Kate Gosselin

Katie Irene Kreider, who is of German, Scottish, and English descent, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Charlene (née Kolak) and Kenton Kreider, a pastor. The third of five children, she has three sisters, Kendra, Christen and Clairissa, and one brother, Kevin.[1]

Kreider became a registered nurse after completing a diploma program at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. She then worked as a labor and delivery nurse in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.[5]

Kreider met Jon Gosselin at a company picnic on October 5, 1997. They were married on June 12, 1999, and on October 8, 2000, she gave birth to twin girls, Cara Nicole and Madelyn "Mady" Kate, who were premature at 35 weeks gestation.[6] Gosselin became pregnant through fertility treatment because polycystic ovary syndrome left her unable to conceive otherwise. After further treatments, Gosselin became pregnant again and, on May 10, 2004, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, she gave birth to sextuplets: sons Aaden Jonathan, Collin Thomas and Joel Kevin, and daughters Alexis Faith, Hannah Joy and Leah Hope. She gave birth at just shy of 30 weeks gestation. The sextuplets were born 10 weeks premature, which is common in the multiple births resulting from fertility treatments. The early birth required the six infants to be placed on ventilators.[5]

Kate and family on the cover of KoreAm in May 2007

Following the birth of the sextuplets, the Gosselins were featured in the NBC reality TV show Home Delivery when their home in Wyomissing was renovated to accommodate the large family.[4]

The family was then featured in a special on Discovery Health in September 2005 entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. A year later they were featured in another special entitled Sextuplets and Twins: One Year Later. With high ratings from the specials, Discovery Health signed the couple to a reality series which began airing in April 2007, called Jon & Kate Plus 8, documenting their lives. To produce the show, the family was filmed three or four days per week and the shows first two seasons aired on Discovery Health Channel before moving to The Learning Channel (TLC).[4] The family received payment for appearing on the show.[7]

Jon and Kate announced on June 22, 2009, in an episode that they were separating. However, the two had met with Pennsylvania attorneys on the day that the episode aired to finalize plans for divorce rather than separation.[8] They stated that their eight children will remain in their Pennsylvania home, and the two of them will move back and forth to accommodate the custody agreement. In separate interviews, they stated that the show would continue. However, TLC announced on June 23, 2009, that the show would be suspended with immediate effect. According to TLC, Jon and Kate had moved the focus away from the family and the change in the dynamic, as well as the production difficulties that had occurred because the couple was no longer living together, made it unclear whether the show was still viable.[9]

On August 13, 2009, the police were called to the Gosselin family home in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, after the couple were engaged in a verbal fight. Kate arrived at the home during Jon's scheduled time with their children because she did not approve of the babysitter he was using. No arrests were made and no charges were filed against either party.[10][11]

On December 16, 2009, it was announced that the couple's divorce was finalized.[12] Kate was granted the ownership of the family home and primary custody of the children.[13]

Since the divorce, Kate has had a contentious relationship with her ex-husband, which has repeatedly made headlines.[14] Kate announced in August 2016 that she enrolled Collin in a program to help him with his "special needs".[15] On August 22, 2017, the police were called to an orthodontist's office in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, after Jon and Kate got into a custody dispute over one of their sextuplet daughters. It was reported that either Jon or Kate took their then 13-year-old daughter to the orthodontist and the argument erupted over who would be taking her home. No one was arrested, and in the end, the daughter went home with Jon while Kate was referred to Berks County District Attorney's office for a clearer interpretation of the child custody agreement. It was later reported that the sextuplet daughter involved in the dispute may have been Hannah.[16][17]

In August 2018, Jon revealed in an Instagram live video that Hannah "permanently" lives with him, as there has been an ongoing custody battle with Kate over their daughter. It was reported that in April 2018, a judge ruled in favor of Jon having custody of Hannah, which prompted Kate to appeal this decision on May 4, 2018. The judge denied the appeal on June 14, 2018, as Kate "did not present legal argument to justify this Court's jurisdiction," according to court documents.[18]

On October 24, 2018, Jon and his attorney filed papers for physical and legal custody of Collin. They claimed that it would be in Collin's best interest to live with his father upon his release from the inpatient center Kate enrolled him in.[19] On December 4, 2018, Jon won sole physical and legal custody of Collin, as Kate and her attorney failed to appear.[20] It was reported on December 26, 2018, that Collin was released from the inpatient center and returned home with Jon for good.[21] While Hannah and Collin now live with Jon, the other four sextuplets, Alexis, Aaden, Leah, and Joel, still live with Kate.[22] Cara and Mady, on the other hand, have headed off to two different colleges in New York in August 2019.[23] As of 2018, Kate and her ex-husband are no longer in communication, except through their attorneys.[24] In August 2019, In Touch Weekly reported that Kate was not attempting to win custody of both Hannah and Collin from her ex-husband.[25]

In October 2020, it was reported that Kate put her home on the market for $1.299 million, which was bought in 2008 with Jon for $1.1 million.[33] Per the source, the reason why she is selling her house is because she is "struggling financially". Kate has plans to move out of Pennsylvania with her family and will continue to pursue a career in the spotlight. According to an insider, "she just doesn’t see herself as a nurse anymore. She wants to be a star and the kids are all grown up it seems like it’s time to move on but that’s not easy to do."[34]

Gosselin has become associated with the slang term known as Karen, and its "can-I-speak-to-your-manager" bob haircut, which Gosselin has worn.[35][36][37]

• Multiple Blessings (November 1, 2008)
• Eight Little Faces (April 2009)
• I Just Want You to Know (April 13, 2010)
• Love Is in the Mix (September 4, 2013)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kate Gosselin.

• Kate Gosselin at IMDb