Jonathan Keith “Jon” Gosselin (born April 1, 1977) is an American television personality. He is best known for being featured on the American reality TV show Jon & Kate Plus 8, on which he appeared with his wife, Kate, and their eight children.

Marriage and family

Gosselin was born and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania to a father of French and Welsh descent and a Korean mother. He is also the middle child in the family with an older and younger brother. Gosselin met Kate Kreider at a company picnic in October, 1997. They later married on June 12, 1999. Twins Cara and Madelyn were born on October 8, 2000. Initially Jon was against having a third child, but he and Kate eventually decided to try to get pregnant again. On May 10, 2004, Kate gave birth to sextuplets, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel. When the sextuplets were 17 months old, Discovery Health offered the couple a reality series chronicling the life of their family. Before Discovery Health offered the family a show, their experiences had been covered by the local media. They soon switched over to TLC.

Discovered by TLC

Gosselin and his family were first featured in a special on Discovery Health in September 2005 entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. One year later they were featured in another special entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins: One Year Later. Both specials received high ratings, and Discovery Health signed the couple to a series that aired beginning in April 2007. The family is filmed for three or four days per week, and receives payment for appearing on the show.

On September 29, 2009 TLC announced that, as of November 2, 2009, Jon & Kate Plus 8 would undergo a name change, to simply Kate Plus 8. Jon Gosselin will continue to appear on the show, just less frequently.
However, on October 1, 2009, it was reported by people.com that Gosselin has filed for legal action against TLC in an effort to prevent the show from resuming:

“Effective immediately, no production crews are to enter Jon’s family home for any reason,” a letter from his attorney said, according to CBS News. “In the event that anyone enters the marital property, Jon Gosselin will notify the local authorities to effectuate police action against any trespassers.”

Gosselin owns their property jointly with his wife, Kate.

Pending divorce

It was announced on the June 22, 2009 episode of the show that the couple were separating, and that legal proceedings to end their marriage had begun. Gosselin has been looking for a new apartment in New York City, reportedly visiting Donald Trump-owned Trump Place in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Kate has stated that it is Jon who wants the divorce, claiming “He does not want to be married to me anymore… I never would have made that step; I never would have done it.” However, a different statement from Kate released June 22 read, “Over the course of this weekend, Jon’s activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children… While there are reasons why it was appropriate and necessary for me to initiate this proceeding, I do not wish to discuss those reasons at this time, in the hope that all issues will be resolved amicably between Jon and myself. As always, my first priority remains our children.”

Jon released a statement of his own, claiming his wife was the first to make a legal move. “This afternoon, Kate filed for divorce. Our kids are still my number one priority. I love them and want to make sure they stay happy, healthy and safe. My job is being the best, most supportive and loving father that I can be to my kids, and not being married to Kate doesn’t change that.”

Jon has recently attempted to stall the divorce proceedings stating “I regret my conduct since Kate and I separated … I used poor judgment in publicly socializing with other women so soon.” He’s filed paperwork looking to stall the divorce for 90 days.

Other ventures

Gosselin has co-authored the book Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets, with his wife and Beth Carson. After its release, the book spent time on the New York Times Best Seller list. Gosselin also appeared on an episode of the TLC show American Chopper, in which he traveled to the motorcycle shop to request that a custom bike be made for him.

Lawsuit

On October 15, 2009 it was announced that TLC had filed suit against Jon for allegedly violating their contract with paid and unpaid TV appearances he had recently made. The network claims it lost more than $30,000 as a result of his alleged breach of their contract. According to Mark Heller, representing Mr. Gosselin the contract was null and void once TLC renamed the show “Kate plus 8″. Furthermore he insists that because the original contract for “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ was entered into without legal representation it was unenforceable. TLC insists that he was in breach of contract by his exclusive deals with media outlets and recurring appearances on several television networks. TLC has announced the show will run its last first run episode in November 2009. Future shows will be considered after the lawsuit is resolved.