Twenty years in the past, in Could 2006, new dad and mom Jon and Kate Gosselin invited the Discovery Well being channel into their residence for an hourlong TV particular titled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. The next 12 months, the channel produced a follow-up particular that includes the dad and mom, twins, and sextuplets, and three months later, an everyday collection began taking pictures. By the point TLC picked up Jon & Kate Plus 8 in 2008, the household and the present had develop into a cultural phenomenon, not solely showing on TV weekly but in addition on speak reveals, in tabloids, and on-line. However like many desirable reality-TV topics of the early 2000s, the household was ultimately doomed to years of public estrangement, disagreements, and pressure spilling offscreens.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 supplied a glimpse into the Gosselins’ distinctive residence life, wherein heartwarming scenes of Jon and Kate making breakfast for his or her eight kids without delay and shepherding them right into a minivan occurred each day. The present was interesting partially due to the seemingly healthful household illustration, however it additionally make clear a few of the ugliest components of co-parenting and marriage, together with a power-dynamic wrestle between Kate and Jon. Folks might inform from the soar that Kate was the extra domineering and assertive of the pair, whereas Jon introduced laid-back nonchalance. After ten years of marriage, the couple’s relationship took a bitter flip, they usually determined to separate. The present was rebranded Kate Plus 8 after the couple’s very public divorce in 2009, solely to be canceled two years later. Now no matter fondness for the present was nonetheless lingering has been tainted by secrets and techniques revealed within the new memoir Within the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Actuality of My Childhood from Collin Gosselin, one of many now-22-year-old sextuplets.
In his e-book, accessible now, Collin opens up about his expertise rising up on tv and the trauma he endured in childhood, together with particulars of his mom’s alleged abuse. The household has been out of the general public eye, break up up, and estranged for a few years now, however this new wave of drama has reignited curiosity — Netflix has even introduced an upcoming documentary revisiting the present and its affect, that includes interviews with Jon, Collin, and his sister Hannah.
Right here’s all the things you might want to know in regards to the Gosselins, then and now.
When TV producers discovered the Gosselin household of ten in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, that they had been struggling financially. The couple had gotten pregnant twice by means of fertility therapies, as soon as with a pair of twins born in 2000 and 4 years later with sextuplets. They made the proper topics. 5 seasons and greater than 100 episodes centered on the household’s day journeys, home-renovation initiatives, and birthday celebrations — till 2009, when Jon and Kate’s divorce derailed the collection.
Kate continued the present, rebranded as Kate Plus 8. Nonetheless, the solo present didn’t generate the identical quantity of curiosity or viewership, and behind the scenes, authorized battles over custody and scrutiny associated to little one labor raised tensions. After 50 extra episodes, the present was canceled in 2011.
Throughout its run, Jon & Kate Plus 8’s Monday night time episodes often reached thousands and thousands of viewers. In a 2009 retrospective in honor of Jon & Kate Plus 8’s last episode, Leisure Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker wrote, “I began watching the present throughout its first season. I used to be only a informal viewer; the collection didn’t have a season go on my DVR. But when I used to be residence or in a lodge room and an episode got here on, I’d discover that I’d all the time find yourself watching all the factor, as a result of the collection was (exhausting as that is to consider now) fully charming.”
“I bear in mind a lot of the episodes they confirmed this final night time in a fast montage, whether or not it was household film night time or the clan’s once-annual stroll to the native Fourth of July parade, the little ones waddling alongside behind Jon and Kate like ducklings,” Tucker continued. “The youngsters have been cute and humorous, and the interactions between Jon and Kate appeared unguarded, contemporary, usually amusing, and generally provocative.”
In June 2009, Jon and Kate’s separation-announcement episode reached a record-breaking 10.6 million viewers. Their subsequent messy divorce and grueling 14-year-long custody battle have been broadly lined in tabloids.
Jon and Kate’s break up upended the household’s dynamic, ending the unique present and requiring the kids to decide on sides. Regardless of the household’s lasting estrangement, for essentially the most half, all of them lead comparatively regular lives immediately.
Throughout and straight following the present, matriarch Kate printed 4 books, landed a celeb spot on Dancing With the Stars, and appeared on the quilt of numerous magazines. In 2019, she additionally acquired a TLC relationship present, Kate Plus Date, which aired for a single season.
On the house entrance, Kate had major custody of six of the kids. In 2021, she bought the household’s residence and 23-acre Pennsylvania property and moved to North Carolina. Since then, she has returned to a profession in nursing however maintains public appearances by means of Instagram and TikTok, the place she posts often. In 2025, she additionally revealed through Instagram that she’s been relationship her former bodyguard, Steve Neild, with whom Jon accused her of getting an affair. The 2 have a canine.
Within the years after Jon made back-to-back headlines with dishonest rumors, the divorce, and the custody battle, his love life and relationship along with his kids continued to be his declare to fame. Following the Gosselins’ public break up, Jon (32 on the time) briefly dated RHONY’s Hailey Glassman (then 22). Not too long ago, Glassman mentioned on an episode of RHONY that their relationship knowledgeable her relationship practices and relationships transferring ahead (she’s proudly in a self-proclaimed lavender marriage). After publicly splitting from longtime girlfriend Colleen Conrad in 2021, Jon married Stephanie Lebo in 2025. Solely two of his youngsters attended the marriage.
Jon reportedly has not had contact with most of his kids for a few years, although he received custody of Collin and Hannah in 2018 and the 2 lived with him full time till they turned 18. Although he has reportedly thought of making a reality-TV comeback, Jon at present makes a residing as a celeb DJ.
