Jon and Kate Gosselin's twins are all grown up – and one of them is setting her boundaries with the public.
The Gosselin family first appeared on the TLC reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" in 2007. Jon and Kate divorced in 2009 and the show was renamed "Kate Plus 8," continuing without Jon.
On Saturday, daughter Mady posted a video on TikTok in response to the public's interest in her life and the lives of her seven siblings, making it clear their private lives are no one's business but their own. She explained her comments section is filled with people discussing her "childhood trauma," her parents and more, saying all of it "is sending me over the edge."
"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," she said in the video. "There seems to be, like, a public consensus that if you’re in the public eye, your entire life belongs to the public and that is in no way true."
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The popular show followed the lives of Jon and Kate as they navigated the difficulties that come with raising twin daughters as well as sextuplets. In addition to Mady, they are parents to her twin, Cara, as well as sextuplets Joel, Collin, Aaden, Leah, Hannah and Alexis.
Regarding her six younger siblings, Mady assured her followers that "regardless of whatever narrative" is out there, they are all doing great. "They are all amazing people," she said. "They are all smart, they are all kind, they’re driven students, they’re working hard, they’re funny, they’re stylish."
"As upsetting as it is to hear this, you are not entitled to that information about their lives or about my life," she continued. "What I share on social media is my choice, and you are not entitled to anything more than that. 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, and if you can’t respect it, then unfollow me, or I’ll block you."
She then took the opportunity to remind everyone to approach the comments section with "decorum and kindness," saying, "the internet should not be a free-for-all" where people feel free to "bully everyone" by saying things "you wouldn’t say right to my face."
"Yes, there is nothing stopping you from commenting these things except for yourself," Mady said. "You should choose to be kind to people and respect their privacy on the Internet."
In the caption of the TikTok video, Mady said she has "been getting hate mail" since she was 6 years old.
This isn't the first time a Gosselin child has spoken out. In November 2022, Collin spoke with "Entertainment Tonight" about his strained relationship with his mother. He has lived with his father since Jon was granted temporary custody of him in 2018.
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Collin told the outlet that the pressure of his family being on a reality television show led to the estrangement with Kate.
"I want to believe it was because of TV and what being in the public eye does to a family. I think it tore us apart," he said. "It gave us less time to actually be together as a family, [and] more time to be in the public eye."
Despite going through hard times in his upbringing, Collin remains positive as he enters the adult chapter of his life. He also hopes to continue to spread "kindness and love."
"My one message to everybody, to the world, in general, is just be kind to people," he said. "It’s really not that hard, you know? Be kind, talk to people, hear other people’s stories, just spread kindness."
