Jon Gosselin Says He Wouldn't Recognize His Eldest Daughters If He Saw Them On the Street

Jon Gosselin just made one of the most gut-wrenching admissions we’ve heard from a reality TV star in a while. On the Legally Goff Podcast, he said he hasn’t seen his 26-year-old twin daughters, Madelyn and Cara, in about 13 years, and that he wouldn’t be able to pick them out in public even though he keeps their pictures. He blames ex-wife Kate Gosselin for the estrangement, claiming parental alienation began when the twins were 13, and says the years of not knowing have“pretty much eaten my soul away.”

The former Jon&Kate Plus 8 star, 49, also remains estranged from four of his 22-year-old sextuplets: Leah, Alexis, Aaden and Joel. He does have relationships with Collin and Hannah, whom he gained custody of in 2018. The timing of his comments is notable, since Collin’s October memoir, In the Shadow of Eight, recently revived abuse allegations against Kate, which she has denied.

The Gosselin family saga has been public for nearly two decades, and this latest chapter raises familiar questions about what reality TV fame does to the kids who grow up inside it. Thirteen years of silence is a long time, and the family doesn’t appear any closer to healing. Do you think parental alienation claims like this should play out in public, or stay private? Let us know in the comments.