Jon & Kate Plus 8: A Guide to the Gosselin Family and Their TV Show

Jon and Kate Gosselin started dating in 1997 when they met at a picnic. The Pennsylvania couple tied the knot less than two years later in June, 1999. Jon, who was an IT analyst, and Kate, who was a nurse, wanted to start a family right away. But the couple learned that Kate suffered from a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and she would have a hard time getting pregnant. After enduring fertility treatments, Kate gave birth to twin girls. The couple decided to add to their family three years later and that pregnancy resulted in the birth of sextuplets! So, Jon and Kate became Jon and Kate Plus Eight.

Gosselin twins Cara and Madelyn were born on October 8, 2000. The sextuplets (three boys and three girls) were born May 10, 2004. They are Alexis, Leah, Hanna, Aaden, Collin, and Joel.

See our Gosselin Family Album for photos.

The Discovery Health Channel first approached Jon and Kate about filming hour-long specials about their family. Discovery Health viewers embraced the Gosselins and TLC offered them a bigger opportunity in 2007. TLC started filming the clan for the weekly series Jon & Kate Plus 8, which airs Monday nights at 9 pm. The show captures the daily adventures of Jon, Kate, and their children -- from family dinners to family vacations. The series became a hit for TLC and brought sudden fame to the Gosselins. Kate has become the most successful Gosselin, writing two books and making paid appearances around the country.

In April, 2009, photographers snapped photos of Jon Gosselin leaving a nightclub at 2 am with another woman. Reports claimed that Jon had been having an affair with the 23-year-old teacher. Both Jon and the woman denied the claims, but her brother told US magazine the affair had been going on for months. The scandal brought a great deal of attention to Jon and Kate's less-than-perfect marriage. The marriage, which had always seemed tense on their TLC show, seemed to be falling apart. A new report also linked Kate to her bodyguard while other reports painted her as a "Momzilla."

The future of Jon and Kate's marriage was unclear before the show launched its fifth season in May, 2009. But producers said the controversy surrounding the marriage would not be ignored on the show.

Update: During the season premiere on May 25, Jon and Kate discussed the state of their marriage. "Parents of multiples have, like, triple the divorce rate, and I was thinking we were gonna beat that," Kate said. "I don't know if I can say that anymore. Very swiftly, we turned into two different people, and that's just hard. I've tried for six months to figure out what the problem is, or remedy the problem. It's so complicated."

Both Jon and Kate said they would do their best to handle the situation for the children. "I'm here for my kids," Jon said. As for the marriage, he said, "We have to make a plan and settle jointly what we're going to do."