Kate Gosselin has always been a figure of intrigue and controversy. From her rise to fame on reality television with "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to her tumultuous personal life, many moments have defined her public persona. Through the years, fans have witnessed not just the joys of raising eight children but also the struggles and disputes that have left many questioning her parenting choices and behavior.
Join us as we dive into these compelling stories and explore the lessons learned from Kate's journey. From accusations to controversial decisions, the narrative surrounding Kate Gosselin is one of resilience and complexity.
When she refused to give her children water
Kate Gosselin and her children were waiting to do an interview on Access Hollywood back in 2009, when the kids started to complain about being thirsty. Mady Gosselin, who was just 8 years old at the time, started begging Kate for something to drink. “I haven’t had a drink all day!” she tells her mother. Kate ignores her and the others, and gets herself a bottle of water, which she chugs without offering to anyone else. The cruel act makes Mady sob!
When she accused Jon of having an “inappropriate relationship” with Hannah
One of the most shocking things Kate’s ever done. Kate called the cops on ex-husband Jon Gosselin three times in a five-day span in 2015, according to police reports, and accused him of a number of serious crimes. She told them that she suspected that he was dealing drugs and drinking around the kids. She also claimed that he kidnapped their daughter, Hannah Gosselin, when he took her out of school early one day. Worst of all: she accused him of having an “inappropriate relationship” with Hannah after “detecting suspicious behavior” between them. Police reportedly told her to take all of her concerns to civil court, but no legal action was ever pursued.
When she enrolled Collin at a school for educational and behavioral problems.
Kate announced in August 2016 that one of the sextuplets, Collin Gosslin, 12, hasn’t been seen lately because he’s living at a facility that helps him work on his “life skills.” “Colin has special needs. [There’s] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things. This has been a struggle we’ve had for a very long time,” Kate told PEOPLE at the time.
“It was not even really a choice. It was on the advice of his doctors and it had to happen,” she told Good Morning America. “He’s plodding along and we are too. It definitely was necessary. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for the best for each one of them. This is the best thing I can do for him right now, so that comforts me.” The program that he’s in is reportedly so strict that he’s not allowed to leave the facility for holidays or family gatherings. Fans were livid when Collin wasn’t allowed to go home for his birthday, and especially when Kate Plus 8 aired a family ski vacation in the latest season that didn’t include Collin. They couldn’t understand why Kate would be fine making these beautiful family memories without her son!
When she was accused of abusing Collin
Rumors started that Collin told staffers at his facility that Kate was allegedly abusing him at home. Kate denied the allegations on a November 2016 interview with GMA: “I’m in the public eye. I’ve been investigated many times [by child services]. It’s always unfounded, obviously.” The allegations were harrowing.
When she forced her daughters to say they were fine on live TV
Possibly the most awkward interview ever conducted happened in 2014, when Kate took Mady and twin Cara Gosselin (then 13) on the Today show to talk about their totally fine, nothing wrong to see here, family. Mady and Cara refused to talk when Savannah Guthrie asked them questions about their home life, visibly frustrating Kate. “It’s your chance… spit it out,” she said to her girls, with more than a tinge of hostility. “I don’t want to speak for them but Mady go ahead – sort of the things that you said in the magazine. That years later – they’re good, they’re fine. Go for it.”
“No, you just said it,” Mady said, looking at her lap. Note that Cara didn’t utter one word during the entire interview. “I said it,” Kate said, smiling through gritted teeth. “They get really frustrated that people assume certain things in our house and they always say, ‘But that’s not how it is, mommy. Why do they say that about us?'”
When she spent 20 hours getting her hair done
Kate treated herself to new hair extensions after her divorce from Jon in 2010, which dramatically changed her look. Once upon a time, she was the proud owner of a highlighted mullet-like haircut. To get that epic transformation, it took a lot of money ($7000), and a lot of time.
When she disowned her sister-in-law for giving the kids gum
Kate’s sister-in-law Jodi Gosselin made frequent appearances on the earlier seasons of Jon & Kate Plus 8. The family was very close, and Jodi would watch the brood of kids when Jon and Kate needed a break. On one such day, she made the mistake of giving the then-3-year-old sextuplets gum. Cue six toddlers with gum on their clothes and around the house. Getting angry about that is understandable. Calling your sister-in-law who’d been watching 8 children for you, free of charge, all day, and screaming about the gum? Nope!