Katie "Kate" Irene Gosselin was born on March 28, 1975 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a television personality, author and a registered nurse. She is best known for the reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" which profiles her and her husband Jon Gosselin as they raise their a typical family consisting of half a dozen and twins.
Kate was born to Kenton and Charlene Kreider and is one of five children. After completing nursing studies at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Pennsylvania, she later worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery. She gave birth to twin girls, Cara Nicole and Madelyn Kate "Mady" on October 8, 2000. The couple used fertility treatment to get pregnant because Kate was initially unable to conceive, due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). After further treatments, Kate became pregnant with septuplets (one of the fetuses was lost prior to delivery). She gave birth to sextuplets on May 10, 2004, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and hospital staff nicknamed them Hershey Kisses. She gave birth at 30 weeks, short of the full term (37 weeks), which required the sextuplets to be placed on ventilators. In order of birth, the sextuplets are: Alexis Faith, Hannah Joy, Aaden Jonathan, Collin Thomas, Leah Hope and Joel Kevin. The couple was featured in the NBC reality TV show Home Delivery, when their home in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, was renovated to accommodate the large family.
She and her immediate family reside in Lower Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania.
In April 2009, it was alleged that Jon had been unfaithful after he was seen partying with various women and leaving a bar with schoolteacher Deanna Hummel. In May 2009, it was reported that Kate had been involved in an extra-marital relationship with her bodyguard Steve Neild. The couple denies these allegations, saying that Hummel is a long-time friend, and that Kate requires a bodyguard for protection.
The couple filed for divorce on June 22, 2009. Jon and Kate have said that their eight children will remain in their Pennsylvania home, and the two of them will move back and forth to accommodate the custody agreement. They have also assured audiences (during the 1-hour episode, aired on June 22, 2009, the same day they filed for divorce) that they will remain a part of their children’s lives as much as possible, and that their divorce, while upsetting and devastating, is in the best interest of their children.
The couple and their children star in the reality TV show Jon & Kate Plus 8, which documents their lives. The show's first two seasons aired on Discovery Health channel and then moved to TLC.
The family was featured in a special on Discovery Health in September 2005 entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins. A year later they were featured in another special entitled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins: One Year Later. With high ratings from the specials, 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. The family receives payment for appearing on the show.
On June 22, 2009, an extended 1-hour episode was aired. Jon and Kate Gosselin publicly announced that they were separating. The day that the episode aired, the two met with Pennsylvania attorneys to finalize plans of divorce rather than separation. And as for the show, the two explained-- in separate interviews-- that "the show must go on". However TLC announced on June 23, 2009 that the show will be placed on hiatus effective immediately. According to TLC, Jon and Kate have moved the focus away from the family, and the change in dynamic along with the production difficulties that have occurred due to the couple not living together make it unclear whether the show is still viable.
