Jon Gosselin Shares Update on His Relationship With Mady and Cara: ‘They’re Adults Now’

He’s still trying. Jon Gosselin spoke exclusively with In Touch about his relationship with his oldest daughters, Mady and Cara, and admitted he’s not going to publicly do anything to try to repair their bond. The father of eight was asked whether he would try something in the press in hopes of repairing their relationship and said, “No, they’re adults now. I think you just need maturity to figure out what … in your own mind what happened so you can figure it out.”

Jon, 42, spoke with In Touch on October 25 and was asked about Mady and Cara, both 19, going off to college and whether or not he’s working on the relationship now that they’re a little older. The former Jon and Kate Plus 8 star said, “Yeah, I text them on their birthday but it’s kind of like I have hoped that they’ll talk to me again or whatever.”

He continued, “But I just didn’t do anything publicly because … Their last interview or whatever … it was like okay, I’m just not going to say anything. I get it, okay. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything or post anything anymore. Let them live their lives. I know they’re happy.”

He may be referring to an interview the girls gave in August 2016 in which Mady, who he shares with ex-wife Kate Gosselin, said, “He makes it seem like we’re being kept from him, which is insane … He should maybe spend some time thinking about why we don’t want to see him, and maybe realize that if he ever does want a relationship with us, talking about us on TV is not the way to make that happen.”

Jon told In Touch he does reach out privately, but that when it comes to the young women, “you have to have your own relationships so you can understand what happens in relationships sometimes.”

When it comes to seeing any of his kids besides the two he has custody of — Hannah and Collin — the reality star told In Touch, “Custody’s really up to the kids. And now I don’t have a gag so I can talk about it … if Hannah wants to go, she goes. If Leah, is on Kate’s side, supposedly, if she wants to come, she comes.”

He added, “It’s supposed to be up to them. If Hannah really wants to go, I just drop her off or Kate comes to pick her up or whatever. There’s no … I can’t control that. And that’s the way it should be.” So yeah … maybe don’t expect all the kids and the exes to appear in an Instagram photo as one big, happy family anytime soon.