Inside Kate Gosselin's Relationship With Steve Neild
When former Jon & Kate Plus 8 stars Jon and Kate Gosselin split in 2009, their romantic lives went in completely opposite directions. While Jon went on to date a series of women (including Michael Lohan's ex, Kate Major), Kate put the brakes on dating because she was busy raising eight kids. "Right off the bat, somebody that can withstand the chaos and the noise in my house," Kate said in 2015 about her ideal partner, according to TODAY. "I've sent babysitters running and screaming, pulling their hair out. ... A lot of people just can't withstand all the movement in our house."
Although Jon eventually found love with his girlfriend Colleen Conrad, Kate is single at the time of this writing. Or is she? We have to mention, of course, the ongoing rumors regarding the relationship she allegedly has with her former bodyguard, Steve Neild. Ever since Neild stepped onto the scene around 2009, there have been whisperings about the nature of their relationship, despite the fact that he's married with two kids. Yikes.
Kate has denied the speculation, but the rumor mill picked up again in June 2019, when she was spotted out with Neild in New York City. Making matters even more wild? The sighting occurred shortly after Kate launched her dating show, Kate Plus Date. We're not exactly sure what's going on here, but we'll do our best to sort out the drama as we investigate Kate Gosselin's relationship with Steve Neild.
Wait, why did Kate Gosselin need a bodyguard?
Before we dive deep into the rumors behind Kate Gosselin's alleged affair with Steve Neild, let's first explore why she needed his services in the first place. Not many reality stars (besides the Kardashians, of course) have bodyguards, so we were a bit confused when Kate hired Neild in 2009. But while the move seemed a little extra, it's important to note that Kate received a lot of hate back in the day, including "threats." Neild elaborated on these threats in TLC special, stating (via Reality TV World): "I've had threats left in her mailbox, threats left on the front doorstep — so there's a lot of stuff that members of the public don't know. There's stuff Kate doesn't even know, the contents of these emails, that haven't been shared with her."
Not to mention, Kate had to ensure the safety of her eight kids."It came to my attention as a mother thinking if I'm going to put myself and my kids out there in the public eye, I needed to be responsible and do what it takes to keep us safe," she said in the episode.
Hey, as long Kate and her kids are safe, that's all that matters.
Jon Gosselin has always had his suspicions about Kate Gosselin and Steve Neild
Kate and Jon Gosselin's post-divorce relationship has always been contentious, a sentiment that became quite evident when the reality dad accused his ex of sneaking around with her former bodyguard, Steve Neild. In a nutshell, Jon publicly accused Kate of sharing hotel rooms with Neild during trips. Oy. "Steve and Kate would have one room and the kids would have a separate room when they traveled. It's confusing to the children," he told InTouch Weekly (via International Business Times). "It's not a work situation. I have always thought they were together."
Oddly enough, Jon's BFF at the time, Michael Lohan (Yes, Lindsay's dad), also threw his two cents in. "You hire bodyguards for the security of your families, and they end up hanging out and hooking up," he reasoned (via TODAY). "It happens a lot." Uh, okay...
The mom denied the accusation, however, accusing Jon of using her to clear his own name. "One day it suited his needs to take the spotlight off his bad behavior and turn it on me," she said during an interview with TLC (via Us Weekly). Ah, a classic case of she said, he said.
Kate Gosselin's former Celebrity Apprentice co-star threw shade
Once upon a time, Kate Gosselin had a stint on Celebrity Apprentice, starring alongside The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore. And interestingly enough, Moore had a lot to say about Gosselin's relationship with Steve Neild once the season ended in 2015. "That bodyguard was very interesting because they actually shared a room — I don't know if I'm supposed to say that — so he was around a lot," she told Us Weekly at the time.
What's especially interesting here? Moore's accusation lines up with Jon Gosselin's claim, with both alleging that Kate and Neild shared hotel rooms. That being said, Moore might be bitter about how Kate handled being firing on Celebrity Apprentice. After the famous mom was let go, she told The Wrap: "It should have been Kenya [Moore]." Shots fired, y'all.
No matter who is in the right here, the whole thing is pretty entertaining. It's not every day that Bravo and TLC stars publicly feud, after all.
Steve Neild appears to be a family man
Contrary to what some people might think, Steve Neild appears to be a family man who loves his wife, Gina Downie Neild, and the couple's two sons. Gina's supposed Facebook page features many photos of herself with Steve, and at the time of this writing, her profile pic is of their adorable family. "You guys look like a 'perfect family' put together by a casting agent for a toothpaste commercial," one friend joked about the snap. "Beautiful people in a beautiful setting."
