Jon Gosselin Says Kate Treats Their Kids Like "Garbage," Accuses Ex-Wife of Spanking Them in Public

"When they visit, they don't want to leave," the father of eight says of his sextuplets and twins

By Zach Johnson Jan 24, 2014 7:09 PMTags
InTouch, Jon Gosselin, Kate GosselinInTouch

Jon Gosselin goes for the jugular in the Feb. 3 issue if In Touch.

Speaking to the weekly tabloid, the Couples Therapy star puts Kate Gosselin on blast and vows to sue the former Dancing With the Stars competitor for custody of their 9-year-old sextuplets. "When they visit, they don't want to leave," says the father of eight, who works as a waiter in rural Pennsylvania.

"Kate treats people like garbage. She treats her kids like garbage," he says. "She needs a reality check."

Jon, 36, even accuses his ex-wife Kate, 38, of using their twin daughters Cara and Mady, 13, to do her dirty work. "They get rewarded with special treatment," he claims. "She's trained them to mirror her."

"When they break her rules, they tell me she still spanks them—and she does it in front of the others to scare them into behaving," Jon says of the sisters. "When I punish them, I usually take something away, like an iPod. I don't spank them because it doesn't work! I also hold them and talk to them."

Jon has regular visitation with the twins, as well as with Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel and Leah.

Kate's other punishments include doing extra household chores, like collecting weeds, Jon alleges. "Alexis doesn't know the difference between poison ivy and weeds, so she had poison ivy all summer long," he tells the magazine. "She was sweating and itchy. It was disgusting, poor kid."

In the Jan. 20 issue of People, however, Kate said her twins are better off without Jon in their lives. "Since Jon has been gone, they've just stepped up and pitched in," she marveled. Kate, who is living off proceeds from her cookbook, Love Is in the Mix, as well as her website and other investments, added that the girls are keenly aware of the ongoing tension that lingers between their famous parents.

"They are figuring out some stuff on their own. I've realized that some of the ways I was trying to protect them could hurt them because they were hearing about things in school, so I had to learn to give them a heads-up when something's happened," she explained. "We're walking a tight-rope."

Kate, who's not close to her own siblings, appreciates the twins' assistance. "My parents didn't foster that with me, the idea of teamwork—where you look at your family and they're your best friends and will stick up for you and be there for you for life," she said. "I'm so proud that my kids have that."