The Reason Jon Gosselin Thinks Kate Gosselin Is An Unfit Mother
Former Jon & Kate Plus 8 co-stars Jon and Kate Gosselin have been at one another's throats since they divorced in 2009. It's a shame considering they share eight gorgeous children: twins Cara and Mady and sextuplets Aaden, Joel, Collin, Hannah, Alexis, and Leah.
The parents have traded barbs against each other over the years, but Jon opened up the floodgates of drama in November 2019, when the non-disclosure agreement he reportedly signed in the divorce settlement expired. The former reality star dropped by The Dr. Oz Show show to air his grievances, accusing Kate of being an unfit parent who allegedly alienates him from six of his children. Interestingly enough, the timing of Jon's interview came almost a year after he was reportedly awarded custody of Collin, who previously had been living in a residential facility to address undisclosed special needs.
Are Jon's accusations against his wife just a case of sour grapes or is there some truth to his claims? We'll let you make the final judgment on that one, but before you do, take a moment to review why Jon Gosselin believes Kate Gosselin is an unfit mom.
Jon Gosselin says Kate Gosselin is consumed by ratings
Jon Gosselin told Dr. Mehmet Oz that he was under a "gag order for 10 years," allegedly put in place by TLC and family court. Jon believes the gag order helped "protect the kids," but he said he also found it difficult because he couldn't defend himself against accusations made on Kate Gosselin's spin-off show, Kate Plus 8. Now that the gag order has expired, you best believe Jon is ready to spill the tea.
He really let it rip during a 2019 appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, claiming Kate is an unfit parent. Why? "I believe that her belief system is skewed," the TLC alum told Dr. OZ. "That's what I believe. I believe her intentions, in the beginning, were good intentions, bringing kids into the world, that she fought to have these kids, but I think once fame and money got involved it twisted her belief system." Jon also accused Kate of having "narcissistic personality disorder."
As evidence, Jon has railed against TLC filming the children for a Kate Plus 8 special in October 2019, despite a judge in their custody battle allegedly advising against filming. "They put profits and ratings ahead of the well being of my children and filmed illegally without work permits," Jon told the Daily Mail.
Jon Gosselin claims Kate Gosselin 'wrongly institutionalized' their son
Kate Plus 8 fans might remember when Kate Gosselin revealed in 2016 that she had enrolled her son, Collin, in a live-in facility near the family's Pennsylvania home. "Collin has special needs," Kate told People. "[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."
Cut to December 2018, when Jon Gosselin revealed he had been awarded custody of Collin after removing him from the facility. "Other than ADHD, which is extremely common, Collin has never been diagnosed with any known medical condition, there's nothing wrong with him," Jon said in a September 2019 interview with the Daily Mail.
The former reality star also made an upsetting allegation on The Dr. Oz Show. "He was wrongly institutionalized," Jon claimed. "Just because he was a difficult child, does not mean he had to be sent away. It took me two years to find him." How did Jon locate his son? "Collin wrote a letter, his roommate smuggled it out, called my manager, my manager vetted the roommate and that's how I found out where Collin was," Jon said.
Kate denied her ex's claims, telling the Today show: "I have consistently made it a rule never to respond to Jon's delusional ramblings, and I will not break that rule now."
Don't expect these exes to co-parent anytime soon
In a perfect world, Jon and Kate Gosselin would put their differences aside for the sake of their children, but it doesn't look like this scenario will manifest in this case.
"We just have different aspects of how we want to parent," Jon told The Dr. Oz Show in November 2019. "We're moving down the path of, two more years, we're going to have all adult [children]." Now that Cara and Mady are in college and the sextuplets are in high school, maybe the cantankerous exes can just ride it out. "We don't have a relationship right now. We don't talk, nothing. It's very nothing. The only time I see my ex-wife is in court because we have exhausted all opportunities to co-parent. It's just never going to happen."
This is one of the most upsetting cases of he said, she said in reality television history. Do you want to hear Kate's side of the story? Check out what Kate Gosselin's life is like today and decide for yourself.