Exclusive

Kate Gosselin Had Her Nanny Eavesdrop on Her Kids' Phone Calls With Dad Jon Gosselin: Former Employee Talks Kate's Strict Rule Book

Ex-nanny for the family tells E! News about working for the mother of eight and why she ultimately left her job

By Natalie Finn, Marcus Mulick Jul 23, 2014 11:14 PMTags
Kate GosselinDoug Meszler/Splash News

Kate Gosselin runs a very tight ship at home, not only having strict rules for the kids but for her employees who took care of them as well, according to a former nanny who used to work for the reality-TV star.

"We always had to refer to the manual because it listed her pet peeves," the nanny told E! News in a recent interview. "You couldn't put anything on the ground. You had to put shoes in a certain spot. You couldn't close doors loudly. You could only vacuum during certain times of the day if she was home."

And "at nine o'clock, everything was done," she added. "Even if I was halfway through dishes, at 9 p.m. you had to stop. She told me her day ended at 9 p.m, no matter what was going on."

A rep for Gosselin did not answer multiple requests for comment.

HCI Books

The nanny said that their to-do list included eavesdropping when the kids would talk to their father, Jon Gosselin, on the phone. He and Kate divorced in 2009.

"When Jon called the kids on the phone, Kate said to us nannies, ‘You are Kate, so always listen in on the phone calls,'" she recalled how her former boss would want the nannies to put themselves in her shoes and do as she would.  

"We always had to keep an ear and eye on what was going on. Kate would say she had no problem with the kids having a relationship with Jon, but it always felt like a façade to me."

Brad Barket/WireImage.com

Twins Maddie and Cara and sextuplets AadenCollinJoelLeahAlexis, and Hannah were also often privy to their mom's strict side, the nanny added.

"When the boys were in trouble, they were made to go outside, in their giant yard, and pull weeds," she claimed. On another occasion, she said, the kids weren't allowed to eat a gingerbread house that they had made.

"They had to stare at it every night during dinner," she said. "I finally just let the kids eat it."

The nanny said that she ultimately quit after witnessing certain behavior she was uncomfortable with, such as Kate spanking son Colin—whom she described as the "busiest" of the eight kids and the one most often in trouble—with a plastic spoon in front of his brothers and sisters.

Kate's ex-employee also told us that the younger kids would watch old episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 before bed at night, calling it "mommy and daddy's show."

"It was their favorite thing to watch," she said.