Jon Gosselin Claims Ex-Wife Kate 'Alienated' Him From Kids

05/12/2022 03:19 pm EDT

Jon Gosselin claims ex-wife Kate Gosselin "alienated" him from their children in the wake of their messy divorce, but is looking forward to possibly mending fences now that his sextuplets have turned 18. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gosselin shared an update on where he stands with Alexis, Aaden, Joel, Leah, Hannah and Collin, all 18, as well as 21-year-old twins Cara and Mady.

Jon said the sextuplets' 18th birthday marked what he sees as the end of his back-and-forth with Kate over communicating with Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah, who all live with her full-time. "I am free in the aspect of I have adult children now... I have my own businesses and now it's time for me to move on. Dating, moving on with my own life. It's like starting over pretty much," he said. "... There's no more custody court. It's over. We are done today. It's over... This weight has been lifted off my shoulder... It is just a big relief."

Jon continued that he doesn't have an "open relationship" with his kids, except for Hannah and Collin, who live full-time with their dad as of August 2021. "[Communicating with] the children that live with Kate is very difficult because I don't have an open relationship with them," he explained. "... [Hannah] communicates with them. She has a really good relationship with the other kids. I have been alienated from those children."

"I feel it's a really poor decision on Kate's part because she alienated me from those kids," the former TLC star continued. "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." Now that the rest of his children are adults, Jon said they will learn more about who their parents are "and what transpired in the past."

"Sometimes you hide those things from your children... Sometimes it's difficult to say those things to your child, because you're afraid they aren't mature enough to understand those things," he said, claiming later that his 10-year marriage to Kate ended due in part to infidelity on her part – an accusation she has denied in the past.

While Mady and Cara crossed the line into adulthood years ago and are now away studying at college, Jon said he's gotten no response when he's reached out via text.  "It's horrible," he said of not being in touch with many of his kids. "Of course I miss them. That's why I post things on my Instagram, like, throwbacks, TBTs. It's bittersweet, but [Hannah] and Collin live with me, so I kind of just focus on them. Now, the other four being adults, maybe they will realize what the truth is and what has transpired and maturity steps in. Maybe they'll go discover the truth or they'll ask Hannah or ask Collin."

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