Jon Gosselin

Jonathan Keith "Jon" Gosselin (born April 1, 1977) is an American television personality, known for his appearances with then-wife Kate Gosselin and their eight children on the American reality TV show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Early life

Jonathan Keith Gosselin was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin as the middle child in a family of three boys.^[2] Gosselin's mother is Korean American,^[3] and his father is of French, Irish, and Welsh descent.^[4] He graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1995.^[5]

Gosselin met Kate Kreider at a company picnic on October 5, 1997. They married on June 12, 1999. Twin girls, Cara and Madelyn, were born on October 8, 2000. Initially, Jon was against having a third child, but he and Kate eventually decided they would try again.^[6] On May 10, 2004, Kate gave birth to sextuplets: sons Aaden, Collin, and Joel, and daughters Leah, Alexis, and Hannah. The sextuplets were born 10 weeks premature, which is common in cases of multiple births.

Television fame

They received local media coverage until the sextuplets were 17 months old, when Discovery Health offered the couple a reality series chronicling the lives of their family.

The Discovery Health special, called Surviving Sextuplets and Twins, first aired in September 2005. One year later, the family was featured in another special titled Sextuplets and Twins: One Year Later. Both specials received high Nielsen ratings, and Discovery Health signed the couple to a series that aired beginning in April 2007. During this time, the family was filmed for three to four days per week, and received payment for appearing on the show.

They soon switched over to TLC.^[7]

Gosselin co-wrote Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets with then-wife Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson, a book that made The New York Times Best Seller list.^[8]

Divorce

It was announced on the June 22, 2009 episode of the show that the couple were separating, and that divorce proceedings had begun.^[9] Gosselin then began looking for a new apartment in New York City, reportedly visiting Donald Trump-owned Trump Place in Manhattan's Upper West Side.^[10]

Jon stated that it is Kate who wanted the divorce,^[11] while Kate stated that "Jon's activities" left her with "no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect" herself and the children. Jon released a statement in response, noting that his wife was the first to make a legal move, and speaking of his continuing love for his children. His lawyer was celebrity lawyer Mark Heller.^[12] Speculation rose that Jon's relationship with Hailey Glassman, the daughter of Kate's plastic surgeon, was the cause for the divorce, but Glassman denied the speculation, saying that her relationship with Jon began only after Jon and Kate had been separated for months.^[13]

On September 29, 2009 TLC announced that, as of November 3, 2009, Jon & Kate Plus 8 would change its name to Kate Plus 8.^[14] Jon Gosselin would continue to appear on the show, but less frequently.^[15] However, on October 1, 2009, People.com reported that Jon Gosselin filed a legal action against TLC to prevent the show from resuming and would consider the entry of production crews into the family home as criminal trespassing.^[16][17] The final episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 aired on November 23, 2009, announced by TLC three days earlier.^[18][19]

In late September 2009, Jon filed paperwork seeking to stall the divorce for 90 days, saying, "I regret my conduct since Kate and I separated ... I used poor judgment in publicly socializing with other women so soon."^[20] Among the terms of the divorce was a child support order for $22,000 a month.^[21]

On October 15, 2009, it was announced that TLC had filed suit against Jon for allegedly violating their contract with paid and unpaid television appearances he had recently made on several media outlets. The network claimed it lost more than $30,000 as a result of his alleged breach of their contract. Gosselin's attorney responded that the contract was null and void once TLC renamed the show Kate Plus 8, and that in any event the contract is unenforceable because it was signed while Gosselin had no legal representation.

On December 18, 2009, it was announced that the couple's divorce had been finalized.^[1] Earlier in the month, Jon Gosselin's girlfriend, Hailey Glassman, announced that she broke up with Jon because she discovered during a deposition in Jon Gosselin's lawsuit against TLC that he had been unfaithful to her by having a relationship with Kate Major, a reporter for The Star tabloid.^[22]

Break-in

On December 26, 2009, upon returning to his New York apartment after visiting his children for Christmas, Gosselin discovered that his apartment had been broken into. The damage was estimated at $100,000. A note signed by Hailey Glassman, his ex-girlfriend, was found attached to Gosselin's dresser with a knife, but law enforcement officials have questioned the authenticity of both the message and the signature.^[23][24]

Post-Jon & Kate

In February 2011, Gosselin was working for Green Pointe Energy in Pennsylvania, installing solar panels.^[25] As of September 2013, he was a waiter at two restaurants in Pennsylvania, near his home in Robeson Township. He was later reported to become a maitre'd at one of the restaurants.^[26]

References

Further reading

• van Zuylen-Wood, Simon (January 2014). "Jon Gosselin in the Wilderness". Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Metrocorp). Retrieved 1-2-2014.  Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jon Gosselin.

• Jon & Kate Plus 8 website
• Jon Gosselin at the Internet Movie Database