Kate Gosselin: A Closer Look At The Reality TV Star's Life
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When "Jon and Kate Plus 8" first premiered on Discovery Health, it garnered tons of attention from people who were curious to know about the family dynamics of such a large household. 2007 was a big year for the Gosselin family, because it was the year reality TV cameras started following them around to capture their every move. According to Time, the show eventually moved over to TLC, where it received even more positive feedback from a much larger audience. In fact, the family as a whole was able to pull in a dedicated fan base of loyal viewers while the show was still airing.
The union between Kate (a Caucasian woman) and Jon (a Korean American man) opened the door to conversations about society's progress toward a more open-minded view of interracial marriage. What makes their relationship even more interesting is the fact that the couple welcomed eight children into the world together.
Jon and Kate have twin daughters named Cara and Mady, and sextuplets named Leah, Aaden, Alexis, Hannah, Joel, and Collin. At this point in time, the family's reality TV show is over — and so is Kate's marriage to Jon. These are some of the things reality TV fans have never known about Kate or her intriguing life after the cameras stopped rolling.
Her divorce from Jon was riddled with rumors of infidelity
After 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate decided to get a divorce. Their marriage officially came to an abrupt end in 2009. According to People, the shocking split happened due to rumors of infidelity and cheating. Interestingly enough, Jon and Kate decided to renew their vows during their ninth year of marriage, just a year before calling it quits. Kate is the one who ultimately filed for divorce. They let their viewers in on the heartbreaking situation during an hour-long special episode.
Separately, Kate released a statement opening up about the divorce. According to the New York Post, she said, "Over the course of this weekend, Jon's activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children. While there are reasons why it was appropriate and necessary for me to initiate this proceeding, I do not wish to discuss those reasons at this time, in the hope that all issues will be resolved amicably between Jon and myself. As always, my first priority remains our children."
Following the divorce, Jon entered into a long-term relationship with a woman named Colleen Conrad that lasted about four years before they broke up.
She starred in a failed dating show after the divorce
After Kate and Jon's marriage fell apart, she wasn't ready to throw in the towel on the prospect of finding true love just yet. Kate decided to star in a reality TV dating show to pursue her perfect match. Unfortunately, "Kate Plus Date" ended up being both a failure and a flop. She didn't find love, and the ratings were abysmal. According to Distractify, the TLC spinoff focused on Kate doing her best to navigate the dating world after a public and messy divorce — but viewers didn't seem very interested.
Reality Titbit explains that the first season premiered in 2019. Kate enlisted advice from professional dating experts and relationship coaches about how to connect with the right person. They suggested she enjoy a variety of playful experiences with her dates. Kate took that advice to heart, inviting the men to try grape-stomping, archery, and racquetball. During Season 1, audiences were able to watch Kate go on bowling dates, dinner dates, and even squash dates. In one of the episodes, she shared a kiss with a man she was spending time with.
In the end, Kate didn't settle down with any of the men she dated in front of the cameras. There were rumors about a second season for 2022, but it never came to fruition.
Kate isn't super close with all eight of her kids
Unfortunately for Kate, she's not as close to all eight of her children as she would probably like to be. According to Radar Online, she was having serious issues with her son, Collin, in 2019. At the time, Jon won primary custody of the then-14-year-old, citing the fact that Kate hadn't "cooperated" with Collin's necessary medical treatments. Jon also labeled Kate as a "trigger" for Collin, who was struggling with mental health issues. Jon and Kate were unable to get on the same page about how to handle things; Kate claimed Collin had "special needs," which Jon denied.
Kate's relationship with her daughter, Hannah, began raising questions from fans in 2021, when Hannah and Collin both decided to move in with Jon while the rest of the children continued living with Kate. According to Entertainment Tonight, Hannah opened up about her decision to live with Jon, saying, "I chose to live with my dad, I feel like I just made the choice for myself. I have always been closer with my dad and we've always had a strong, good relationship."
She went on to say, "It's a lot, growing up in a very busy household with lots of kids. And there's not really a one-on-one relationship, for attention, that you have with your parent. I felt like my dad gave me that attention." Hannah did mention that she still stays in touch with Kate through texts.
