Kate Gosselin

Family

Katie Irene Kreider, who is of German, Scottish, and English descent, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Charlene Ruth Kreider (née Kolak, born January 14, 1958), and Kenton Eugene Kreider, (born May 1, 1949). She has three sisters, Kendra, (born June 10, 1980), Christen, (born May 17, 1973), and Clairissa, (born December 21, 1981), and one brother, Kevin, (born October 6, 1976).

Kreider became a registered nurse after completing a diploma program at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. She then worked as a labor and delivery nurse in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Kreider met Jon Gosselin at a company picnic on October 5, 1997. They were married on June 12, 1999. On October 8, 2000, she gave birth to twin girls, Cara and Madelyn "Mady", who were, at 35 weeks gestation, five weeks premature. Gosselin became pregnant through fertility treatment because polycystic ovary syndrome left her unable to conceive otherwise. After further treatments, Gosselin became pregnant again, and on May 10, 2004, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, she gave birth to sextuplets: sons Aaden, Collin, and Joel, and daughters Alexis, Hannah, and Leah. She gave birth at just shy of 30 weeks gestation. The sextuplets were born 10 weeks premature, which is common in the multiple births that result from fertility treatments. The early birth required that the six infants be placed on ventilators. According to Kate's newest book, very early in the pregnancy there were seven embryos, but one did not develop.

Television Fame

Following the birth of the sextuplets, the Gosselins were featured in the NBC reality TV show Home Delivery when their home in Wyomissing was renovated to accommodate the large family.

The family was then featured in a special on Discovery Health in September 2005 entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. A year later they were featured in another special entitled Sextuplets and Twins: One Year Later. With high ratings from the specials, Discovery Health signed the couple to a reality series that aired beginning in April 2007, called Jon & Kate Plus 8, which documented their lives. To produce the show, the family was filmed for three or four days per week. The show's first two seasons aired on Discovery Health Channel and then moved to The Learning Channel (TLC). The family received payment for appearing on the show.

Divorce

Jon and Kate announced on the June 22, 2009 episode of the show that they were separating. However, the two had met with Pennsylvania attorneys on the day that the episode aired to finalize plans for divorce rather than separation. They stated that their eight children will remain in their Pennsylvania home, and the two of them will move back and forth to accommodate the custody agreement. In separate interviews, they stated that the show would continue; however, TLC announced on June 23, 2009, that the show would be placed on hiatus effective immediately. According to TLC, Jon and Kate had moved the focus away from the family and the change in the dynamic, as well as the production difficulties that had occurred because the couple was no longer living together, made it unclear whether the show was still viable.

On August 13, 2009, the police were called to the Gosselin family home in Wernersville, Pennsylvania after the couple were engaged in a verbal fight. Kate arrived at the home during Jon's scheduled time with their children because she did not approve of the babysitter he was using. No arrests were made and no charges were filed against either party.

On December 16, 2009, it was announced that the couple's divorce was finalized. Kate was granted the ownership of the family home and primary custody of the children.

As of November 2016, Kate has a contentious relationship with her ex-husband, which has repeatedly made headlines. They have continued to battle over custody of the children, as Jon plans to take Kate to court for joint physical and legal custody of them. Currently, Kate has full custody of the twins and sextuplets while he has visitation.

Reality TV

On September 29, 2009, TLC announced the title of the show would be changed from Jon & Kate Plus 8 to Kate Plus 8 and would follow Gosselin as a divorced mother. Jon would continue to appear, albeit infrequently, on the show. The last episode was a season five finale on November 23, 2009, because of Jon's decision to stop filming. Reruns of the show still air on TLC.

Gosselin filmed a talk show pilot with Paula Deen in September 2009. By the end of 2009, it had not been picked up by a television network. In late December 2009 it was also announced that Gosselin was no longer being considered for a role in the planned show because she was deemed "too controversial" by show executives. Gosselin was a contestant on the tenth season of the television show Dancing With The Stars and had expressed a strong desire to remain on the show and win despite widespread criticism of her dancing. She was partnered with Tony Dovolani. She was eliminated from the competition on April 20, 2010.

In April 2010 TLC announced Gosselin would be getting her own show called Twist of Kate. The series will feature her traveling the country, visiting mothers who have written her letters about their stories. TLC has a new series of specials planned called Kate Plus 8. An unknown source told Life and Style magazine that Twist of Kate and her other reality specials had been cancelled; however, season 2 of Kate Plus 8 premiered on November 28, 2010. TLC's reps and Gosselin have denied the Life and Style's claims, saying that neither show has been cancelled.

Shortly after Gosselin was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars, rumors began flying that she would be featured on the upcoming edition of the popular TV show The Bachelorette. Several people denied this, including the show's creator, Mike Fleiss, and a representative for TLC, although they did say that it would be interesting to place her in the show.

On June 24, 2010, it was announced that Gosselin would be back as a co-host on The View on July 2, on which she has previously co-hosted twice.

In August 2011, it was announced that Kate Plus 8 would not be returning to TLC in September. The final episode of the show aired on September 12, 2011.

Kate and her children were on the episode of Celebrity Wife Swap that aired on February 26, 2013, where Kate switched places with Kendra Wilkinson.

On March 19, 2014, it was announced that Kate and her eight would return in a reunion special, scheduled to air in June.

In August 2014, it was announced that Kate Plus 8 would return for another season on January 13, 2015 on TLC.

A new season of Kate Plus 8 premiered November 22, 2016 on TLC.

Author

Gosselin has written three non-fiction books. Her first book, written with Jon Gosselin and Beth Carson, was published in November 2008, titled: Multiple Blessings. It debuted at number five on The New York Times Best Sellers list and sold over 500,000 copies by the end of 2009. Her second book, Eight Little Faces, was released in April 2009 and also debuted at number five on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Her third book, titled I Just Want You To Know, was released on April 13, 2010, selling approximately 10,000 copies in its first week and debuting at number 103 on The New York Times Best Sellers list.