Jon Gosselin Claims He Was 'Cut Out' of His Kids' Lives by Ex-Wife Kate — and Admits He Wouldn't Even Recognize His Twin Daughters on the Street
Jon Gosselin laid bare the extent that he'd been estranged from twin daughters Mady and Cara.
Nov. 4 2026, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
Jon Gosselin has made a heartbreaking confession about his estrangement from his twin daughters, Mady and Cara, suggesting that he wouldn't even recognize them if they walked right past him on the street, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star, 49, laid bare the devastating toll of his fractured family during a Tuesday, November 3, appearance on the Legally Goff podcast, claiming ex-wife Kate Gosselin shut him out of most of their children's lives and left him knowing next to nothing about the adults they've become.
'I Wouldn't Be Able to Pick Them Out on the Street'
Jon Gosselin revealed he's only seen his twin daughters via photos in the past 13 years.
"I haven't seen Matt and Cara in like forever. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to pick them out on the street," Jon candidly revealed to host Brooke Goff. "I have pictures of them, but I still wouldn't be able to pick them out on the street. That's how much I haven't seen them."
"I missed graduations. I missed proms. I was alienated from all that stuff. I don't know anything about my twins," he continued. "If they have boyfriends or girlfriends, or what favorite color they have now, or if they drive a car, I know nothing."
'I've Been Alienated Since They Were 13 Years Old'
Jon Gosselin is seen filming 'Jon & Kate Plus 8' with twins Mady and Cara in 2009.
"I've been alienated since they were 13 years old," Jon revealed about his two eldest children, stressing that the degree of alienation is "like silence."
"Like I've never heard their voice," the former TV dad said.
He then reflected on how quickly things changed following his 2009 split from Kate, 51.
"Like, one day I was an all-active, everyday parent, and it's upsetting, I know, and people are going to hate hearing this, but, you know, I was just cut out of their lives," Jon claimed.
Jon Gosselin Says Twins 'Believed TLC's Narrative'
Jon Gosselin has been estranged from his twin daughters since they were 13 years old.
Jon speculated about why his daughters had so firmly turned their backs on him after their parents' divorce.
"They, I guess, believe the narrative of TLC that I'm a s------ and that I don't want to see them," he revealed, seemingly pinning some blame on his former show's network, which continued to follow Kate and the former couple's eight children in the spinoff, Kate Plus 8, after the pair divorced.
The show ran for six seasons, following the former nurse as a single mom raising her massive brood of twins and sextuplets: Hannah, Collin, Joel, Aiden, Alexis, and Leah.
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Jon Gosselin Believes Kate Told Kids He Didn't Want to See Them
Jon Gosselin said he believes ex-wife Kate manipulated their kids into thinking he didn't want to see them.
Hannah eventually broke away from her mom and moved in with Jon in 2018. Later that year, the former IT worker gained custody of Collin after Kate had him sent away to a mental institution in 2016, claiming he had behavioral issues.
Collin has since spoken out numerous times and has written in his memoir about years of alleged physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his mom.
Jon reflected on how Kate allegedly manipulated Collin into thinking his dad wanted nothing to do with him.
"And just like Kate told Collin I don't want to see him, and Kate in court told me that Colin doesn't want to see me, and then I didn't hear from him for five years, you know," he shared. "I believe that's exactly what she said to Maddie and Cara, and that's their mother, and they believed her, and that was it."
"And the same thing with the other four," he added.
