Tragic Details About Jon And Kate Gosselin's 8 Kids

Jon And Kate Gosselin were catapulted into the spotlight with the 2007 premiere of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8." Folks loved getting a glimpse into their everyday life, and interest barely waned as they stayed on the air for five seasons. Indeed, the series' season 5 premiere broke a record for the network, becoming TLC's most-watched episode ever. Then, halfway through the season, it all fell apart as the pair revealed they were calling it quits.

Kate filed for divorce in June 2009, and what followed was a messy, headline-making split. As the exes battled each other over a myriad of issues (they couldn't even agree on the reason why they got divorced!), their kids were essentially forced to pick sides. Initially, Kate received custody of the twins and sextuplets and continued filming for TLC as the show morphed into "Kate Plus Eight." The new format ran through 2011, but by then, fans had turned on Kate as many viewers began hating on the mom of eight. Not only did her public persona change, but Kate's relationship with her children evolved drastically over the years, as did Jon's. But while it may have been hard to be Jon and Kate at this time, it was even harder to be one of their children. Here are all the tragic details about Jon and Kate's eight kids.

Following Jon and Kate Gosselin's 2009 split, Kate received full custody of the couple's eight kids, sparking decades of custody-related legal proceedings. Throughout their parents' drama-filled divorce, the young Gosselins were forced to choose sides, and twins Mady and Cara sided with their mom. As tensions escalated, they cut all ties with dad Jon, who told The U.S. Sun in 2023 that he hadn't talked to his eldest kids since 2014. "I periodically text Mady and Cara to see if I get a response, and at this point, I've never heard from them," he told the outlet, revealing the sad reality of their strained relationship. "Sadly, I am not attending Mady and Cara's college graduations."

However, Mady and Cara said the issues stemmed from their father and his lack of respect for them and their family. Speaking with People in 2016, Cara refrained from going into too many details, musing, "I wouldn't even know what to say about him." Mady, though, was more forthcoming. "He makes it seem like we're being kept from him, which is insane," she slammed. "He should maybe spend some time thinking about why we don't want to see him." She criticized Jon for talking negatively about them in the press and seethed, "He doesn't even know us – how can he dare to talk about us?"

Of the eight Gosselin siblings, only Collin and Hannah chose to live with their dad rather than their mom, Kate. Hannah was the first to move in with Jon in 2016 after he gained custody of her, but while it was the right decision, it wasn't necessarily easy. As Hannah later told ET in 2022, moving out of her mom's house meant saying goodbye to everything she knew. "It was a difficult decision leaving my siblings, I did not want to be separated from them," she admitted. However, she explained she had always been closer to her dad, claiming Kate failed to give her much attention growing up. What's more, she alleged, "There was unfair treatment in my mom's house."

In addition to leaving her brothers and sisters, Hannah had to start over when it came to her school and daily routine. Jon celebrated her conviction to do so in 2018, posting to Instagram on her first day of eighth grade. "I admire your bravery starting fresh!!!" he cheered. "I'm so happy you integrated yourself into the community, you made friends all summer and now you will grow and graduate with them." Despite the bad blood, Hannah assured ET she still texts her mom and siblings regularly.

Two years after he received custody of Hannah, Jon Gosselin was granted full custody of Collin in 2018. The decision came after Collin spent two years in two different mental health institutions. A 12-year-old Collin enrolled in Fairmount Behavioral Health System's inpatient program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2016 when mom Kate had custody of him. Speaking to People at the time, she claimed she had no choice but to send her son away. "Collin has special needs," she told the mag. "[There's] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things."

In 2022, Colin shared his side of the story, telling ET that he and his mom had never been close and that her assessment of his mental health had been incorrect. "It's unfortunate that that's how my mom, you know, phrased me as a person," he said. Collin further opened up about the experience in 2023 in Vice TV's "Dark Side of the 2000s" series. "Being in an institution, it took a toll on me mentally," he admitted, per Us Weekly. "I was confused, I was lost."

Meanwhile, Jon claimed he had no idea where his son was until Collin figured out how to send him a letter from inside the institution. Jon told Vice TV, per InTouch, that he then spent $1 million to build a successful legal case proving his son should be released into his custody.

