This Is Why Jon And Kate Gosselin Divorced
Two seasons into their popular reality show following their life with twins and sextuplets, "Jon & Kate Plus 8," Kate Gosselin filed for divorce. Rumors of infidelity swirled around her husband, which Jon Gosselin fervently denied (per People), but Kate identified it as the leading cause for taking action in June 2009.
"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," Kate said in a statement noted by People. "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."
So what happened to make a couple with eight children break up? We've got the complicated back story.
Divorce was a long time coming for the couple
Kate Gosselin told People in May 2009 that she and Jon Gosselin had been struggling privately for months. "I don't know that we're in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing," she told the magazine. "I've been struggling with the question of 'Who is this person?' for a while." She went on to tell People in 2016 that Jon had become a different person shortly before their divorce. From staying out late to impulsively overspending, Jon transformed in a way Kate's friends couldn't believe (per People).
Their relationship came to a head when, on April 19, 2009, Kate was out of town and Jon was spotted leaving a bar in the middle of the night with then 23-year-old Deanna Hummel. Her brother later stated that Deanna had been having an affair with Jon for months. "This isn't healthy for her. But she is refusing to help herself, so here I am trying to help her myself. I hope this clears the air," Deanna's brother, Jason, told Us Weekly in 2009. Us and People both noted that Jon denied the affair.
Jon reportedly resented Kate during their marriage
In a May 2009 episode of their show — just a month before the divorce bombshell — Kate Gosselin said, "Parents of multiples have triple the divorce rate. I was thinking we were going to beat that. I don't know if I can say that anymore" (per People). Despite her once positive outlook, Kate later blamed the show for driving "a wedge" into her marriage with Jon Gosselin.
"I have always made more money than Jon," she explained to People. "That doesn't bother me at all; it all goes into the same pot. But it obviously, at this point, really matters to him. He hates to speak, he doesn't write, he doesn't do public appearances — all those things I love. And now he's resenting me for it." She went on to say that she "could care less" about the fame and the attention, but rather she was just looking out for her kids. As far as her marriage was concerned, Kate said, "For a while I was saying we're not just on different pages, we're in different books. But now I think we're in different libraries."
Jon and Kate live very separate lives
Jon Gosselin told ET in spring 2020 that he never sees his all of his kids. "I wish that all my kids would just be together ... Kate [Gosselin] and I don't live that far away from each other but I feel like there is an invisible wall," he said. Jon has custody of two of the sextuplets, while the other four live with Kate and the twins are off at college (per The U.S. Sun). In 2021, according to The U.S. Sun, Kate sold the family home and moved with the four sextuplets to North Carolina in the midst of a "nasty" custody battle.
Speaking of legal proceedings, Jon also took Kate to court in 2020 for filming the four sextuplets in her custody for her reality shows without proper work permits (per ET). "I think she would've done the same if I filmed with my kids without her written consent ... or put them in harm's way or made a profit off them," Jon explained.
According to E! News, Jon is "estranged" from the four sextuplets under Kate's custody, but he did appear on "The Dr. Oz Show" in March and invited his kids to see him. "I'm more putting it on them because I've reached out and given the olive branch," he said. "Now I can't explain half the things I've done in the past or why I've done things but maybe those are table conversations we can have in person. I'm opening my house in open arms if they're willing to come."