She now has a net worth of $500,000
Reality TV stardom is considered one of the quickest ways to earn a lot of money in a short period of time. For example, Kim Kardashian is a bona fide billionaire after years of sharing personal details about her life in front of cameras for her family's hit show. For this reason, a lot of people might assume Kate has a hefty net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, though, it currently stands at only $500,000. She earned the bulk of her money from her reality TV career starting on NBC, moving to Discovery Health, and eventually ending up on TLC.
According to Good Housekeeping, Kate's net worth is much lower than other reality TV stars who have a comparable level of notoriety. Her long divorce battle with Jon might have something to do with where her finances stand. At the height of "Jon & Kate Plus 8's" popularity, the family was earning $22,500 per episode. Keep in mind that each episode only lasted for about 30 minutes, which means they were earning quite a bit of money for fairly short, edited segments of their lives.
As the show continued to grow more popular, Jon and Kate began receiving other opportunities for financial gain. They were invited to tour the country to appear at speaking engagements at churches or other venues, taking home between $25,000 and $40,000. However, all of the income came to a halt when Jon and Kate's marriage fell apart.
Kate Gosselin currently lives in North Carolina
North Carolina is the state Kate calls home as of this writing. According to The Sun, she resides in a lakefront estate that's worth $750,000. The gorgeous home has a pool, a private pier, and other enticing amenities. Kate first purchased the 3,562-square-foot home in 2018. The one-story home has five bathrooms and four bedrooms.
In Touch explains that Kate lives in the home with four of her children: Alexis, Joe, Aadan, and Leah. Collin and Hannah are both living with Jon. Kate's two oldest kids, Mady and Cara, are away at college as students at Syracuse University and Fordham University.
Before relocating to North Carolina, Kate was living in Pennsylvania with Jon and all of their children. They had purchased a $1.1 million mansion in 2008 that covered 23 acres of private land. It had seven bathrooms, six bedrooms, a pool, and multiple kitchen essentials. When Kate was ready to sell her Pennsylvania home, she listed it in October 2020, but it didn't actually sell until January 2021. Now, she appears to be settled into her new life in North Carolina.
She's hasn't been active on social media for years
Kate doesn't seem to have any interest in posting updates about her current life on social media. On Instagram, her most recent post was uploaded on July 13, 2020, when she shared a picture of a cake she baked to celebrate her son Aaden getting his braces removed. The cake is covered in a smiling face design with teeth made out of white pieces of gum. She added a caption that said, "Braces are a thing of the past in this house! FINALLY! Yay us! #LastBracesOffParty #AadenIsBracesFree." The post pulled in over 36,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Kate hasn't updated her page since then with any new content on her feed or her story.
The same can be said about her Twitter page, which hasn't been updated since July 26, 2017, when Kate was last seen retweeting a handful of tweets from fans who were enjoying episodes of her reality TV shows at the time. On Instagram, she still has over 441,000 followers, and on Twitter, she still has over 213,800 followers. While her followers may be sticking around hoping for more social media updates in the future, it seems Kate prefers to keep things a little more private following her reality TV fame.
TLC permanently cut ties with Kate Gosselin
If Kate assumed she could return to the TLC network in the future, she wasn't exactly correct about that. According to Radar Online, she told a judge that TLC terminated their relationship. The judge had told her she wasn't allowed to film any reality TV episodes with her eight children unless she had proper work permits in place. Kate seemingly defied the judge's wishes, landing her in hot water.
Soap Dirt reported that without Jon's approval, the kids weren't allowed to appear on television. She decided to continue filming anyway, and the judge ultimately banned her from taping new episodes. The drama between Kate and Jon poured into their professional careers, as TLC decided they wanted nothing to do with Kate amid the legal issues.
Kate was never able to get approval from Jon because he wasn't willing to cooperate with her. Because she wasn't allowed to film episodes with her children anymore, she attempted her solo spinoff "Kate Plus Date," which ended up receiving low ratings. Kate's connection to TLC is a thing of the past.
Paula Deen possibly blocked her from a talk show opportunity
When Kate was ready to move on with her reality TV career with a new talk show on the Food Network, she allegedly ended up getting blocked from moving forward. According to Parade, producers thought she was too controversial a figure to work alongside an icon like Paula Deen. Paula is known to be a beloved chef, TV personality, and cookbook author from Georgia. She owns and operates multiple restaurants in different states throughout the country and has published 15 cookbooks.
