One Gosselin sibling just launched his own business, while another is building a beauty brand. Two have remained publicly distant from their father for years. And recent photos show only part of the once inseparable sextuplet group.
The Gosselin children are no longer toddlers in matching outfits β they’re now adults making their own decisions, and in some cases, keeping their distance. The twins are 24 and approaching 25, while the sextuplets will turn 21 this spring. But recent photos, business launches, and legal records suggest that not all of them have taken the same path.
The once-unified family seen on “Jon & Kate Plus 8” has quietly fractured over the years. Some siblings remain close to Kate, others live with Jon, and several have chosen not to speak publicly at all. Behind the scenes, a mix of estrangement, financial disputes, and personal milestones has defined the family’s life after reality TV.
On June 22, 2009, Kate and Jon Gosselin officially filed for divorce in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania β the same day they announced their separation during a special episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”
At the time, the show had been chronicling their daily life as parents to eight children: twins Mady and Cara, and sextuplets Aaden, Joel, Alexis, Leah, Collin, and Hannah. In a joint decision, the couple revealed their plans to live separately while taking turns staying in the family home to reduce disruption for the children.
Kate released a public statement that evening, explaining her decision to initiate legal proceedings. “Over the course of this weekend, Jon’s activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children,” she stated.
She also revealed that her goal was to resolve the matter amicably and that, above all, her priority remained their eight children. Jon responded with a separate statement, expressing disappointment over the divorce but maintaining that his role as a father would not change.
“Our kids are still my number one priority,” he said. “I love them and want to make sure they stay happy, healthy, and safe.” He also acknowledged that the marriage had been in a difficult place for months. The divorce papers were sealed, under local court policy, and details of the filing were not made public.
However, the separation marked a turning point in the family’s story, both on and off camera. With the marriage officially over, production continued β only this time, with a new title and a single parent at the center.
Following the divorce, TLC rebranded the series under a new title β “Kate Plus 8” β shifting the focus solely to Kate as a single mother. The show continued to document her life with the children, including travel episodes, birthday celebrations, and daily routines.
It ran intermittently until 2017, extending the family’s presence on television for nearly a decade. By 2015, Kate spoke openly about how life had changed since the split, calling the five years following the divorce “the greatest five years of my life.
During a girls’ night out in Mexico for her 40th birthday, she told a friend, “My ideas haven’t changed, my parenting hasn’t changed. I’m just doing it alone now.” She also made it clear that discussing Jon publicly was off-limits.
“Don’t talk to me about ex situations,” she said, then went on to express frustration over persistent questions about her dating life. Though she wasn’t opposed to the idea of dating again, she noted that it wasn’t something she was actively pursuing at the time.Still, she remained hopeful that she might eventually find someone, a desire that would later be explored in a spinoff series. While Kate adjusted to single motherhood on-screen, challenges behind the scenes were quietly unfolding β especially when it came to one of the sextuplets.
In 2016, Kate Gosselin confirmed that her son Collin, then 12, had been enrolled in a live-in program for children with special needs. She said the decision followed years of difficulty and was made with his long-term well-being in mind. At the time, Collin had already been away from home for an extended period.
“Collin has special needs,” Kate said. “There’s a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things.” She said the entire family had been affected by the situation, and that she had often felt alone in handling it.
Although the decision was difficult, Kate expressed confidence in the choice. She described it as an investment in Collin’s future and said she found comfort in knowing he was where he needed to be. For more than two years, Collin remained in the program, away from his seven siblings and both parents.
In 2018, Jon petitioned the court for custody, stating that Collin wanted to live with him following his release from the program. Jon was awarded temporary sole custody after Kate failed to appear at the scheduled hearing. “It was just easier for the transition[…] and he wanted to live with me,” Jon said later that year.
Around the same time, Jon confirmed that another of the sextuplets, Hannah, was also living with him full time. He shared a close relationship with both Collin and Hannah, though the same could not be said for the rest of his children.
Aaden, Joel, Alexis, and Leah remained with Kate. The twins, Mady and Cara, had been publicly clear about their decision to distance themselves from their father. Over time, those private family divisions became more visible to the public.
