Jon and Kate Gosselin took over reality TV screens in 2007 with the launch of Jon & Kate Plus 8, which starred the couple and their eight children. In two Discovery Health specials in 2005 and 2006, the parents introduced sextuplets Alexis, Collin, Joel, Hannah, Leah and Aaden, who are now 16, and twins Mady and Cara, now 20.
After attaining fame through their TV specials, Jon & Kate Plus 8 was born in 2007. The show lasted two seasons on Discovery Health until moving to TLC for its duration. But 10 years of marriage and one vow renewal weren’t enough to keep the Gosselins’ marriage afloat.
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Now both are in opposition and new developments thrust their story back in the headlines. Read on to discover all the drama that has enfolded Jon and Kate Gosselin since their split more than 10 years ago, including the latest allegations against Jon made by their son Collin.
May – June 2009: Jon’s alleged affair and divorce
It was reported in May 2009 that Jon carried out an alleged affair with a third-grade teacher named Deann Hummel. Hummel’s brother, Jason, told Us Weekly, “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. Jon admitted showing “poor judgment,” but denied the affair.
Just a month later in June 2009, Kate filed for divorce. “Parents of multiple have triple the divorce rate,” she said on a May 2009 episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8. “I was thinking we were going to beat that. I don’t know if I can say that anymore.”
October 2009: Jon’s lawsuit with TLC
In an interview with Larry King, Jon said in October 2009 that he had “an epiphany” and didn’t want his children on TLC anymore after the reality series was removed his name from the title, which was now Kate Plus 8. TLC filed a breach of contract suit against Jon that same month, with Jon filing a countersuit alleging that the network violated Pennsylvania’s child labor laws. Jon and the network reached a settlement in February 2010.
December 2009: Divorce finalized
Seven months after Kate filed, the duo’s divorce was finalized in December 2009. The two ex-spouses were granted shared physical custody of their eight kids, but Kate was granted full legal custody, with her lawyer saying that Kate “will continue to reside with all eight of her children in the former marital home.”
2010 – 2016: He said, she said
For the next few years, the two exes slammed each other in the media seemingly at every chance they had. In April 2010, Jon’s lawyer told TMZ that he planned on filing an emergency petition for primary custody after Kate joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars, telling the outlet that Kate was “an absentee mom.”
Both Jon and Kate went on to date other people, with Jon linked to Kate Major, who eventually married Michael Lohan, and Hailey Glassman, and Kate linked to bodyguard Steve Neild and millionaire Jeff Prescott. As of December 2018, Kate is single and preparing for her upcoming dating show and Jon is dating Colleen Conrad.
In August 2013, Kate claimed in a lawsuit that Jon hacked into her computer and cell phone to get personal information about her for a tell-all book his friend wrote. The suit was dropped in November 2013.
In 2016, Jon told Steve Harvey that he hadn’t seen all eight of his children 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,” he said, later telling Entertainment Tonight that Made and Cara “stopped coming” to his house when they turned 12 or 13. He also said that Collin “stopped coming” after a while as well.
November 2016: Kate opens up about Collin
In November 2016, Kate said that Collin was seeking treatment for behavioral issues. Jon’s lawyer told Us Weekly at the time that the “whole story is not being told.”
Kate told Good Morning America that she was not allowed to speak fully about Collin’s situation. “We are both court ordered not to speak about the car and custody of our children in detail,” she said. “I’ve known all along where [Collin] is, but the world doesn’t know, and I’ll leave it at that.”
August 2017 – August 2018: Hannah’s custody dispute
The ex-couple was involved in a custody dispute at their children’s orthodontist office in August 2017. A spokesperson for the Wyomissing Police Department told ET at the time that a 911 call came in “for a verbal domestic argument … over the custody of one of their 13-year-old daughters” adding that “no one was arrested” and that the daughter went home with Jon. A year later, Jon confirmed on Instagram that Hannah, one of the sextuplets had moved in with him full time.
November 2018: Jon files custody for Collin
In November 2018, Jon filed for full custody of Collin and said that it would be in Collin’s best interest to live with him upon his release for an inpatient program for children with special needs, which was scheduled for early December.
A source told Us Weekly that the reason the “very intelligent” Collin was sent to a treatment facility was due to him “always questioning Kate and talking back,” but that Collin was doing very well.
December 2018: Jon awarded custody
On Dec. 4, 2018, 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. Kate had reportedly asked a day earlier for the hearing to be postponed, but her request was not approved.
September – November 2020
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The latest news involves allegations against Jon Gosselin in a deleted Instagram post from son Collin. After what seemed like a positive year in 2019, the claims made by the young Gosselin came as a shock to many.
“My dad is a liar,” Collin wrote in the post. “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.”
In November, Mady sparked rumors of more drama when she said on TikTok that the family had a “real fight” on Thanksgiving. She wrote that she was going to have her family take part in a TikTok trend where people jokingly recreate an iconic Gossip Girl Thanksgiving scene, in which people leave the table angrily after an argument breaks out as Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say” plays. However, when she shared the video with the trending sound, she wrote, “I was going to make my family do this trend at dinner but then it happened in real life.” Mady didn’t go into specifics, but she captioned the TikTok, “Everything is all good now though.”
