The Kids From ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ Are All Grown Up And Unrecognizable
In 2007 a new reality TV show emerged on the small screen — and boy, was it unique! Detailing the lives of the Gosselin family, which included a set of twins and sextuplets, Jon & Kate Plus 8 went on to be a massive hit. Folks just couldn’t get enough of those kids! But what’s happened to them all in the years since the program ended? Did its turbulent conclusion have an effect? Well, let’s find out.
Jon Gosselin
Following his high-school graduation in 1995 the next few years of Jon Gosselin’s life were something of a whirlwind. He was introduced to his future wife Kate in the second half of 1997 and a romance immediately blossomed.
As the reality star later recalled, “Everything clicked. It sort of felt together like it never felt before. This time was different.” Jon went on to marry her in 1999 and the couple became parents the next year.
Tensions were mounting
And as we know, things didn’t slow down after that. Jon and Kate welcomed another six kids into the family with the birth of their sextuplets in 2004; it was this remarkable development that ultimately led to the creation of the TV show.
But while Jon & Kate Plus 8 was growing ever-more-popular on the small screen, tensions were brewing off-camera. It was suggested that Jon had been cheating on Kate for a number of months, an allegation that caused the pair to split up in 2009.
Estrangement and reunions
Jon subsequently left the show, leading to its rebranding as Kate Plus 8. Mind you, the spotlight was still firmly on him in the aftermath. He accused Kate of “verbal abuse” prior to their divorce, and became engaged in a bitter fight for custody of the eight children.
Jon lost that particular battle, and as things currently stand he is estranged from six of his kids. Yet he does have a relationship with Collin and Hannah, who both moved in with him as they got older.
Kate Gosselin
The matriarch of the Gosselin family, it didn’t take long for Kate to be drawn towards Jon when they first met. She noted, “He seemed very put together. And of course he was very good looking.”
As for the early days of the marriage, Kate didn’t have much to complain about. In her book Multiple Blessings, she beamed, “Married life was all I had imagined and more. We were young, healthy, and ambitious, and it wasn’t long before baby fever set in.”
“My dream”
We wonder if Kate could’ve ever predicted just what that “baby fever” would ultimately bring? Going back to her relationship with Jon, though, she had some interesting things to say when they split.
“My dream and my hope is that we can share holidays and birthdays and, for the kids, have it be peaceful,” the mom said to People in 2009. But this “dream” didn’t exactly come true.
Ongoing legal battles
Since their divorce, Kate and Jon have been publicly trading barbs about a number of family issues. In fact, their most recent legal fight only concluded in November 2023 as she unsuccessfully pursued a payment of over $130,000 in backdated child support.
And when it comes to her reality TV career post-Plus 8, the mom hasn’t walked away. Kate starred in 2019’s Kate Plus Date, ahead of appearing in another reality show, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test in 2023.
Cara Gosselin
As the oldest of Kate and Jon’s bustling brood, Cara was just six years old when she first appeared on the show. Unlike her twin sister Madelyn, she was pretty introverted throughout its run.
And that shyness hasn’t really dimmed with age: she’s still seen as the quieter of the two today. But what has Cara been up to since the cameras stopped rolling?
College-bound
Well, Cara made her ambitions known when she turned 16. The former reality star told People at the time, “I want to go far away. And I want to be a doctor.”
She went on to wrap up her high-school studies in 2019 before heading off to New York’s Fordham University. Madelyn didn’t join her, though. Kate explained, “Their ambitions are so different that they really felt there’s not one college that would fully answer what each of them wanted.”
Becoming an analyst
Kate continued, “Mady and Cara really steered the ship in terms of applying to colleges; they knew what they wanted, and I trusted them.” As for her choice of subject, Cara later pivoted from her earlier goals.
She decided to study economics and mathematics at the college, graduating in the spring of 2023. Since then, she’s opted to stay in New York to take on an analyst job at the Bank of America.
