Former reality star Kate Gosselin has lost her latest court battle with ex-husband Jon Gosselin, as a judge denied her demand that he pay her $132,000 in back child support.
Kate Gosselin, 48, sold her house in Pennsylvania and moved into a $750,000 lakefront house in her native North Carolina in 2018, with six of the couple’s eight children from their TLC hit “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” Jon Gosselin, 46, sued for and won custody of two of the children, prompting his ex-wife to seek the $132,875 payment from an old “judgment note” signed in 2012, the US Sun reported.
Judgment notes are a kind of promissory note that is illegal in most states because they bypass the legal system. In the Gosselin note, Jon allegedly “promised” not to seek custody of the children.
“We believe the ‘judgment note,’ to the extent it is valid — which it is not — contemplates the penalty amount as the amount of arrears owed in support,” his attorneys wrote in a court filing. “Plaintiff is essentially exchanging forbearance on that amount, declining to seek arrears through the domestic-relations process, for Defendant’s ‘promise’ not to file a complaint in custody.”
Judge James E. Gavin first gave the parties an opportunity to settle and then struck the judgment and closed the case on November 14.
The Gosselins divorced in 2009 and it was anything but amicable. The children, a set of sextuplet and a set of twins, were largely pawns in the ensuing court battles. Kate ended up with custody of all eight of the children before Jon sued for custody two of the sextuplets and won, triggering the mother to sue on the basis of the judgment note.
After the divorce, the TLC show continued as “Kate Plus 8,” which ran until 2017. Since then, Kate has appeared in “Dancing with the Stars,” “Celebrity Wife Swap,” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” as well as appearing as the star of “Kate Plus Date” in 2019.
All of the Gosselin children are adults now. Kate Gosselin reportedly reactivated her nursing license, but it’s unclear if she has worked as a nurse. She still lives in the 3,562-square foot home in North Carolina, which has an in-ground pool, dock on the lake, four bedrooms, and five bathrooms.
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[Featured image: Kate Gosselin during a promotional appearance for “Kate Plus Date. “(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)]