Collin Gosselin held nothing back as he used Vice TV's "Dark Side of the 2000s" documentary to air his family's dirty laundry. Speaking of his mom's decision to send him to Fairmount Behavioral Health Institute in 2016, Collin alleged it had nothing to do with his mental health. Instead, he accused his mom of trying to protect her reputation and cover her bad behavior. According to Collin, he told some of his teachers that Kate was being abusive at home, and that was what prompted his mother's decision. "I was starting to tell people what was going on at home and, you know, she caught wind of that and had to put me somewhere where I wouldn't be able to get the secrets out," he told viewers, per Page Six.

While Kate has disputed those claims, Hannah backed up her brother in the documentary. "He would be separated from us," she recalled. "He would not get to come and play outside with us; He would eat dinner at different times than us." While she and Collin acknowledged that he didn't always behave correctly, Hannah maintained that a different course of action should have been taken. "I don't think effort was made in the home to help him learn what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is not acceptable," she mused.

Following Collin, Hannah, and Jon Gosselin's involvement in the 2023 Vice TV documentary "Dark Side of the 2000s," Mady publicly clapped back at the comments made by her estranged father and siblings. She took particular issue with Collin blaming mom Kate for his nonexistent relationship with most of his siblings. "I think my mom kind of drove a social barrier between us," he told viewers, per Page Six, noting he hadn't talked to his brothers and sisters in almost 10 years. "She told them the story one way, and, obviously, I see the story a different way," he alleged.

Well, Mady wasn't too happy with those claims, so she pushed back at Collin. Taking to Instagram Stories (via InTouch), she told followers she was forced to respond after receiving countless hateful comments. Painting her brother in a negative light, she accused Collin of being anything but the victim. "I do not owe my allegiance to any person(s) who has physically threatened me and every member of my immediate family (some incidents as recent as last year)," she slammed. Mady also accused him of being hateful towards others, writing, "I will never allow someone who has exhibited hateful and even violent behavior toward others based [on] their racial identity, gender identity, or religious beliefs to be in my life."

In addition to feuding with his family, Collin Gosselin went through another harrowing ordeal in 2022 when he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. An 18-year-old Collin told ET he had fallen asleep at the wheel on his way to work and totaled his car. "Next thing I know, car was flipped and I'm just, like, sliding upside down across traffic," he shared, encouraging everyone always to wear a seatbelt. Adding insult to injury, Collin later claimed that his mother never reached out to check on him despite the seriousness of the crash.

However, Collin may not have been telling the whole story. According to court records seen by The Ashley in 2023, Collin was being sued by a Pennsylvania grocery store and its insurance company, as they alleged the accident wasn't a mere mistake. They claimed Collin was driving recklessly, speeding and swerving, when he slammed into their tractor-trailer, causing "substantial damage," which they wanted him to pay for. The outlet also discovered that Collin was being sued for causing another car accident. That one occurred in 2021 and reportedly left the other driver with multiple injuries, including a sprained knee and shoulder.

While Mady and Collin Gosselin have regularly made headlines as they've publicly sided with their dad, the other four Gosselin sextuplets have chosen to keep a much lower profile. However, just because they haven't publicly shaded anyone doesn't mean they have a positive relationship with their dad. Jon told ET in 2023 that he doesn't speak to six of his eight kids. "I haven't talked to Joel, Aaden, Leah, and Alexis for five years," he said. Jon claimed he's tried reaching out but has had no luck connecting with any of his younger kids. "They're adults now, so, I mean, I don't even know their phone numbers or stuff," he alleged and blamed his messy divorce from Kate for breaking their relationship. "[Until they] stop believing in one side of the story, I can't do anything else," he slammed.

Jon shared a similar story with The U.S. Sun, saying his relationship with Alexis, Aaden, Leah, and Joel pretty much ended in 2018 and that he's missed most of their big milestones because of it. "Sadly, I won't be attending the other kids' high school graduation," he told the mag. He then blamed them yet again, adding, "I've tried for years for any interaction with any of my other kids, but nothing yet."