Jon Gosselin Details Attempts to Reconcile With Kids: 'I Get Shot Down'
Jon Gosselin is still not on speaking terms with ex-wife Kate Gosselin and six of their children, but he hopes the tide will change — eventually.
“I always wish for the best for everything, but as adults now they have to make that decision,” Jon, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, April 25, at the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center West Hollywood grand opening. “I can’t keep on reaching out and being burned all the time.”
He noted that it is the “same thing” with Kate, 49.
“I would hope [things would improve],” Jon told Us. “I mean, our kids are going to get married at some point. A lot [is] on her part because I’ve reached out, I’ve olive-branched a lot and I get shot down.”
Kate and Jon Gosselin's Drama-Filled History
Jon and Kate were married between 1999 and 2009. They share eight kids: twins Mady and Cara, both 23, and sextuplets Collin, Hannah, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel, all 19. Following the Jon and Kate Plus 8 stars’ contentious divorce, Kate retained primary custody of the children. However, in 2016, Kate had Collin admitted to a treatment facility following several alleged behavioral outbursts. Both Jon and Collin denied the claims at the time, leading the TLC patriarch to seek full custody of his son in 2018. Jon also took over custody of daughter Hannah before the sextuplets turned 18.
“Collin and Hannah are great,” Jon told Us on Thursday. “So they store their stuff at my house and they come and go as they please. And they’re grown-ups! They’re [almost] 20 now.”
According to Jon, Hannah has some communication with her siblings.
“The other kids talk to Hannah, not Collin,” he said. “Yeah, I always try [too], but I don’t get responses. So maybe in the future.”
Collin enlisted in the armed forces, while Hannah is currently attending the University of Miami. Jon, for his part, is focused on his relationship with girlfriend Stephanie Lebo.
Where Jon and Kate Gosselin Stand With Each of Their 8 Children
“She makes me smile,” he gushed to Us, teasing their future. “I’m definitely proposing. I’m getting married [and] I think she’ll say yes.”
Jon further explained that his relationship with Lebo is “different” than his prior marriage.
“[Back] then it was, like, TV and it was hard. You don’t want to tell everyone anything. You’re afraid they’ll sell it to the press. You have PTSD,” he recalled. “That’s happened before. But this one, I felt I was open and there was enough time that has passed that she could be my friend and then I could explain what’s going on … and I could revert back to where I need to be [as a person].”
Jon is also pursuing a DJ career with a gig at the grand opening of the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center after getting injectable treatments like the office similarly offers its patients.
“I mean, my friends are all pushing me in for a while and I’m like, ‘Bro, you’re not a doctor,’” Jon said. “It’s like, it’s different if they say, ‘Oh, try this pizza, it’s good,’ but it’s a second meal in your body and you need this.”
With reporting by Andrea Simpson
