After more than a decade spent in and out of the courtroom, warring exes Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin are finally free of one another. Jon has revealed that he and his former wife terminated their last remaining court cases now that their youngest children are legally adults (custody had been a big sticking point) — something that Jon hopes will open up a path to reconciliation between him and his estranged kids.
More from CafeMom: 21 of the Most Sensational Celebrity Lawsuits
Without the court system in the way, Jon is hopeful that his kids will be open to talking.
After a successful run with TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8, the reality TV couple had a very messy (and very public) falling-out that rocked the lives of their combined eight children. Unfortunately for Jon, amid his divorce from Kate, all but two of his children ended up siding with their mom, who retained custody of everyone but sextuplets Collin and Hannah.
Jon, Collin, and Hannah lost their relationships with the rest of the family.
But now that Jon and Kate's custody battle has ended (the remaining sextuplets are all 18 now), Jon is hopeful he'll be able to start contacting his estranged kids to make amends. "Before, the kids living with Kate were under her thumb, but now that they are adults and going off to college or the military or whatever, I don't have as much fear about reaching out to them," he told The Sun.
He blames himself and Kate for the damage done to his relationship with the kids.
"There was so much angst between Kate and me, and my kids are pleasers — they wanted to please their mom," he continued, addressing the fact that the majority of his children sided with their mother after the split.
"I always wanted to talk to all of my kids, but I didn't want to put them in an awkward position because Kate didn't want them talking to me."
Jon also accused Kate of playing dirty.
The father of eight didn't mince words and accused his ex-wife of "parental alienation," saying he hopes that now that all of his kids are adults and living their own lives they may not be as influenced by their mother or their management teams.
"My door has always been open to them, and I hope now they are adults they may want to reach out," he continued.
More from CafeMom: Mady Gosselin Might Be Using TikTok To Throw Shade at Her Parents
Given how much damage has been done, we imagine the Gosselins have a long road to recovery.
Jon hasn't had contact with Mady, Cara, Leah, Alexis, Aaden, and Joel in years. We have to suspect that any reconciliation (if that is in fact what the kids want) will be slow to start and will take a lot of time to accomplish.
We have to admit that we're pulling for Jon — not just because he's been so open about wanting to establish a relationship with his children for years but because we think reconnecting with the rest of the family will also be the best thing for Collin and Hannah, who have also lost out on having a relationship with their siblings.
Good luck, Jon!
