The Gosselin family is back in the limelight with the release of a revealing new memoir detailing the children's Pennsylvania upbringing.
It’s been nearly 20 years since “Jon and Kate Plus 8” premiered on the Discovery Health Channel, giving viewers a look inside the life of the Gosselin family as they navigated life with both sextuplets and twins.
The reality series—which was eventually rebranded as “Kate Plus 8” when parents Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin divorced in 2009—ran until 2017. It’s now the subject of renewed interest as estranged son, Colin Gosselin, has released a memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.”
The book has stirred up quite a bit of controversy between the Gosselins, with Colin making multiple allegations against Kate, claiming emotional and physical abuse, as well as accusing her of using money and access to the family to influence his sister, Hannah Gosselin, who has most recently publicly declared she's removing herself from the conversation.
The family's former housekeeper, Ashley H., has also spoken out to People magazine in support of Collin, backing up his claims and noting that Kate "very much outwardly treated" him differently than his seven siblings.
"She very much made it known who was a favorite, who wasn't, who's annoying," said Ashley, who distanced herself from the family after six months and noted the experience "haunted" her "for a long time."
At the same time, Netflix has also announced that a documentary about the family—which will feature interviews with Collin, Hannah, and their father—is currently in production.
These days, the estranged family is scattered to the wind.
Eldest sisters—26-year-old fraternal twins, Madelyn Gosselin and Cara Gosselin—currently reside in New York City, according to People.
The 22-year-old sextuplets have varying approaches to the limelight, with Colin and Hannah—who opted to continue to live with Jon in Pennsylvania post-divorce—arguably the most public with their lives.
As for the four siblings who relocated to North Carolina with their mother, Leah Gosselin occasionally shares updates on social media, while Alexis Gosselin, Aaden Gosselin, and Joel Gosselin have chosen to keep their lives under wraps.
Before the family’s dynamics complicated, they lived together under the same roof. Viewers may remember the Gosselin crew’s Mount Joy Township, PA original home from the show, where they resided until upgrading to a Wernersville, PA estate in 2008.
The Gosselin family entered the spotlight in April 2007, introducing their family to the world with the series, "Jon and Kate Plus 8." (Karen Alquist/TLC) 
Before their 2009 divorce, Jon and Kate owned two family homes in Pennsylvania, where filming took place. (Amy Sussman/WireImage for Discovery Communications) 
The family is the subject of renewed interest with the release of son Colin Gosselin's new memoir. (Michael Simon/Getty Images) The Gosselins’ original television home
In 2006, Jon and Kate purchased a five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home in Mount Joy for $280,000—moving their family about 13 miles from Hershey, PA, where all eight children were born.
When the home struggled to find a buyer in 2009, Lancaster Online spoke to neighbors from the Westbrooke development it was located in to understand the impact the family had on the street as film crews, fans, and media became a regular occurrence.
“They were very nice when they moved in,” nearby resident Samantha Faulstick shared at the time, remarking that she was happy to see the film crews leave.
The family first resided in a home in Mount Joy Township, PA. (Google Earth) 
They quickly outgrew the five-bedroom abode, and moved out just two years later. (Google Earth) Faulstick shared that production of the reality series often infringed on her own life, alleging that the crew would take up parking, set up cameras in front of her home to capture the kids playing in their yard, and even ask neighbors to keep noise—such as lawnmowing—to a minimum.
“We’re a friendly neighborhood,” she said. “We all get along. But [The Gosselins] wanted nothing to do with it.”
Eventually, the family would put signs up on their lawn, requesting privacy from passersby and prohibiting photos from being taken.
The Gosselins’ upgraded estate
Just two years later, it was clear the family had outgrown their home, and they upgraded to a $1.1 million home set on 23 acres about an hour and a half drive from Philadelphia.
The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom 1997-built dwelling was much roomier, offering 7,591 square feet.
With a massive chef’s kitchen featuring two dishwashers, three ovens, and an oversized island, the home was much better-equipped to handle a family of 10.
In 2009, the family upgraded to a much larger, more private estate in Wenersville, PA. (Google Earth) A primary suite with a sizable bathroom gave the parents a space of their own on the main floor, while the need to share space was reduced significantly upstairs with four junior suites boasting en-suite baths.
The property featured ample space for entertainment, with a family room accessible by a separate entrance, a game and additional family room on the lower level, and an 850-square-foot deck with an outdoor kitchen overlooking a saltwater pool with a waterslide.
However, family's former housekeeper Ashley H. recalled that the home allegedly had a strict set of guidelines for maintenance, and that there were "never toys out."
"The house was to look unlived-in at all times," claimed Ashley H., who also claimed that Kate kept a "house manual" of rules for the family's staff. "She would have weekly chores, biweekly chores, and they would include having a toothpick and going around the edges of the fridge."
Although Jon and Kate would divorce just about a year after the family moved in, she resided in the house with Cara, Madelyn, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel until deciding to move in October 2020, when she listed the sprawling estate for $1.3 million.
Records indicate the home eventually sold for $1.085 million in January 2021.