Gina has never spoken out about the rumors involving her husband, but Kate Gosselin seemingly implied that she is "fine" about everything."I'm totally panicking, and thinking, 'We are going to lose our last set of friends,'" she told People in 2009 when asked about the Neild allegations. "I keep calling them, begging, 'Seriously, I'm so sorry. Don't run away from us.' They keep saying, We're fine, we're fine.' But they have paparazzi in front of their house. It's so upsetting."
Kate added, "We willingly made a conscious decision to put this out there. Our friends and family did not. I had no idea we would potentially take down the people that we love around us."
Kate Gosselin was 'horrified' by the rumors
As we previously mentioned, Steve Neild has a wife and two children, and was married during the height of the Kate Gosselin affair drama. It's fair to assume the allegations hurt Neild's family, a situation that didn't sit too well with Kate, to put it mildly. "The next story coming out from the animals that stalk us is about our security person and his family," Kate ranted to People about the rumors. "Already the allegations they're making about me are disgusting, unthinkable, unfathomable, and I am horrified."
She continued: "These are people who absolutely love us and want to see us through to the end. Of course, both of them travel with us at times, and we've spent holidays together, because, in this situation, your circle grows smaller and smaller, and it's very natural to become friends with your manager, your publicist, your security team ... they're the only people you have left. And now they're coming under fire."
It was kind of Kate to stick up for Neild and his family, but we can't help but wonder — doth the lady protest too much?
The real reason why Steve Neild quit working for Kate Gosselin
Steve Neild and Kate Gosselin's working relationship came to an end in 2014, just about five years after he first took the job. Steve hasn't publicly addressed his reasons for leaving, but a LinkedIn page by someone of the same name, who has previous experience as a Security/Safety Consultant, now lists his employment as owner of a security company called Prudential Associates LLC. Could that be the reason Neild bid Gosselin farewell? Or is there another, possibility more salacious reason?
If a "source" who spoke with Radar Online is to be believed, it's the latter. Supposedly, Gina Downie Neild, Steve's wife, issued her husband a tough ultimatum that inspired his departure. "[Gina] told him his time with Kate as her bodyguard was making the family miserable and that he had to make a choice," the source claimed.
Steve seemingly chose Gina, a decision that was supposedly in part motivated by a makeover. The source claimed that Gina "lightened her hair and exercised" and that she was in the "best shape of her life" around the time her husband left Kate. "Gina used every trick in the book to keep Steve from straying — and it worked!" Hmm.
We're pretty skeptical about this report, but given all the nasty tabloid attention, it's probably best that Gosselin and Neild parted ways.
Are Kate Gosselin and Steve Neild sneaking around?
Just when you thought Steve Neild and Kate Gosselin's relationship was over, they were reportedly spotted together at a July 2016 block party in Chicago, according to Radar Online. It all came to light when a fan tweeted a selfie with Gosselin that supposedly showed Neild in the background. It's important to note, however, that TLC hosted the event, so it's possible Neild was there as a guest of the company. On the other hand, it's possible he attended the bash alongside Gosselin, but we can't say for certain.
It's interesting to note that one year before the sighting, Us Weekly linked Gosselin to a millionaire named Jeff Prescott. "Jeff is a really, really good guy," a source told the outlet at the time. "He is very respectful of Kate and her family." But shortly after the dating news broke, Prescott supposedly dumped Gosselin for another woman. Ouch.
Like we said, we're not sure why the two were at the same party, but maybe Gosselin called up Neild for some post-breakup support. You never know.
Will the rumors about Kate Gosselin and Steve Neild ever end?
It's safe to say many fans were shocked when Kate Gosselin was once again spotted with Steve Neild in June 2019, around the same her dating show, Kate Plus Date, premiered. The sighting in New York City sparked numerous headlines and confused reactions from viewers, so maybe the outing was a ploy to drum up interest in the show. The timing is a tad too fishy, if you ask us.
Not to mention, Gosselin seems pretty committed to finding lasting love with someone new. "It's been so long since I've had a companion," she said in People's exclusive sneak peek of the dating show (via Yahoo! Entertainment). "That's such a foreign concept to me. Before I decide to grow old alone, I should probably give it a pretty decent shot of looking around for someone."
All in all, it's hard to say what the deal actually is with Kate Gosselin and Steve Neild's relationship. All we know for certain is that these two will continue to keep us guessing, at least for the time being.