Nearly 14 years after breaking up with Kate Gosselin, the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star says his relationship with some of his kids remain distant. While Hannah, 18, and Collin, 18, live with dad, Jon’s six other children Madelyn, 22, Cara, 22, Aaden, 18, Alexis, 18, Leah, 18, and Joel, 18, remain in mom’s care.
But Jon is optimistic their bond can grow.
“Before, the kids living with Kate were under her thumb but now they are adults and going off to college or the military or whatever, I don’t have as much fear about reaching out to them,” he told The Sun in an interview published April 1. “There was so much angst between Kate and I and my kids are pleasers, they wanted to please their mom.”
While Jon said he always wanted to talk to all of his kids, “I didn’t want to put them in an awkward position.”
Back in 2007, Jon and Kate became household names when they allowed TLC cameras to document their life with their twins and sextuplets. After the couple filed for divorce in 2009, the show was renamed Kate Plus 8 and featured specials through 2015.
In the years following his divorce, Jon said he was unable to live his life to the fullest as the media followed his every move.
“I felt like I’ve been under a microscope my whole life,” he said, “I was always afraid to make a move—in business or any kind of life decision.”
Karen Alquist/TLC
But now, Jon is focused on doing more DJ work and enjoying a new chapter without legal battles.
“Now there’s no custody and no child support because the kids are adults and the cases are all closed,” he said. “It’s a weird feeling. I never really planned for it. It happened so fast the kids growing up. The time just slipped away.”
E! News has reached out to Kate for comment and hasn’t heard back.
