Jon Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8 fame says that while battling COVID-19 earlier this year, none of his kids living with Kate Gosselin reached out to check if he was ok.
Jon appeared on an episode of Dr. Oz recently where he explained the situation, telling the celebrity medic, “I didn’t hear from them.”
Jon has had a strained relationship with his kids for quite some time now, after things began going downhill when he and ex-wife divorced.
The pair’s kids Hannah and Collin live with their dad, while the rest of their sextuplets live with mom, Kate. Their twins, Cara and Mady, both attend different colleges away from home.
Jon can’t reach out to his children ‘for legal reasons’
Some of the reasons why Jon’s kids allegedly neglected to reach out may be legal in nature. Jon said, “There’s just a disconnect, whether it’s parent alienation or … I can’t really reach out to them and there’s legalities. I can’t, like, go to where they move. It would be trespassing.”
When battling the coronavirus, Jon was taken to the emergency room by his girlfriend Colleen Conrad’s daughter Jordan, 21, after running a fever of 104.8 degrees. But despite his claims that his kids didn’t reach out, he used his interview with Dr. Oz to make an impassioned plea to them.
Jon continued, “I guess my plight to them, or what I really want to say is, ‘I love you, my door is always open, you’re welcome anytime, there’s no regrets or hard feelings or any of those negative things. You can always come see me or come see Hannah and Collin.’”
Jon’s son Collin accused him of abuse last year
Jon was investigated by child protective services last year after his son, Collin, made abuse allegations against him, however the investigation was later dropped. Jon’s rep said of the claims: “Jon has never abused Collin. No charges have been filed against him and there’s no ongoing Children & Youth Services investigation.”
“Collin has endured severe trauma,” they added. “Jon is a loving father who has worked hard to ensure that his son gets the support and help he needs.”
Jon and his ex, Kate divorced in 2009 after 10 years of marriage. The couple shares eight children: twins Cara and Mady, and sextuplets Leah, Joel, Hannah, Collin, Aaden, and Alexis. When Jon ended up leaving the show, he did not want their children filmed any longer.
Jon told Dr. Oz last year of ex-wife Kate, “She did not want to be married anymore… because I didn’t want to film anymore. I wasn’t part of the business model anymore.” He continued, “The network thought I was nuts. They actually hired me a therapist and a psychiatrist because I would give up millions of dollars not to film and just go live a normal life.”
Cheating rumors swirled, and the couple were involved in a messy, public divorce battle. Kate recently sold the family’s $1.1 million home where they last filmed for TLC.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 no longer films and Kate Plus 8 is currently on hiatus on TLC.