Jon Gosselin and his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, rose to fame after welcoming sextuplets in 2004 – they were already parents to twin daughters, bringing their total to eight children. They received a lot of local media attention after the sextuplets were born and were eventually offered their own reality TV show.
The family was filmed several days per week over the next decade as fans witnessed the many ups and downs that come with being parents to eight children. Unfortunately, the family started to break up in 2009 when Jon and Kate separated and later finalized their divorce. Things have been rocky ever since.
Over the past 14 years, Jon Gosselin has struggled to maintain a good relationship with his children. He hasn’t been on speaking terms with his ex-wife for years and the two have continued to make headlines in the years since their divorce. Even today, they’re the subject of various memes, GIFs, and jokes online.
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Jon Gosselin recently opened up about his family while speaking to PEOPLE at a recent Kickz for Kids charity event by billionaire philanthropist Patrick Carroll, who is on a mission to gift $1 million worth of sneakers to children, this time focusing on the Madison Garden Boys & Girls Club in New York City.
He explained how special of a year it was for his family, with his two twin daughters (his oldest children) graduating from college and his sextuplets each graduating from high school. Unfortunately, he remains estranged from most of his family and admitted to only attending one of the eight graduations this year.
“The only kids I see and talk to are Hannah and Collin. So I’ve been pretty much estranged from Mady and Cara for nine years,” he said – also confirming that four of his kids (Aaden, Leah, Joel, and Alexis Gosselin, all 19) live with Kate. Of the other four children, two live with him and two are on their own.
While he admits being estranged from his family has been ‘very difficult,’ he has also learned not to dwell on it and continues to hope for the best. He would love to develop a relationship with all of his children, but understands he ‘can’t put all of my eggs in one basket like I used to and then be upset about it.’
Jon Gosselin Hasn’t Talked to Kate in Years
While Jon Gosselin was spotted alone at the recent Kickz for Kids event, he wasn’t alone at the one graduation (for Hannah and Collin) he attended earlier this year – well, sort of. His ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, was also at the graduation, but the two didn’t cross paths and kept their distance from one another.
“Hannah invited Kate and… we saw each other, but there was a whole football field between us. I talked to Hannah and Collin before graduation to make sure that it was gonna be cordial,” Jon said of the encounter. And it appears even Hannah and Collin have a difficult relationship with their siblings.
In November 2022, Collin told Entertainment Tonight that he hadn’t spoken to any of his brothers and sisters (except Hannah) for 5-6 years. He admitted to ‘waiting for the day that they reach out’ and is choosing to ‘respect their space and their time and respect how they feel about everything.’
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As for Jon Gosselin, he’s continuing his career as a disc jockey (DJ) and is currently single – he was in a relationship with Colleen Conrad for roughly seven years, but the two separated in 2021. While he hopes to repair his relationship with his children, he’s not forcing anything and would rather let it happen naturally.
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