Kate Gosselin is pulling back the curtain on life after reality TV and why she traded the cameras for scrubs.
The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star, took to TikTok on Monday, Aug. 11, to share a glimpse of her 12-hour shift as a home health care nurse. In the video’s comments section, a fan asked what prompted her return to nursing after years in the entertainment spotlight.
Her answer was candid and tinged with both pride and frustration.
“Honestly? Providing for 8 kids, college funds which I am proud to say covered all of their college and more and LAWYERS,” Gosselin wrote. “Sickening but I was drug into court constantly and that costs A TON. Sad bc my kids could have a lot more saved and I could have a retirement saved if it weren’t for lawyers .”
Despite the financial strain, Gosselin said she’s found fulfillment in her new chapter.
“It’s okay. I’m helping other families and I feel needed and I enjoy helping!” she continued. In another comment, she added, “Raised and supported 8 kids alone and now they have enough college money to go to college and beyond! I achieved my goal but have no personal retirement .”
Gosselin, who launched her TikTok account last month, has been sharing snapshots of her post-TV life from her love of dogs to behind-the-scenes moments at her hair appointments.
Her rise to fame began in 2007 when she and then-husband Jon Gosselin starred in TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8, which documented the lives of their family of 10 in Pennsylvania. The series, marked by its chaotic charm and growing tension, ran until the couple’s highly publicized split in 2009. In the years following, TLC rebranded the show as Kate Plus 8, following Gosselin’s life as a single mother from 2010 to 2017.
Outside of her own series, Gosselin also appeared on Dancing with the Stars, Celebrity Wife Swap, Celebrity Apprentice, and most recently Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test in 2023 though she was the first celebrity eliminated.
Kate and Jon’s children include 24-year-old twins Cara and Mady, and 21-year-old sextuplets Aeden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, and Leah. The family has been deeply divided in recent years. Kate is estranged from Collin and Hannah, while Jon is estranged from the other six children.
Collin, in particular, has publicly alleged that his mother “institutionalized” him by sending him to a care facility as a teen, claims Kate vehemently denied. In a 2023 Instagram statement, she alleged Collin had “mental health issues” and had shown “violent tendencies” toward her and his siblings.
While the reality TV chapter of Gosselin’s life may have closed, her focus now appears firmly on work that fulfills her and on the satisfaction of having met her biggest goal: funding her children’s futures.