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Jon Gosselin Says Disagreements in Discipline Styles Led to Kate Gosselin Divorce: ‘I’m Not a Corporal Person’
Different strokes. Jon Gosselin revealed that his discipline style with his kids is different from that of his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, and how that was a factor in their divorce when he spoke on the “First Class Fatherhood” podcast. “I’m not a corporal person,” the Jon and Kate Plus 8 alum explained. “I try to get down on their level and talk to them. Where I think Kate was more of a corporal person. So we had major differences that way.”
“I feel like I’m a loving father,” Jon, 42, continued. “I get frustrated, no one’s perfect, but I just felt like we had different parenting techniques and that also led to our divorce.” The couple split in 2009 and Jon currently has custody of two of their kids — Collin and Hannah. Aaden, Leah, Alexis and Joel, live with Kate, 44, and the couple’s twins, Cara and Mady, are at college now.
Jon also talked a little bit about how his own upbringing influenced the way he parents his kids. “My dad’s from Philly,” he noted. “And my mom grew up in Hawaii. So they were different people too.” But he explained that while his own father was “very gentle and kind,” he wouldn’t ever mess with him. “We just knew our place in the house,” he said.
The former reality star seems more open to letting his kids figure some life lessons out on their own. “I want my kids to come to me and tell me everything,” he explained. “But I also want them to experience the world and make mistakes and be free and express themselves freely.” He claimed Kate instead tries to “control every single” thing and said he doesn’t think that’s good for their children.
“They’re gonna go off to college and experience the world,” Jon said. “But if they don’t have a foundation … how are they gonna function without any self-reliance or any guidance?”
Jon revealed in the same interview that, sadly, his son Collin has “no contact” with his other siblings. “But there’s contact between Hannah and the other siblings,” he said. “I’m trying to get family therapy through Collin and Hannah’s therapist, so that therapist can talk to the other siblings and try to find some common ground.”
Hopefully, even if Jon and Kate have their differences, their kids can still have their own, healthy bonds.
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