Jon Gosselin Accuses Kate Of ‘Parental Alienation’ As He Hopes To Reconcile With His Kids
Jon Gosselin said he does not ‘have as much fear about reaching out to’ his estranged kids now that they’re legal adults, but said he hopes they decide to contact him.
Jon Gosselin, 46, accused his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, 48, of alienating their kids from him while they were “under her thumb” following their highly publicized and tense 2009 divorce in a new interview with The US Sun. In the April 1 chat, he also spoke candidly about his thoughts on reconciling with them. “Before, the kids living with Kate were under her thumb but now they are adults and going off to college or the military or whatever, I don’t have as much fear about reaching out to them,” he said. Avoiding putting the blame on the six kids he lost contact with, he added, “There was so much angst between Kate and I and my kids are pleasers, they wanted to please their mom.”
“I always wanted to talk to all of my kids but I didn’t want to put them in an awkward position because Kate didn’t want them talking to me,” he continued. “I didn’t do parental alienation on my side but she definitely did on her side, but now they are adults they may not be influenced as much by her, and management and all those things.” He added that his “door has always been open to them” and that he hopes his kids decided to reach out now that they are legal adults.
The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 stars share 18-year-old sextuplets – Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, and Leah – as well as twin daughters, Mady and Cara, 22. Collin and Hannah chose to live with Jon in Pennsylvania as teens, while the other six remained in their mother’s care. The six that lived with Kate barely continued a relationship with Jon, who has been open about his situation over the years.
“I hope one day maybe they just knock on my door or maybe drop me a line or text me. Something like that,” he admitted to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY in 2021. “I kind of just have to hold on to hope and not give up and let them know that I love them and I’m here no matter what. I’m not going to give up but I can’t dwell on the whys and hows,” he reflected. “I just have to focus on getting myself right and the ones that are here and doing the best that I can and being centered and being in a good relationship and focusing on myself as well.”
Unfortunately, at that point, it had been a “long” time since he had last spoken to his sextuplets, according to a person close to the former TLC star. They also never reached out o him when he was hospitalized with COVID-19. “Jon wasn’t surprised that none of the [other 6] reached out when he had COVID,” the source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY in 2021. “He hopes to be able to see the other kids again soon.”
Jon revealed in March that he received his last child support payment from Kate and that he was relieved to be done with that chapter. “I’m in a pretty euphoric place right now. It’s been 14 years of court and now it is finally over,” he told The U.S. Sun. “Domestic Relations wanted to have a hearing, which they do every three years to reevaluate income and I just called my attorney and said ‘Please, let’s just put this to bed.’ So we’ve both signed termination agreements over the two remaining open child support cases, which means it’s done. It’s over.”