin subsequently shared a tribute to Jon’s girlfriend, Colleen Conrad, via Instagram.

“Turns out today is Mother’s Day, today we pay love forward to our mothers, but I don’t think mother can describe all the things Colleen has done for me,” the teenager wrote. “Yes a mother clothes her children and cooks for them but it’s the best feeling when your mother or mother figure is one of your best friends and always has your back, the one who always shares that laugh of the humor only you guys get.”

Collin went on to call his dad’s girlfriend his “guiding light," but did not say anything about Kate.

“Thank you doesn’t say enough, I love you so much and you’ve done so much for me that claims you my strong, happy, loving and awesome mother figure, you’re irreplaceable,” he wrote. “Thank you so much Colleen love you so much!!!”

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Strangers

"I don't hear from Kate," Jon told Entertainment Tonight in May 2020. "It’s just totally like that person doesn’t exist anymore."

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Collin’s Accusations

News broke in September 2020 that Jon has been accused of physically abusing Collin, who has lived with him since 2018. The Berks County Children & Youth Services subsequently launched an investigation into the situation.

“My dad is a liar,” the teenager allegedly wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post at the time. “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.”

Kate spoke to People at the time, telling the magazine that she does not “want [her] children around” her ex-husband: “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. 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.”

District Attorney John Adams confirmed to Us at the time that no charges had been filed.

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock; Courtesy Jon Gosselin/Instagram (inset); MEGA

Serious Statement

Following allegations against her ex-husband, Kate told People in September 2020 that Jon was "a violent and abusive person." She added at the time: "If this doesn’t qualify as assault, I don’t know what does."

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Taking a Stand

"Kate, the message to you is to stop," Jon told Entertainment Tonight in September 2020, after she called him “violent” the same week. "Unless you don't want to have any ounce of any relationship with your children in the future. You're ruining that." The DJ added: "It's not about me. It's about how they have to live their life by you making false accusations about things that never occurred."

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Moving Out

In October 2020, Kate listed the Pennsylvania home she bought with Jon over a decade earlier for $1.2 million. The home, which was featured on Jon and Kate Plus 8, sold in January 2021 for $1.1 million.

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Emergency Situation

In January 2021, Jon revealed that he was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. "I had a 104.8 [degree fever]," he recalled during an episode of Dr. Oz at the time. “I was in a wheelchair. I had to wait in the ER. It was packed, like, the hospital was full and then they put me on a gurney and put me in the hallway in the waiting room, so I could get a temporary room.”

He continued: “All of a sudden, I’m getting antibiotics, steroids and a plasma antibody transfusion for COVID. It happened really fast. Then they moved me … up to another room, a more permanent room. Then I just remember sleeping and it was just surreal. Like, ‘What?’ I didn’t even realize why I was there until, like, three days later.”

Credit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin/Instagram

Lack of Support

Three months later, Jon claimed during an appearance on Dr. Oz that none of the children who live with his ex-wife contacted him during his health scare. “I didn’t hear from them. I think Hannah might have told Leah [about it]," he said. The Pennsylvania native then explained that there was "a disconnect" between him and six of his kids: “I can’t really reach out to them and there’s legalities. I can’t, like, go to where they move. It would be trespassing.”

Credit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin/Instagram

Feeling the Distance

“Hannah loves her brothers and sisters,” a source told Us in April 2022 about her relationship with the six siblings who live in North Carolina with Kate. “She would love to spend time with them. It just hasn’t been possible. ... It is sad. She does hope that at one point she can see her brothers and sisters. They were all very, very close and her leaving to go live with Jon had absolutely nothing to do with her brothers and sisters. She loves them to death."

The source alleged that Kate was responsible for the lack of contact between Hannah and her siblings. “She’s definitely spent a lot of time making sure the kids don’t spend time together because she’s really upset Hannah chose to live with Jon,” the insider claimed. “[Hannah] doesn’t really speak to her mom much."

Credit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin/Instagram

A New Beginning

In May 2022, Jon revealed where the former couple stand on their sextuplets' milestone 18th birthday.

"[Communicating with] the children that live with Kate is very difficult, because I don't have an open relationship with them," he told Entertainment Tonight, claiming that his ex-wife was at fault for the divide. "I think it was a poor parenting decision. It would’ve been much better if she would have been more open with them and explained things better."

The former reality star also noted that divorce was "inevitable" for them, adding, "I thought in the fourth season that I was moving towards divorce, because I thought I wanted to leave the show, and she wanted to continue on the show, and that is what happened anyway."

Credit: Courtesy Jon Gosselin/Instagram

August 2022

After Kate admitted in a 2019 legal battle that she had “borrowed” earnings from the kids’ trust fund to cover living expenses, Jon alleged that she had yet to pay them back.

“It's disgusting and it's morally wrong,” the reality TV patriarch told The Sun on August 18. "Parents are not supposed to withdraw any money from these accounts without permission and without drawing up paperwork that they will pay it back — but she has produced no paperwork and no payments have been made. You can't just live off your kids' money.”

Kate did not immediately address her ex-husband’s allegations at the time.

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More Money, More Problems

Kate's attorney claimed to Us in August 2022 that Jon still had yet to pay "$132,875 in child support, not counting interest," but a source alleged the DJ was "never" ordered to give his ex-wife the money. "There is proof in legal documents from June 2018 that show the Superior Court of PA quashed Kate's appeal for Jon to pay her $132K. They quashed the whole thing so he never owed her any money," the insider told Us, calling Kate's allegations "a complete fabrication."