How Kate Gosselin Really Lost So Much Money

Kate Gosselin rose to fame when her family appeared on a reality television series called "Jon & Kate Plus 8." The show followed the lives of her and her then-husband Jon Gosselin as they navigated life with twin daughters and fairly newborn sextuplets. Following the Gosselin's divorce in 2009, TLC altered the name of the reality show to "Kate Plus 8," and continued filming the family through 2017. Aside from earning money and royalties from her years on cable with her kids, Kate also inked deals to appear on various other shows such as "The Apprentice" and "Dancing With the Stars," both of which earned her a paycheck. She's also landed a couple of book deals, which she has also earned money from. 

Formerly a nurse, Kate put the majority of her eggs in the reality TV basket. Since TLC canceled the most recent rendition of the family's reality show, things have looked much different for Kate, who moved out of Pennsylvania and into a home in North Carolina. In September, a source told the New York Post that Kate "is very happy and at peace" in her new space. Kate has sort of melted into the private sphere in the time since. She's taken herself off of social media completely and doesn't interact with fans on Instagram or Twitter. And despite years of reality television under her belt, Kate doesn't seem to have much of a fortune to her name. So, where did all her money go?

Kate Gosselin has earned millions over the course of her career, but she has never really lived like a millionaire. Fans who have watched her on television know that she used to live in a very big house and drive around in a huge van that could fit her entire brood, but she was always pretty frugal, especially when it came to shopping sales. During an appearance on Bethenny Frankel's talk show in 2013, Kate revealed that she put the "majority" of the money that she had earned away so that her kids could go to college. "I use coupons, we don't wear top brands. Those things to me really aren't overly important, but college, school and their house, where they live is important," she explained.

These days, Kate doesn't share many details about how she's doing financially, but she is still doing her best to earn a living by way of reality television. In 2019, for example, she inked a deal with TLC to appear on a show called "Kate Plus Date." And while some people may have enjoyed Kate's cynical way of dating, things didn't work out for her on a romantic level and the show didn't do so hot either; it was canceled by the network after six episodes. In 2023, she appeared on "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test" though she self-eliminated in the very first episode.

Kate Gosselin could go back to nursing, which is what some people have suspected she might do in order to earn a living. With all of her kids out of high school, Kate could be on to her next chapter. In 2021, The U.S. Sun reported that Kate actually got her nursing license in North Carolina. In January 2022, InTouch seemed to confirm that Kate is indeed back in the healthcare field. "Returning to nursing isn't easy for Kate because of her fame. It really went to her head. She hadn't worked as a nurse since she began filming the show [Jon & Kate Plus 8] 15 years ago! But she has to do what she has to do," a source told the outlet. 

Of course, it's entirely possible that the world will see Kate back on reality television in the future, but it seems like she's really trying to live her life out of the spotlight in the aftermath of fame.

Technically, all of Kate Gosselin's children are adults now. As of May 2023, their oldest daughters are 22 years old. The six youngest kids are 19. So any future child support payments for Kate are basically out of the question. Still, Kate believes she's entitled to over $100,000 in back child support from Jon Gosselin. Back in August 2022, after Jon accused her of illegally accessing money from their children's trust funds, Kate accused Jon of defaulting on his parental obligation. "He clearly owes her $132,875 in child support, not counting interest, from the day it was entered," shared Kate's legal representative with Us Weekly.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Kate will ever get that money without a fight. Weeks later, a source spoke with Us Weekly and took up for Jon. "Jon owes no money to Kate for child support," shared the source. "There is proof in legal documents from June 2018 that show the Superior Court of PA quashed Kate's appeal for Jon to pay her $132K. They quashed the whole thing so he never owed her any money." They also claimed, "Kate stole large sums of money from her kids and Jon revealed the details in hopes that Kate would have even the slightest conscience and return the money to the kids."