Wedding bells finally rang for former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin on Sunday, November 23.
The 48-year-old tied the knot with his longtime partner and fiancée, Stephanie Lebo, but instead of simply celebrating the happy news, his infamous past with ex-wife Kate Gosselin was thrust back into the spotlight.
Jon even appeared to throw a bit of “subtle shade” her way, despite their divorce being 16 years in the past.
“Good for him, he always looked as miserable as Prince Harry with that witch,” wrote one fiery user online.
Two of Jon Gosselin’s eight children, all of whom are in the primary custody of his ex, Kate Gosselin, were present at the ceremony
Image credits: __stephaniiemariie__
The reality TV star got married in an intimate ceremony at The Barn at Silverstone in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Around 180 of Jon Gosselin and Stephanie Lebo’s closest family and friends attended the celebration.
Among the guests were two of Jon’s eight children, daughter Hannah, 21, and son Collin, 21, who have been living with their father since 2018.
Image credits: __stephaniiemariie__
The other six children, Madelyn, Cara, Aaden, Leah, Alexis, and Joel, did not attend, as they are estranged from Jon and remain in the primary custody of their mother, Kate Gosselin.
Stephanie’s daughter from a previous marriage, Juliana, was also part of the festivities, supporting her mother on her big day.
The newly married former reality star also appeared to call out his ex-wife in a cryptic moment during his wedding vows
Image credits: __stephaniiemariie__
In exclusive videos obtained and shared by Entertainment Tonight, Collin happily served as one of his father’s groomsmen.
He expressed his excitement to the outlet, saying, “When my dad first told me he was getting married, I was very happy for him. My first thought was just that he deserves this…”
“I think with everything he’s been through, it just highlighted it even more for me that he’s really deserving of this.”
Image credits: Entertainment Tonight
As for Jon, ET reported that he said in his vows, “Before I met you, I never knew what it was like to be able to look at someone and smile for no reason. I feel like the luckiest man in the world, because I get to grow old with my best friend and the love of my life.”
Image credits: Entertainment Tonight
These words were quickly labeled as “shade” toward his ex by fans online.
One user wrote, “That’s a lot of shade he threw in those vows!! Wow!”
Another fan chimed in, “The underlying jabs at previous wife… He could have said a LOT of negative things about the ex and they would all be true. He worded it very tastefully.”
Supporters harshly bashed Kate by unearthing one of the former couple’s infamous TV moments involving Jon’s “breathing”
Image credits: __stephaniiemariie__
“I just feel like he deserves this after being married to the Queen Mother of Karens! The originator of Karens! Congrats to him and his upgrade in all ways!”
Some viewers of the sensational reality series, which first premiered in 2007 and ran for five seasons featuring the now-divorced Gosselin couple and their children, highlighted one particularly memorable moment from the show.
In one episode, Kate was seen complaining about Jon’s breathing during a confessional-style segment, telling him mid-conversation, “Can you stop breathing so loud, honey?!”
Image credits: Entertainment Tonight
She then mocked him by exaggerating his breathing with her tongue out toward the camera before adding, “Breathe quietly.”
The clip has not aged well, and in light of Jon’s recent wedding, one user remarked, “I hope he’s allowed to breathe normally with her, the last one was a bit in the crazy side…”
Jon & Kate Plus 8 ran for five seasons until the couple’s 2009 divorce and was later retitled Kate Plus 8 for six additional seasons without Jon
Image credits: jongosselin1
A second user agreed with the online criticism, writing, “Hopefully this wife isn’t annoyed by him just breathing.”
Jon and Kate married in 1999 and finalized their divorce a decade later in 2009.
Reportedly, several factors contributed to their split, including infidelity rumors surrounding Jon that surfaced shortly before their divorce decision, the mounting stress of their wildly popular reality show, and Jon’s desire for a more private life, especially with their children being so young at the time.
Image credits: Prime Video
However, due to the show’s massive success, Kate did not share Jon’s interest in stepping back, which reportedly led to growing tensions and ultimately played a role in their divorce.
Following the split, Kate, who received primary custody of all eight children, continued with the retitled version of their hit show, Kate Plus 8, featuring only her and the kids.
The 48-year-old has been estranged from his six other children, who also snubbed his recent wedding
Image credits: kateplusmy8
Jon’s son Collin shared with ET his hope that his siblings will eventually rebuild their relationship with their father.
He said, “It would have been really nice to see my other siblings here. I love them and I hope they know that we would love to see them here. I hope they understand how important marriage is and… to see our dad get married today.”
Several netizens echoed his sentiments, sympathetically writing, “Happy for Jon I wish his other children would reconnect and all make peace.”
“Ya it’s sad he didn’t get the rest of his kids to be with him. Maybe when they older, they can make decisions for themselves…”
Stephanie and Jon have been dating for the past four years, since August 2021, and got engaged in November last year.
The newlyweds will honeymoon next year, setting sail on a Caribbean cruise.