Getty ImagesWhat is going on with the Gosselins?
It's been more than seven years since Kate Gosselin and Jon Gosselin called it quits and like most breakups, the impact on the kids has been devastating. The two are parents to 16-year-old twins Cara and Madelyn and 12-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel and Leah.
Jon and Kate, who rose to fame with their kids on the TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8, announced in mid-2009 they had split and finalized a divorce that December, with Kate receiving primary legal custody of their children. The family appeared without Jon on the revamped series Kate Plus 8 the following year. The show ran on and off until earlier this year.
But the real drama was—and is—brewing behind the scenes — drama that involves the kids, some of whom are growing up to make their own choices.
This past June, Jon said he and Kate rarely interact and that their custody agreement allows him to see only four of their children at once, during weekly dinners and overnights every other weekend. The news came a year after Jon filed for full custody of their daughter Hannah.
He also told news outlets that he has not seen his and Kate's son Collin in about a year and a half, and anticipates a court battle with Kate. She has not commented.
Kate said in August Collin has "special needs" and suffers from "educational and social challenges." She also said she has dealt with this struggle on her own for a "very long time."
Jon told ET in an interview posted Wednesday that he asks Kate about Collin but she doesn't answer his texts.
He also said the boy "seemed fine" to him the last time he saw him, calling his son "really smart" and being "incredibly intuitive."
"I could see my kids getting annoyed with that because he's the smartest and he does this, and he does that, and he always wants it his way," Jon added.
Kate has said Collin no longer goes to school with his siblings and is undergoing a program designed to help him "learn certain strategies to help him deal with things."
"Whoever comes through that gate or gets off that [school] bus is who I get," Jon said in June, regarding their custody arrangement. "If the kids want to come, they come. I love them all, but I am going to focus on the ones that want to come. My hands are tied."
Meanwhile, twins Cara and Mady told People in August that they made their own decision not to spend time with their dad.
"He should maybe spend some time thinking about why we don't want to see him, and maybe realize that if he ever does want a relationship with us, talking about us on TV is not the way to make that happen," Mady said, adding, "He doesn't even know us. How can he dare to talk about us?"
"I wouldn't even know what to say about him," Cara added.
Jon has not responded publicly to the twins' comments.
"Anyone who grows up with a parent who is often absent is going to have issues to deal with," Kate had said about her kids at the time. "At the end of the day I just want them to make good choices. And so far they really have been."
Jon has said he has had to use Twitter to check for sightings of his family to find out what they are up to. He has also said the Kate "pulls custody B.S." by saying things like, "Oh, you don't have custody this week. We're filming." He said in 2014 his ex-wife "instills fear" and "controls" their kids. Kate has not responded.
He also says the children don't contact him when they're at home with Kate.
"I just have to trust that everything is going OK," he said.