Kate Gosselin is nothing if not dramatic. The mom of eight became famous when she and her then-husband, Jon, had their own TV show on TLC which saw the family live life with sextuplets and twins. Their relationship went downhill not long after being on air, and Jon and Kate ended their marriage.
Kate has always been controlling and somewhat ridiculous when it comes to parenting her kids, and even when it comes to dealing with Jon. She even sent their son Collin away for "behavioral issues" without telling Jon. Collin has been in treatment for over a year, and recently Jon petitioned the courts to have full custody of him when he's released. Because Kate didn't show up for court, Jon automatically won.
Since then, Kate has been relatively silent on social media since she lost that custody battle, but she resurfaced again recently to promote her new show, Kate Plus Date. The reality star spoke about her parenting style, her new show, and how her kids plan on dealing with the cameras in the future.
"I am a very protective parent, as you probably know. It comes from a place of love," Kate admitted. "I do think that I care so deeply that I have been, at times, overzealous."
As for the show, it's not what she was expecting at all.
"This was a journey and it was really neat because in coming up with this saying, "˜Yeah, I'd love to date, you know, on TV, the safety that it provides. I feel comfortable on television,'" she admitted. "The whole thing of it was, I didn't realize how awkward I'd feel and how this whole journey takes place."
And even though the show is about finding love, Kate said that she learned about herself as a whole.
"I learned so much about myself and so much about how I react to different situations. And it's painful at times," she said of the experience. I'm hard to watch, exciting, awkward, fun and really rewarding."
Mady and Cara, Kate's twins, were also with her during the interview, and Mady joked that it's about time their mom started dating.
"We've been nudging her to date for years, I think, and we're all, all eight of us are so glad that she finally is," Mady said. "She deserves to be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy."
And with Mady and Cara leaving the nest to go to college, it would be normal for Kate to worry a bit about her oldest kids. However, she seems to be pretty at peace with the whole situation.
"As far as Mady and Cara, particularly, and all the kids, I think that they're such good girls that I don't have to keep after them," she explained. "They're self-driven. They have goals and dreams, and they're just good kids. And it is scary nowadays, all the things we have to worry about, about social media and whatever, and I don't "” I am worried but, particularly, with them turning 18 going off to college soon, I don't have to worry. They're very wise, good decision-makers. I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing kids, but they blow me away every day."
Since the kids have grown up on camera for basically their entire lives, it's possible they want a bit of a break from the spotlight. That being said, TLC has spoken with them, especially the twins, about following them while they're at school.
"I mean, that's absolutely up to them. I think it's something that Mady and Cara have discussed potentially. And that's up to them," Kate confirmed. "I imagine as with anything, some may want to, some may not. And that's totally fine, it's up to them. It's always been up to them."
It's nice to see that Kate is at least acknowledging her over-parenting comes from a place of love. I'm sure it's not easy raising kids in the public eye, but I also think that it's a risk you take when starting your own TV show. Hopefully this new show will bring Kate the happiness she's looking for! I think it's time she focused on herself and not the kids.
[H/T: People]