According to E! News, Kate was never actually considered to become a permanent panelist on a talk show with Paula. Since Kate never personally spoke up about what happened with the alleged talk show, it's unclear whether she was given the boot due to her controversial nature or if it was never going to happen in the first place.
Kate returned to her nursing career after reality TV
Before "Jon & Kate Plus 8" was on television, Kate worked as a nurse. According to In Touch Weekly, she returned to her nursing career in North Carolina. On June 30, 2021, she earned a "multi-state" license from the board of nursing that won't expire until March 31, 2023. The source explained that the transition from reality television back to nursing has posed a "major challenge" for Kate, and that "she has to do what she has to do."
According to The Sun, Kate is able to use her previous experience as a nurse in Pennsylvania to her advantage as she works as a nurse in North Carolina. Starring in reality TV episodes of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" on TLC was obviously an incredibly different experience for Kate than working in the health care industry. Still, the medical field is a great route for people looking for stable incomes. According to Salary.com, registered nurses in North Carolina earn between $51,000 and $81,000 per year.
She's always been very vocal about the struggles of motherhood
Many women with kids openly attest to the fact that motherhood isn't easy, and Kate is no exception. She's been very vocal about her struggles as a mom in the past. According to The Daily Mail, becoming a single mom was more difficult for Kate. Despite the hardships, she added, "My kids, they've generally accepted that things are going to be okay, and that they're okay the way they are right now. Our lives have been such a roller coaster. They've seen that through it all, we've dealt with it, survived it, and we keep on going."
During an interview with Jenny McCarthy, Kate described her distaste when it comes to being accused of being a bad mother. She said: "Am I a mom with high expectations? Absolutely. Am I a mom who wants the absolute best for my kids at all costs? Absolutely. Do I drive a hard bargain? Sure. But, the truth is that, within that, my kids know that it's out of love. Literally, from day one, wanting the best for them and I don't apologize for it. My life is for my kids and I really want the best for them."
A strict upbringing may have contributed to her strict parenting style
Those who watched "Jon & Kate Plus 8" likely remember Kate Gosselin's strict and domineering parenting style. Her ex-husband, Jon, described her parenting as "militant" and said, "I know my children have suffered abuse and I know one day they're going to tell their own story" (per The Daily Mail).
What viewers may not know is that her stern parenting may come from her own upbringing; some online sources like RealityTVKids suggest that her parents were religious and extremely disciplinary. However, Kate has not talked publicly about her childhood, so it's impossible to know for sure how she was raised.
For her part, Kate says she has been "overzealous" with her children out of love. "I am a very protective parent, as you probably know," Gosselin said at the 2019 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour (per Us Weekly). "It comes from a place of love. I do think that I care so deeply that I have been, at times, overzealous."
She has had plastic surgery
Kate Gosselin is as known for her appearance as she is for her parenting. Her hair, in particular, has been of public interest, but her ability to seemingly age backward is also garnering some attention. Many people wonder if Kate, like many other reality stars, has had plastic surgery. The answer? Yes, but maybe not the surgeries you're thinking.
Some stars go for breast implants, face lifts, or "Mommy Makeovers" to enhance their appearances. Others opt for smaller cosmetic procedures like lip filler and Botox. However, Kate says she has done none of those things. The only plastic surgery the reality star has had is a tummy tuck. In 2010, she said on "The View," "I've had a tummy tuck — we all know that" (via In Touch). And when it came to the circulating rumors about her getting a boob job, Kate said, "Why is it so fascinating? I got a good bra!"
She also notes that it makes sense that she looks younger now than she did when we first saw her on TV because, at that time, she was a brand-new mom — which is, for some people, a time when one's appearance can be the least of one's concern. "I think when the world met me, I was three days post having sextuplets, so the only place you can get from that point is younger," she told E! News in 2015.
Her iconic hairstyle was more about convenience than style
Though Kate Gosselin has long and flowing locks these days, she was once very well-known for her signature hairstyle: a short, somewhat spiky bob that was known as the "Kate" or, these days, the "Karen" hairstyle. Her hair became so infamous that people even started calling out other celebrities for "copying" her 'do — in 2015, Justin Bieber became an unlikely supporter of the "Kate."
