Jon and Kate Gosselin, the parents of sextuplets and a set of twins, were divorced nearly a decade ago. Still, they are no closer to setting aside their differences for a peaceful co-parenting relationship. Their famous TLC reality television series, Jon & Kate Plus 8 , won over the hearts of many Americans when it first aired in 2007. Everyone wanted to see how the seemingly normal and relatable parents would attempt to handle eight young children while living in the spotlight.
Unfortunately, their high-stress lives and the incessant public criticism they received would contribute to their separation and eventual divorce in 2009. They continue to criticize one another in the media for their individual parenting styles, according to Entertainment Cheat Sheet .
Fourteen-year-old Collin Gosselin is the sextuplet whose name has most frequently been in the media this past year. Kate has been outspoken about her struggles with Collin throughout the years, finding him the most difficult of her children to rein in. In 2016, she finally responded to questioning about where the child was after he’d been absent from her reality series, Kate Plus 8 .
“Collin has special needs. [There’s] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things.”
Kate went on to discuss the stress Collin’s behavioral issues had placed on the entire family. Unable to cope with him on her own, she sent him away to a facility where he could receive the treatment he needed. Jon was very vocal about his disapproval of Collin being sent away and denied Kate’s earlier claims.
“He is not on any spectrum of special needs,” he said.
Jon Gosselin says ex-wife Kate a “trigger” for their son Collin in custody documents https://t.co/ygkqK5zuxo
— Rebecka Schumann (@RebeckaSchumann) February 14, 2019
Jon believes that Kate wasn’t cooperating with Collin’s treatment plan and instead made his behavior worse. Earlier this year he was awarded temporary primary custody of Collin after Kate failed to appear in court for a hearing. Jon’s legal team issued a statement about their reasoning behind fighting for full custody.
“It would not be in the best interests of the minor child…to have independent time with mother or to have mother share legal custody of the minor child because mother has not cooperated with the child’s treatment and is a ‘trigger’ for the minor child.”
Collin now lives full time with Jon and his girlfriend, Colleen Conrad. His sister, Hannah, also opted to live with her father. Meanwhile, twins Maddy and Cara, and the remaining sextuplets live with Kate. The twins sided with their mother following the separation and have not been in contact with Jon for years.
