Former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin revealed that his divorce from ex-wife Kate Gosselin left him almost bankrupt. The revelation came in an interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz that will air during Monday’s episode of The Dr. Oz Show. His decade-long gag order on the divorce has now been lifted, and Gosselin is making sure his side of the story gets out.
In the clip, first published by PEOPLE, Gosselin claims TLC bankrolled Kate during the divorce proceedings and he had to support himself. He said the network also sued him for breach of contract.
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“I literally hung a sign on my gate saying, ‘If any crew members show up, I’ll have you arrested for trespassing,’” Gosselin explained. “They sued me for breach of contract and I pretty much bankrupted myself.”
Gosselin told Oz he spent $1.7 million in legal fees from the lawsuit and divorce, while “TLC paid for [Kate’s] attorneys” in both cases.
TLC has not commented on Gosselin’s claims. Kate issued a statement to PEOPLE, in which she called Gosselin’s comments “delusional ramblings,” which she has vowed not to respond to.
“However, at some point soon, I look forward to making sure the absolute truth about our family is known,” Gosselin added.
Gosselin and Kate are parents to 18-year-old twins Mady and Cara, who are both in college, and 15-year-old sextuples Hannah, Collin, Leah, Joel, Alexis and Aiden. Hannah and Collin live with Gosselin, while the other four live with Kate.
Gosselin told Oz he believes Kate only wanted to keep legal custody of their children so TLC would continue filming her “o sustain her lifestyle and their lifestyle.” He added that Kat’s belief system “is skewed.”
“I believe her intentions, in the beginning, were good intentions, bringing kids into the world,” Gosselin told Oz. “She fought to have these kids. But I think once fame and money got involved, it twisted her belief system. On my end, I’ve been fighting to get my kids off TV forever.”
Although Gosselin and Kate’s divorce was finalized in 2009, their legal drama continues to this day. In October, Gosselin blasted TLC and Kate for including their children in a Kate Plus 8 special called “College Bound,” which tracked Mady and Cara’s move to college. Gosselin said there were court orders against including their sextuplets in future shows and that filming permits were denied by Pennsylvania officials.
Kate appeared to reference Gosselin’s past comments in an Instagram post on Oct. 1 celebrating the twins’ birthday.
“I love these kids fiercely.. and I don’t apologize for my tears. Times have been so tough and so needlessly unfair for them,” Kate wrote. “Despite it all, they’ve turned out to be such wonderful amazing human beings. I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for each of them once they get away from those who have tried to destroy them versus protect them!”
In 2016, Mady and Cara said they were not on speaking terms with Gosselin. They told PEOPLE they were not interested in seeing him.
“He makes it seem like we’re being kept from him, which is insane,” Mady said at the time. “He should maybe spend some time thinking about why we don’t want to see him, and maybe realize that if he ever does want a relationship with us, talking about us on TV is not the way to make that happen.”
Photo credit: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Discovery
