Jon Gosselin Says TLC Narrative Deepened Rift With His Children

Gosselin said he has missed milestones including graduations and proms, describing himself as “alienated from all that stuff.” He said the estrangement had lasted close to 10 years and that he did not know basic details about the twins’ lives, such as whether they had partners, what their favorite colors were or whether they drove. He said he had been an active parent before being “cut out” of their lives.

Jon and his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, have eight children: twins Mady and Cara, and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel, born in May 2004. Jon said he had been kept in the dark since the children were 13, describing the subsequent communication as “silence.” He alleged that Kate told the children he did not want to see them and said TLC, which aired “Jon & Kate Plus 8” for more than a decade, also contributed to their view of him. These are Jon’s claims; the account does not include a response from Kate or the network.

He also expressed distress that his children had become estranged from one another, particularly after Collin described losing contact with his siblings as he grew older. Collin recently wrote about alleged abuse by his mother in his book, “In the Shadow of Eight.” Jon called the siblings’ separation “gut-wrenching” and said he hoped they would reunite, describing them as “womb mates.”