Jon Gosselin opened up about his close bond with Hannah during a father-daughter trip to Los Angeles, revealing he hopes that she inspires his estranged children to share what’s on their mind.
“Hannah’s a free spirit,” the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star, 44, told HollywoodLife on Monday, November 22. “I hope her opening up will allow the others to open as well, so maybe the others will start speaking their mind more freely, knowing they have a voice then. A mentorship almost. Hannah’s doing it, maybe we’ll do it too.”
Jon has been on the outs with his other kids shared with ex-wife Kate Gosselin, twins Mady and Cara, both 21, as well as four of the 17-year-old sextuplets, Aaden, Leah, Alexis and Joel, who have been living with their mom in recent years. (Hannah and Collin are two of the former couple’s sextuplets, but they stay with their dad).
Mady and Cara are now off at college in New York City, while Kate has been residing in North Carolina after selling her former home in Pennsylvania, where Jon lives with Hannah and Collin after gaining full custody of them both in 2018.
The Amazon employee said Hannah’s outspokenness could motivate her siblings to say how they feel. “It’s not just me speaking for her or mom speaking for her or the others,” he added. “Maybe they’ll see, ‘I can speak, too. I have a voice as well.'”
In the wake of Jon and Kate’s 2009 divorce, the DJ has focused on rebuilding his life and being a good father figure to Hannah and Collin while also expressing on many occasions that he hopes to reconcile with the twins and other sextuplets.
Jon, who split from longtime girlfriend Colleen Conrad in August 2021, shared new details about Hannah and Collin during a recent appearance on The Dr. Oz Show.
“[Hannah] feels a little bit slighted from what things have transpired,” Jon told Oz, claiming she doesn’t miss her mother. “I know she misses Leah and Alexis. She’s been snubbed by her brothers, so I don’t know what’s going on with that.”
The TLC personality also shared Collin’s plans for the future, revealing the teen has already “enlisted” and will be joining the Army or Marines.