And Kate was all for Justin's take on the look — she told Cosmopolitan in 2015, "It's okay, he can have it!"
But for all its infamy, the hairstyle was never really intended to make waves. According to Kate, cutting her hair short was a practical choice; the reality star told Cosmopolitan it was an easy hairstyle for a busy mom because she didn't really have to style it. "It was more of a way to avoid having all-day bed head when my focus was on eight kids, all of whom were 5 years old and younger," she said. "I got up and it looked the same as when I went to sleep!"
People who worked with her said she was critical
Kate Gosselin received backlash for her overbearing parenting style, but it appears this aspect of her personality carried over into the way she treated employees, too.
Angela Krall, who nannied for Kate and Jon, told Us Weekly in 2009 that Kate fired a whopping 40 nurses and nurse's aides in the few months before she hired Krall. Kate was also a bit controlling in other ways, according to Krall. When one employee washed their hands in the kitchen (and not the bathroom), Kate instantly fired them. "Kate flipped," Krall said. "She thought it was cross-contamination."
Kate, for her part, is aware of her public image and the difficult aspects of her personality. "Of course, my obnoxious, controlling personality and the fact that everything needed to be perfect, clean, and done well, I'm sure added some interest in the mix," she said about the success of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" (via Fox News).
Kate is not close with her parents or siblings
For a reality TV star who has received considerable media coverage over the years, Kate Gosselin's relationship with her family — as in, her parents and siblings — seems to have mostly flown under the radar. However, what has been shared suggests that Kate is not on great terms with her parents or siblings.
In 2014, Kate's sister, Kendra Wilber, told The Daily Mail that she had not seen Kate or any of the children in years. Kate evidently refused her parents' and siblings' invitations to get together. "Kate does not speak to her family at all," Wilber said. "It is very painful." Wilber believes part of the reason Kate has remained estranged from her family is because she's living a different lifestyle now. "She wants a big life and we don't fit in. We are just normal everyday people and she doesn't want us to be part of her life," Wilber said.
According to The Daily Mail, Kate has also had public feuds with her brother Kevin, who testified against Kate and suggested that she and Jon were harming their kids by putting them on a reality show. While Kate's relationship with her parents is unclear, a family source told Us Weekly in 2015 that she and her father had a fight that may have contributed to their estrangement. Apparently, Kate's father offered to give Kate some baby cribs, but because they didn't "match," Kate refused them. "Things like that caused a rift," the source said.
She wrote and published a cookbook
In September 2013, Kate Gosselin published a cookbook called "Love is in the Mix: Making Meals into Memories with Family-Friendly Recipes, Tips and Traditions." The cookbook wasn't her first venture into writing and publishing – she previously published "Multiple Bles8ings," "Eight Little Faces," and "I Just Want You to Know."
"Love is in the Mix" isn't just a book of recipes; it's intended to help "busy moms and dads put delicious meals on the table while making lasting memories" (per Publishers Weekly). And while the cookbook ultimately received good reviews overall, there was also some backlash. (Would it be a Kate Gosselin cookbook without a little drama?)
Apparently, some critics claimed Kate copied recipes from magazine articles and from the back of soup cans and other food boxes (per MTV). These claims were never officially verified, and eventually, the backlash settled down. Whether the recipes were 100% original or not, people seemed to like the family-focused cookbook — it has solid ratings on Amazon.
She was on Dancing with the Stars
Kate Gosselin tried her hand (feet?) at "Dancing with the Stars" in 2010 ... but the experience wasn't quite a success. She was paired with Tony Dovolani, who she clashed with from the very start; Dovolani "wanted to quit by the second episode" (per Time). He even told Anderson Cooper that, after working with Kate, he underwent "a lot of therapy" (per Today).
Dance partner drama aside, it seems that dancing just isn't Kate's calling. Judges called her dancing a "nightmare," according to Time, and she and her partner ultimately received eighth place.
Despite the difficulties, Kate reflects on the experience in a positive way. "It was a great experience," she said on her last episode, adding that she "had a wonderful teacher," referring to Dovolani, which is a bit confusing considering the duo's drama (via Jacksonville). It's possible that her weak performances were due to nerves; she admitted that she was "scared to death most of the time."