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Jon Gosselin Reveals Girlfriend Stephanie Lebo Has Spoken to Kate and Estranged Kids
Jon Gosselin revealed that his girlfriend, Stephanie Lebo, has spoken to his ex-wife Kate Gosselin and his estranged children, and it seemingly went well.
Jon, 47, sat down with Domenick Nati of The Domenick Nati Show on July 18 and Domenick asked about Stephanie’s role with Kate, 49, and his children, Aaden, Alexis, Joel, Leah, Mady and Cara.
“I know that Steph has talked to Kate, and I know that Steph has talked to my other kids. Just, like, through FaceTime and Hannah’s phone and stuff. Everything seems copacetic,” Jon told Domenick.
The former reality TV star is only in contact with two of his children – Hannah and Collin. Four of the sextuplets and twins Mady and Cara don’t speak with Jon and he stated that he hasn’t “said a word” to Kate since 2018.
“My other kids haven’t talked to me though,” Jon continued. “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.”
The Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum clarified that Stephanie and Kate had only “just said hi.” However, Jon added that Kate knew that his relationship with Stephanie was getting serious and she was curious to know more about her since Stephanie would eventually be a prominent figure in their children’s lives.
“I think Kate sees this as a long term relationship and, you know, a marriage,” Jon explained. “Maybe she just wanted to know the woman that’s influencing her children. I don’t know, maybe she’s just concerned, but it happened and transpired.”
Domenick also asked for an update on Hannah and Collin’s relationship with their mother. While Hannah has some contact with Kate, Collin does not.
“There’s too much from the past,” Jon replied when Domenick asked why Collin doesn’t speak to Kate. “You can read all the press on that one, but that’s really up to Collin to make his own decisions and speak to whoever he wants to speak to about that.”
Jon and Kate announced they were divorcing in 2009, and a messy custody battle followed. Kate was awarded full legal custody of all eight of their children, but she and Jon shared physical custody. However, in 2016, Jon told Entertainment Tonight that Kate’s rules and chores kept him from being in regular contact with his children, despite him having legal access.
“Their chores even supersede my custody,” Jon told the outlet. “So if they don’t get their chores done, they’re not coming to my house.”
That same year, Kate sent Collin to a rehabilitation facility for behavioral problems, something Jon claimed to not know about at the time. When Collin was moved to a different facility in Pittsburgh, he wrote a letter to Jon and asked him for help. Jon was able to bring Collin home and he and Hannah have lived with their father ever since.
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