Jon Gosselin has a message for his 6 kids after over a decade of estrangement
‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’Credit: Laura Pedrick/TLCKey Points
Jon Gosselin is sharing an emotional message for his six estranged children.
The former reality star, who appeared on TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 with his ex-wife and their kids, says he has not spoken to several of his children “since before COVID.”
“I just want to know how their life is going,” Gosselin said, adding, “We’re perfect strangers now.”
Jon Gosselin is using the public sphere to reach out to his six estranged children.
The former reality star, whose life with ex-wife Kate Gosselin and their eight children was documented on the TLC series Jon & Kate Plus 8, has confirmed where he stands with the six children whom Kate was granted custody of.
“I haven’t talked to them,” Jon, 49, told Entertainment Tonight in an Oct. 23 interview. Referring to his 22-year-old daughter, he added, “I mean, I know Hannah [Gosselin] has. But I have not personally talked to them.”
Jon and Kate, who filed for divorce in 2009, are parents to twins Mady and Cara, now 26, and sextuplets Hannah, Collin, Aeden, Leah, Joel, and Alexis, all 22. All the children lived with Kate until 2018, when Hannah and Collin moved in with their father.
When asked on Friday if he would like to speak to his six now-estranged kids, Jon replied, “Of course I want to talk to them.”
Cara Gosselin, Kate Gosselin, and Mady GosselinCredit: Michael Loccisano/Getty
He then clarified that the desire to reconnect has nothing to do with “the book stuff,” referring son Collin’s new memoir. “I just want to know how their life is going,” he continued. “I mean, we’re perfect strangers now. It’s been a long time with Mady and Cara— about 13 years I’ve been estranged from them. I have no idea why. And then the other four, I haven’t seen them since before COVID, maybe.”
Jon then shared exactly what he would like to say to his six kids: “The message would be, I’ve tried to reach out to you publicly. In the early days [I] tried to reach out to you privately,” he noted. “I hope you understand that I still love you. I hope one day you reach out to me. And please read your brother’s book because I think that will explain a lot.”
Speaking as if to the children, he continued, “Be your own person. You are all adults now. Form your own opinions and try to take in as much information before you talk ill will or anything about anyone in this family.”
Jon is back in the news following the release of his son’s tell-all memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, in which Collin alleges that his mother was physically abusive toward him and forced him to sleep in a locked basement. Kate has denied all of his accusations and suggested that he was struggling with mental health issues while under her care, which he has denied in turn.
Jon Gosselin with Hannah Gosselin and Collin GosselinCredit: Courtesy of Jon Gosselin
Collin has stated that he is only in touch with his sister, Hannah, but earlier this month told ABC News’ Juju Chang that he “would love to” reconnect with the rest of his siblings.
Offering a message of his own to his six estranged siblings, Collin said, “No matter what’s happened or what was said, no matter how things look from the outside, I love you. I always have and always will.”
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
On the heels of Collin’s memoir, Netflix has announced a documentary untangling the story of the Gosselin family following the end of Jon & Kate Plus 8.
“The new documentary pieces together the story from the perspectives of the children who grew up on camera, the adults who built a brand around them and the audience that couldn’t look away,” stated an announcement from Netflix’s Tudum, noting that Jon, Collin and Hannah will each be interviewed.
Source: Entertainment
Post a Comment