Kate Gosselin Posts Rare Photo Of Her Sextuplet Son As He Gets His Braces Off

Kate Gosselin is having another braces party, and this time the guest of honor is her sextuplet son Joel. The 15-year-old son of the Kate Plus 8 star and her ex-husband Jon Gosselin had his braces removed this week, just days after his birthday. Proud mom of eight Kate took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone as another set of braces for her brood bites the dust.

Kate Gosselin posted a photo of her teen son Joel as he smiled for the camera while surrounded by a feast of treats that are forbidden when wearing braces. The party spread included popcorn, chewy candy, gummy worms, licorice, and a special cake that depicted his smiling face made with licorice hair and Chiclets chewing gum teeth.

In the caption, Kate revealed that she is now down to only one child with braces. Based on a birthday photo Kate posted of four of her sextuplets to Instagram last week, the only Gosselin kid left with braces is 15-year-old Aeden.

The photo of Joel and last week’s photo of the four sextuplets currently living with her—Joel, Aeden, Leah, and Alexis—marks the first time in months that Kate Gosselin has posted photos of her kids to social media. Before the new photos of the sextuplets, Kate’s last post of her kids was in October when her twin daughters Mady and Cara turned 18.

Like everything Kate Gosselin posts, the brace-free photo of Joel was greeted with mixed commentary from her followers. While many fans praised the single mom for all she does for her kids, others called Kate out for her alleged estrangement from her son, Collin, and questioned why he never got braces like his siblings did.

This is not the first time Kate Gosselin has hosted a “braces off” party—or gotten backlash for it. According to The Daily Mail, when Kate’s sextuplet daughter Leah had her braces removed in 2017, the reality star posted photos of the then-13-year-old eating cake with an assortment of previously forbidden treats. Kate captioned the photo by noting that the braces parties are a “Gosselin tradition,” but one fan couldn’t help but ask the mom of eight, “How do u afford all of those ortho bills?”

Kate Gosselin has also been known to throw parties for her kids before they get braces. Back in 2012, Kate posted to Twitter to write that she was having a “braces on” party for one of her kids—likely Mady or Cara—who was getting braces put on the next day. Kate revealed that the menu included gummy fish, popcorn, and pretzels.

“Eating ALL contraband foods 1 last [time],” Kate wrote.

Kate Gosselin is set to appear on the new reality show Kate Plus Date, which premieres on TLC next month.