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Despite their parents’ messy divorce, Jon and Kate Gosselin’s eight children have moved past the drama and are not letting “their parents’ drama affect them,” a source exclusively tells In Touch.
“It’s obviously been really hard for them with so much animosity and division between their parents, they absolutely were pushed to side with their mom. And then when Collin and Hannah moved in with John they got even more caught in the middle,” the insider says. “The physical distance was a factor too, with Hannah and Jon being in Pennsylvania with Jon and the other kids in North Carolina with Kate. But things have really started to improve, they’re all getting to the age where they just want to focus on the positivity.”
The former reality TV couple were married for 10 years before calling it quits in 2009. Following their split, Jon, 47, and Kate, 49, battled it out in court over custody of their then-minor children. The pair share sextuplets Aaden, Collin, Joel, Alexis, Hannah and Leah, as well as twins Mady and Cara, who escaped the legal drama due to their age.
At the time of their divorce, Kate was awarded custody of their children. Jon was granted regular visits with the kids, but later claimed “their chores even supersede my custody.”
“So if they don’t get their chores done, they’re not coming to my house,” he told Entertainment Tonight in November 2016.
Two years later, Jon was awarded custody of Hannah. Jon later petitioned the court for custody of Collin after Kate lost custody of their son. Jon was granted sole physical and sole legal custody in December 2018 when she didn’t attend a hearing regarding the matter. Kate’s request for the court date to be postponed prior to the meeting was denied. .
After Hannah moved in with her father, she and sister Leah “went a long time without seeing each other,” the insider reveals. The sisters recently reunited for a fun day at the mall, which they documented via social media on November 3.
“Hannah and Leah were always really close. So, it was really great for both of them to spend some quality time together,” the source continues. “All the kids are saying they want to spend more time together so this is really being seen as the first step towards healing for all the siblings.”
While it seems the siblings’ relationships are on the mend, a source previously told Us Weekly that Hannah wished she had a closer connection with her sextuplet siblings.
“Hannah loves her brothers and sisters,” the insider said in April 2022. “She would love to spend time with them. It just hasn’t been possible. They live in North Carolina [with mom Kate], and she lives with her dad [and brother Collin] in Pennsylvania. … It is sad. She does hope that at one point she can see her brothers and sisters. They were all very, very close and her leaving to go live with Jon had absolutely nothing to do with her brothers and sisters. She loves them to death.”
The father of eight later revealed to the outlet that “the other kids talk to Hannah, not Collin.”
Apart from Collin and Hannah, Jon is not on speaking terms with the rest of his children. “I always wish for the best for everything, but as adults now they have to make that decision. I can’t keep on reaching out and being burned all the time,” he said in April.
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