Mady Gosselin Speaking Out Was ‘Difficult’ for Dad Jon: He Had ‘No Control’ of Her ‘Upbringing’ 

Parenting under the spotlight. Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum Mady Gosselin speaking out about her privacy was a tough pill to swallow for her dad, Jon Gosselin, a source exclusively tells In Touch. 

“Seeing Mady dealing with this is difficult for Jon because he learned, despite his best efforts, he had no control regarding his children’s upbringing and very little power over TLC lawyers and his children’s mother, Kate [Gosselin],” the insider says. 

On February 4, the 22-year-old college student shared a TikTok video, in which she clapped back at an apparent social media troll by captioning the post, “I’ve been getting hate mail since I was 6, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep sending it. Learn how to respect people’s boundaries and practice kindness.” 

“This is the singular time I’m going to address this because it is sending me over the edge,” Mady explained at the beginning of her clip. “The rhetoric in so many of my comments about childhood trauma and healing and whatever you want to say about my family, my life, my parents, whatever is not your business.”

Mady also seemingly gave some insight into what commenters had been bullying her for. 

“Perpetuating the narrative that we are damaged or that we are crazy child stars or whatever you want to say is extremely harmful, as myself and my siblings are going out into the world and will be functioning members of society with careers,” the former Kate Plus 8 star asserted. “Regardless of whatever narrative you have created in your head from what you’ve seen, my siblings are doing so well. They are all amazing people. They are all smart, they are all kind, they’re driven students, they’re working hard, they’re funny, they’re stylish.” 

In addition to Mady, Jon, 45, and his ex-wife, Kate, 47, also share sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel, as well as Mady’s twin sister, Cara. 

In her video, Mady emphasized that one’s privacy isn’t only for a reality TV star like herself. 

“As is the case with every other person in the entire world, it is not anybody else’s business what they are dealing with behind closed doors if they don’t want it to be your business,” she continued, emphasizing that her social media content is her “choice” and that viewers aren’t “entitled” to knowing more about her life. 

“I’m sorry if that’s hard to hear, but that is a boundary that I have set for myself and for what I share on here about my family,” the former reality TV personality concluded, adding that if people “can’t respect,” her request, they can “unfollow [her] or [she’ll] block [them].” 

The source explains why the fact that Mady felt the need to address her trolls’ comments about her private life weighs heavy on her dad, Jon, telling In Touch, “Public scrutiny is exactly what Jon was trying to avoid for his kids when he filed to have the children stop filming in 2009.”