Twins Mady and Cara selected to reside with their mom till they each left residence for school. Mady graduated from Syracuse College with a level in textual research and film-and-screen research, whereas Cara studied arithmetic and economics at Fordham College. Each women have principally maintained low profiles, although Mady confirmed in 2023 that she and Collin don’t communicate.
4 of the sextuplets selected to reside with their mom following the break up and reportedly haven’t had contact with their father in years. In 2021, the 4 of them moved with Kate to North Carolina, the place all of them graduated from highschool. Now they largely lead non-public lives: Leah posts movies of herself on TikTok, however in any other case, glimpses of them are primarily seen by means of Kate’s social-media pages.
Hannah is likely one of the two sextuplets who selected to reside with their father, although she’s remained on talking phrases together with her siblings. Whereas she has stood by her brother Collin towards their mom previously, Hannah is now actively trying to fix her relationship with Kate. She’s in her senior 12 months at York School of Pennsylvania.
Whereas the present was filming, Collin usually rebelled towards the manufacturing by appearing indifferent somewhat than performing for the cameras. Based on Collin, his resistance made him a menace to his mom’s present and picture, so she began to focus on him. He claims he was handled in a different way than his siblings, was usually bodily separated from the others throughout meals and custodial visits, and was pulled from faculty to be homeschooled by Kate. At age 11, Collin was medicated and institutionalized for mental-health and behavioral points, and he remained on the facility for almost two years. Following his launch, he went to reside along with his dad and Hannah.
He enlisted within the Marine Corps after graduating highschool and began recruit coaching in 2023 however was discharged shortly after primarily based on his document of institutionalization. He later obtained an impartial neuropsychology analysis that reportedly discovered he doesn’t have autism, bipolar dysfunction, or obsessive-compulsive dysfunction. Since 2023, he has vocally claimed he had a traumatic childhood and resents his mom in consequence. Collin beforehand mentioned he hadn’t seen or spoken to most of his siblings since 2016. Nonetheless, he just lately mentioned he hopes he’ll get by means of to them along with his memoir.
Picture: TLC
On October 13, Collin launched a memoir alleging years of emotional and bodily abuse from his mom. Among the many most regarding allegations are his claims that Kate for 2 years compelled him to sleep and spend important components of the day alone in a darkish, unfinished basement; yanked him by the ear till it turned purple and swollen; as soon as zip-tied his arms and ft; and medicated and institutionalized him for years with out visitation.
On his e-book tour, Collin additionally mentioned his estrangement from most of his siblings and the damaging results of kid fame on his life. In an interview with ABC Information, Collin mentioned, “I used to be troublesome as a result of I used to be the one one out of my siblings who pushed again towards filming and that entire façade that my mother spent years constructing.” He continued, “The reality is that my siblings and I have been being overworked; we have been being exploited. There have been simply no adults to say, ‘Possibly this isn’t okay for youngsters.’”
The memoir and the press surrounding it have led individuals to reevaluate the once-beloved present that allegedly missed these horrors and represented the household as image excellent.
Since Collin first publicly accused his mom of abuse in 2023, Kate has been steadfast in her denial of the allegations, citing her son’s “a number of psychiatric diagnoses,” “distorted notion of actuality,” and “historical past of unpredictable habits and violent tendencies.” Nonetheless, because the launch of Collin’s memoir, Kate has but to make any official statements. To this point, her facet of the story can solely be pieced collectively from obscure interactions in her TikTok feedback part. In response to at least one fan’s remark, Kate wrote, “I do know rational logical ppl or anybody who has handled psychological sickness understands what’s occurring right here :)” She additionally preferred a fan remark that mentioned, “He’ll remorse all of this sometime, however so long as he’s inspired and enabled by different dysfunctional and mentally in poor health individuals, nothing will change.” She responded, “Precisely! I had nothing to do with it, apart from consent as a result of it was medically essential.”
Jon has publicly expressed help for Collin and his allegations towards Kate. “I couldn’t be extra pleased with my son’s heartbreaking memoir and his mission to assist different victims of abuse,” Jon instructed Us Journal. “Additionally, let me be very clear: In the event you proceed to falsely label my son Collin as ‘mentally in poor health,’ you can be held accountable … Repeating false claims about his psychological well being is damaging to his popularity, his credibility, and his future …The times of utilizing psychological well being to discredit and silence my son are over.”
In a 2023 episode of Vice TV’s Darkish Facet of the 2000s, Hannah backed up components of Collin’s claims, saying, “He can be separated from us. Like, he wouldn’t get to come back and play exterior with us. He would eat dinner at completely different instances than us.”
Following the airing of that episode, Mady made a uncommon assertion through her Instagram Story, taking a robust stance towards her brother. She wrote, “I don’t owe my allegiance to any individual(s) who has bodily threatened me and each member of my speedy household (some incidents as latest as final 12 months) … For me, there isn’t any additional dialog available about rebuilding relationships with anybody in my life after reaching the purpose of bodily violence and hate speech. I can not communicate any additional on why Collin has finished this stuff, simply that I’ve witnessed them.”
Not one of the Gosselin siblings have made public statements following the discharge of Collin’s memoir.
The daddy-son duo, together with Colin’s sister Hannah, might be featured in a documentary on Netflix later this 12 months. On October 21, the streamer introduced plans to revisit the household drama in a documentary from producers Mike Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason, who labored on Dying of the Pastor’s Spouse and American Homicide: Gabby Petito.
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