Madelyn Gosselin
While Cara was known for her reserved nature, the same couldn’t be said for Madelyn. As the show progressed over the years, she was prone to emotional blow-ups during certain episodes.
But according to Kate, that behavior had come about as a result of her public split from Jon. And it subsequently led to an “us-against-the-world” mentality that strengthened her relationship with the twins.
“I’ve been getting hate mail”
Did the experience have a negative effect on Madelyn, though? She shed some light on that question during a chat with Today back in 2014. The former reality star noted, “A lot of people think that filming our show has damaged us, but it’s only really helped.”
Mind you, Madelyn has tasted one of the big downsides of childhood fame. As she revealed in a 2023 TikTok caption, “I’ve been getting hate mail since I was six, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep sending it.”
College years
After her high-school graduation, Madelyn followed Cara to New York, but she had eyes on a different college. Yep, while her twin attended Fordham, she instead enrolled at Syracuse University.
Madelyn often took to social media to offer peeks of her life at college over the next four years, ahead of her graduation in 2023. She shared a sweet video summing it all up to her 238,000-plus TikTok followers!
Alexis Gosselin
The oldest of the sextuplets, Alexis was just a toddler when the cameras started rolling on Jon & Kate Plus 8. As the show went on, we witnessed her growing love for animals, with a trip to a wildlife park marking one favorite moment.
Speaking to People in the summer of 2016 Alexis stated, “I’m definitely going to work with animals someday.” She’s certainly had plenty of practice at home with the family pets!
“Best of friends”
Kate has posted many pictures of Alexis frolicking and playing with their dogs online. The snaps will melt your heart! In addition to that, the elder sextuplet developed a lovely bond with a parakeet called Zorro, who was welcomed into the family in 2014.
Kate noted they were “the best of friends” in an Instagram post from 2019. And as per Madelyn’s TikTok, Alexis’ drive to forge a career that is centered on animals hasn’t dulled with age.
Looking ahead
Alexis shared her hopes of enrolling at a zoology school in the near future in one of her sister’s videos. She’s come a long way since being expelled from her old school following some troubles back in 2010.
All the same, with no social media pages of her own, we’ll have to wait for more updates via her famous family on how her ambitions pans out over the years ahead. So watch this space, folks!
Hannah Gosselin
After Kate had given birth to Alexis, Hannah was welcomed into the world as the next of the sextuplets. And despite her young age on the show, she was arguably the most psychologically mature of the Gosselin kids.
Hannah was never too far away if her mom needed a helping hand at home! But what’s she like today? Has anything changed since the cameras stopped rolling in 2017?
“A difficult decision”
Well, Hannah made the decision to move in with Jon in 2018, leaving most of her family behind. It didn’t appear to create much friction, though. In 2022 she told Entertainment Tonight, “My relationship with my mom is pretty stable.”
“We text each other and call each other on an average basis. It was a difficult decision leaving my siblings. I didn’t want to be separated from them. [But] I chose to live with my dad. I’ve always been closer with my dad.”
Gosselin Girl Beauty
Hannah also created her own skin-care brand in 2022 which goes by the name of Gosselin Girl Beauty. How many teenagers can say they’ve done that? If that wasn’t enough, she found love that year, too.
Yes, she and Lennon Johnson became a couple that summer, and celebrated their first anniversary in a video on their shared YouTube channel in August 2023. Meanwhile, Hannah’s high-school graduation came along in June.
Aaden Gosselin
Despite being the oldest sextuplet boy, Aaden was the smallest baby of the bunch after all was said and done. He weighed just 2 pounds, 7.5 ounces at the time of his birth!
Viewers quickly fell in love with the bespectacled youngster on the show, and his wonderful smile often lit up the screen. Good luck naming a cuter kid on reality TV from that spell!
“All grown up!”
As he’s grown older, Aaden’s warm personality doesn’t appear to have changed. Alongside a childhood photo posted on Instagram in December 2017, Kate beamed, “I’m sorry, but where has this little guy gone?”
