Kate Gosselin Responds to Concern Over Tribute to 8 Kids in Her Home
Kate Gosselin has got all her children’s hands on deck.
The Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum responded to a fan who pointed out an eyebrow-raising hand replica displayed on the archway of a door in her home, explaining that it was actually part of a tribute to her eight kids with ex-husband Jon Gosselin.
“It's all eight of my kids' hands,” Kate said in an Aug. 6 TikTok video. “I used to have them in Pennsylvania across the doorway—and then it went into the dining room.”
According to the 50-year-old, when she and her family moved to their new home in North Carolina, she "knew exactly what was gonna go up on those little ledges.”
Each hand represents one of Kate and Jon’s children—twins Cara and Mady, both 24, and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel, all 21—and are displayed in birth order.
The replicas were made for Kate as a surprise by her friend Carla, who traced all of the kids' hands, while her brother cut them out.
“There's their name and it was in 2009 that it was done,” Kate recalled. “So they are a prized possession.”
Since starting her TikTok, Kate has offered new details about her life, talking about her nursing career and even what she eats in a day. It’s also given her a chance to reconnect with those who know her best from reality TV and give them updates on how her children are doing.
“My adult kids are now watching our show with their friends/bf and gfs!” she shared with a commenter on an Aug. 2 TikTok. “Isn’t that cute?”
And having that distance from the show has given her children a chance to reflect on that time in their lives, with daughter Hannah recently sharing how growing up on reality TV affected her.
“That was our normal,” she told Teen Vogue in May. “You’re always surrounded. The film crew was there 24/7.”
And while she notes that in a lot of ways filming “made my siblings and I closer to each other,” it was hard watching it make her parents—who split in 2009—“further from each other.”
“It’s hard to go back,” she continued, “and watch my parents argue.”
For a look at the Jon & Kate Plus 8 crew over the years, keep reading.
Sextuplets Hannah, Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel turned 21 May 10, 2025 and Kate shared pics from the latter four's birthday celebration.
Hannah celebrated her birthday with her dad and his fiancée Stephanie Lebo.
On Mother's Day 2024, two days after the former couple's sextuplets turned 20, Kate shared a tribute the four who lived with her: Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah.
"No more teenagers in this house! Happy 20th birthday, my forever babies! I love you!" she wrote on Instagram. "Who feels old? I know I do! #20yearsold #ItsaPICKLE."
Hannah shared new pics of herself on her and the other sextuplet's 20th birthday.
On to the next chapter! The sextuplet graduated from high school in 2023.
Jon shared a pic of sextuplets Collin and Hannah graduating from high school in 2023, years after they had moved in with him.
Kate appeared with twin Mady and Cara in New York City in this 2019 pic.
"Happy 18th birthday!" Jon wrote on Instagram in 2022. "Today is your birthday we gonna say it loud. I love you. Love, Dad."
"Our big celebration of #15 is finally winding down here! We celebrated ALL DAY LONG, beginning with a present at 6:30 am before school! I'm so very thankful for my ‘babies'.... somehow they are 15 already?!" Kate wrote on the special milestone in 2019. "I'm amazed by them each day! I'm so proud of the positive qualities I've seen developing as they edge closer to adulthood."
"This was yesterday! Feels like school never ended...and they're already back! #SeniorYear #EighthGrade #ProudMom," Kate wrote on Instagram in 2018.
"Happy 15th Birthday Hannah, Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah!!!! Wow I can't believe you are 15!!! Time is flying by!!!" Jon Gosselin shared on Instagram when posing with Hannah and Collin Gosselin. "I love you all very much. I wish you the best day ever and I hope you enjoy your birthday celebrations today and this weekend!!! Love always, Dad."
"My beautiful 'little girls' .... they keep reminding me how many days until they turn 14. Today it was '12 days til we turn 14, Mom.' HOW'S THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!" Kate shared with her followers in 2018. "I told Leah that she's too small to turn 14. She said 'Yeah, true. Are you sure I'm not turning 11 or 12?' I'm positive. I gave birth to you. They'll always be my babies....I love them so very much!"
"I can't believe they're 13!" Kate Gosselin wrote on Instagram when celebrating a major birthday for her sextuplets.
Rewind to 2014 when Kate and her children found themselves visiting Alaska.
Kate also treated her twin daughters Cara Gosselin and Mady Gosselin to a trip to New York City in 2014, where they stopped by the Manhattan Hotel.
"A precious Christmas memory. My 6 were 6. Christmas Eve 2010 and they're SO excited for Christmas!" Kate Gosselin wrote on Instagram with a throwback photo. "Look at those adorable smiles! #TheyAreMyHeart #My8ReasonsToKeepOnKeepingOn #NoMatterWhat #TrueLoveX8."
Back in October 2007, Jon and Kate Gosselin gathered their eight kids together for a trip to New York City. First stop? A visit to NBC's Today show.
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