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Jon Gosselin Goes Public With Girlfriend Stephanie Lebo After Secretly Dating for 2 Years
Former reality TV star Jon Gosselin revealed that he’s secretly been dating a woman named Stephanie Lebo for two years.
“We met at a backyard barbecue at a mutual friend Dean’s house,” Jon, 46, said in an interview published on Tuesday, August 1. “It was a hillbilly thing we let fireworks off, it was fun. I had been single for a few months after Colleen [Conrad] and I broke up.”
After they met at the party, Jon and Stephanie, 35, began messaging and “never stopped talking.” The Jon and Kate Plus 8 alum told The Sun that they had their first date a few days after meeting. They hit it off, so Jon called his friend that hosted the party to make sure he was OK with the budding romance.
“I called Dean because he is like Steph’s brother and I said, ‘Did you ever hook up with Stephanie?’ and he said, ‘No man she’s like my sister,’ and then I called Stephanie and asked her the same she said, ‘No way he’s like my brother,’” Jon recalled. “So I called Dean back and said, ‘Do you mind if I ask Steph out?’ And he said, ‘No I don’t mind, but if you hurt her I’ll kill you, I’ll snap you in half.’ And he’s a big guy!”
Jon’s romance with Stephanie marks his first serious relationship since his split from Colleen, 53, whom he dated for seven years before they called it quits in August 2021.
However, the former TLC star is best known for his marriage to Kate Gosselin. The former couple tied the knot in 1999, while Kate, 48, she filed for divorce in 2009. Jon and Kate share eight children: twins Mady and Cara, 22, as well as sextuplets Collin, Hannah, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel, 19.
Kate was awarded custody of all eight kids in the divorce settlement. However, Jon later gained custody of Hannah in May 2018 and Collin in December 2018.
Jon revealed his new relationship just two weeks after Collin reiterated his claims that Kate was abusive towards him and she “sent [him] away” to Philadelphia-based psychiatrist hospital Fairmount Behavioral Health System in 2017 during Vice TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s.
“I was starting to tell people what was going on at home and, you know, she caught wind of that and had to put me somewhere where I wouldn’t be able to get the secrets out,” Collin claimed about why he was sent away to a psychiatric hospital, while Jon added that he spent $1 million to eventually get Collin out.
Kate later denied Collin’s abuse claims while issuing a statement via Instagram on July 21. “I never wanted to do this; but I feel I have been backed into a corner and left with no choice. Although it saddens me to do so, I need to speak out now,” the mother of eight wrote. “My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years. For the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being, he was placed in a facility following the years of outpatient treatment which proved insufficient for his needs.”
She continued, “The decision to admit him was made by emergency room doctors following one of his many attacks/outbursts – this one involving his use of a weapon.”
“Fast forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Colin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him,” the former reality star alleged. “Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he always struggled with. It’s sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight.”
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