“My four-year-old little professor is all grown up! Talk about ‘edible!’ I adore his sweet, kind, loving, sensitive self. And he’s so thoughtful and helpful! His love of HIS dog, Mak, especially melts my heart every single day!”
No more braces
That soft spot for animals is something Aaden shares with his older sister Alexis. He even made sure the dog received gifts for birthdays and Christmas! Three years after that post, Kate shared another update about her son.
In the summer of 2020 she revealed that Aaden had become the final sextuplet to say goodbye to their braces. She made him a cute cake to celebrate: glasses and all.
Collin Gosselin
While Collin was part of the show with his siblings, there was a point when he completely disappeared. And that was all down to Kate. She felt her son needed to spend time at a special needs facility in 2016.
“[There’s] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what [Collin’s] needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things,” she told People that August. “We miss him so much.”
Non-existent relationship
Yet when Collin left that place in 2018 he didn’t go back to Kate. Instead, the teen moved in with Jon and Hannah, later revealing that his relationship with his mom was now non-existent.
And the situation didn’t improve as time went on. In July 2023 Collin and Hannah appeared in an episode of Dark Side of the 2000s where they spoke about the difficulties he had faced while under Kate’s roof.
“My misbehaving was no different from my siblings”
Hannah claimed, “[Collin] would be separated [from us]. He wouldn’t get to come outside and play with us. He would eat dinner at different times than us.” Collin chimed in, “I’d say my misbehaving was no different from my siblings.”
He also suggested that Kate might’ve been taking out her frustrations on him while dealing with the split from Jon: she vehemently denied that on Instagram. As this was all going on, Collin had just finished high school and signed up to a Marine boot camp.
Leah Gosselin
Leah more than lived up to her “little princess” tag as a youngster. She was an absolute cutie-pie across the show’s run, and seemed to have no trouble keeping pace with the rest of her siblings.
That was no mean feat, considering she was the smallest kid of the bunch! But what’s life been like for Leah since the program ended? Has anything changed as she’s become older?
A chef in the making?
Well, Kate wasn’t shy in sharing some of her daughter’s “milestones” online, including the moment Leah got her braces removed in 2017. Like Aaden, she was rewarded with a custom cake to celebrate.
But the teen doesn’t just enjoy eating tasty treats. Leah has taken a real interest in cooking in the last few years, prepping dinners and producing cakes of her own.
Baking on TikTok
In fact, Leah even created a TikTok account that focused on her culinary skills. She originally called the channel @bakingbyleah. Now, that page is on the verge of hitting 30,000 followers.
Away from the kitchen, Leah began her college journey in the summer of 2023, giving folks a peek of her first day via social media. We can’t wait to see what comes next for her!
Joel Gosselin
The youngest member of the sextuplets, Joel’s arrival at 7.53 a.m. on May 10, 2004, ended a magical two minutes for Kate and Jon. Yep, the mom delivered all six babies in that short window!
Just like the rest of his siblings, Joel featured heavily throughout the show’s run on the small screen. He was big on pranks, memorably mapping out a plan to spook his sisters on a birthday camping trip.
A private guy
But following the conclusion of Kate Plus 8, Joel has largely stayed out of the spotlight. He’s not on any social media platform, with the only updates about him coming via his mom.
For instance, in keeping with a now-established family tradition, Kate shared a picture of him when his braces were removed in 2019. And eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted Joel from time to time in Madelyn’s TikTok videos.
“So proud”
As for the type of person Joel is, Kate wrote a touching tribute to her kids when they celebrated their 15th birthday in 2019. She said, “I’m so very thankful for my ‘babies.’ I’m amazed by them each day!”
“I’m so proud of the positive qualities I’ve seen developing as they edge closer to adulthood. [They’re] such good, wholesome, loving, insightful, wise humans, and I’m just so proud to call them mine!”