Jon Gosselin Teases How Ex Kate Gosselin Likely Reacted to His Engagement to Stephanie Lebo

Jon Gosselin is heading down the aisle again after proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Stephanie Lebo. The father of eight shared his excitement and teased how his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, might react to the news.

“‘I can’t believe it,’ probably that,” Jon, 47, joked in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Wednesday, December 4. “I have no idea, I haven’t talked to her since 2018 and I wasn’t thinking of her when I was proposing to Steph.”

The former reality TV star admitted that he didn’t consider what Kate, 49, would think about him getting married again, adding, “So it was not even in my brain.”

Jon explained that he sought permission from his children, Hannah and Collin, as well as Stephanie’s daughter to marry Stephanie. However, he did not reach out to his estranged children for their approval. Jon and Kate’s six other children — including twins Madelyn and Cara and the other four sextuplets Leah, Aaden, Joel, and Alexis — have lived with Kate, 49, since the former couple’s 2009 split.

Jon popped the question to Stephanie with an emerald cut engagement ring on November 23. Jon told the ET he got down on one knee at Willoughby’s on Park in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, following a private dinner at their favorite restaurant. The celebration continued as family and close friends joined the couple to mark the special occasion.

After the proposal, Stephanie’s father whispered in her ear, “You don’t know how long I waited for this day for you, and there was a time where I thought it was never going to happen for you. I’m so very happy for you and Jon. My best advice is never stop being in love. Love comes first.”⁠

Stephanie flaunted her new bling on social media, captioning the post, “Of course I said yes.”

Jon and Stephanie started dating in 2021 but kept their romance a secret for two years before going public with the news in August 2023. The Jon and Kate Plus Eight star teased plans to propose to his girlfriend in July and confirmed Stephanie would have a ring by Christmas.

“I think we’ll just have a very intimate wedding and then a big home reception or something like that,” he said, adding that Stephanie would be taking the reigns on wedding plans since she hasn’t ever been married before and he has.

In addition, he said he was willing to extend an invite to the six children he no longer speaks to. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t get an invite,” he admitted. “Whether they come or not, that’s going to be up to them since they’re adults now and they can make their own adult decisions.”

In the same interview, Jon revealed that Stephanie has spoken to his ex-wife and his other kids. “Just, like, through FaceTime and Hannah’s phone and stuff,” he shared. “Everything seems copacetic.”

However, he added, “My other kids haven’t talked to me, though, Maybe it’s just easier to talk with someone who is with me but not me. I feel like I’m a pretty open person since I do eight million interviews and people always ask me stuff, but I just feel that maybe under the scrutiny of everything that transpired, that it might just be easier for them to talk to a third party individual that’s totally integrated into my life.”