“I spent sooooooo much money on attorneys. That killed us!” Kate said of her financial situation following her 2009 divorce from ex-husband Jon Gosselin

Kate Gosselin, the once-unshakable center of America’s most famous reality TV family, is now 50 years old, working long shifts as a pediatric home health care nurse, and revealing that the wealth many assumed she amassed from years on television has been all but drained.

In a candid series of TikTok comments posted earlier this week, Gosselin pulled back the curtain on the reality of her finances more than 15 years after her highly publicized split from ex-husband Jon Gosselin — and the picture is far from the “set for life” fantasy so many had envisioned.

The mother of eight — twin daughters Mady and Cara, now 24, and sextuplets Hannah, Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Joel, and Leah, all 21 — first entered America’s living rooms in 2007 with TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”

Viewers followed the daily chaos, humor, and heartbreak of raising eight children, and the show became a cultural phenomenon.

But the fairy-tale image cracked in 2009 when her marriage to Jon collapsed in spectacular fashion, triggering one of the most bitter and protracted custody battles in reality TV history.

This week, in response to a fan asking on TikTok what happened to the millions she presumably earned, Kate didn’t hold back.

“Honestly? Providing for 8 kids, college funds which I am proud to say covered all of their college and more and LAWYERS,” she wrote. “Sickening but I was drug into court constantly and that costs A TON.

Sad because my kids could have a lot more saved and I could have a retirement saved if it weren’t for lawyers. It’s okay. I’m helping other families and I feel needed and I enjoy helping.”

She went further, making it clear that her life today is far removed from her TLC days. “My kids got a good college fund, a beautiful home and private school.

The lawyers got the rest of it. I don’t have a retirement savings. Reality TV doesn’t pay as well as it should when you have to provide for 8 kids on your own,” she admitted.

And in perhaps her most striking comment of the day, she summed it up bluntly: “I spent sooooooo much money on attorneys. That killed us!”

For fans who assumed “Jon & Kate Plus 8” meant financial security forever, the confession was sobering. The couple’s divorce was finalized in December 2009, but court battles raged for years after, with disputes over custody, visitation, and financial responsibility.

Kate retained primary custody of all eight children for most of their upbringing, though by 2022 Hannah and Collin had chosen to live full-time with Jon.

The split not only fractured the family dynamic but also left a trail of legal bills that Kate now says wiped out any chance at long-term financial stability.

Today, her reality is one far from red carpets and media tours. In the TikTok video that sparked the discussion, Kate described her day after a 12-hour nursing shift. “It was another 12-hour day, and my patient and I did a bunch of things,” she shared, her voice tired but matter-of-fact.

“We went to a birthday party, we played in the water, we spent a lot of time outside… and I, of course, did all of the medical care as well, feeding, bathing, and all the things. And now I work again tomorrow. My dishwasher is running, and I’ll get up early and do it all over again.”

For Kate, nursing isn’t just a paycheck — it’s a return to her roots. Before fame, she worked as a labor and delivery nurse in Pennsylvania.

Now, in her 50s, she’s found herself back in the medical field, this time as a pediatric home health care nurse, tending to children with complex needs.

“I feel needed, and I enjoy helping,” she told one commenter, signaling that while her circumstances may have forced her back to work, her choice of profession is still deeply personal.

Despite the exhaustion and financial reality, Kate admits there are aspects of her old life she misses — but not necessarily the fame. When asked by a fan what she longed for most from her TLC years, her answer was bittersweet. “I miss our house in Pa.

But mainly, I miss when the kids were little. Not the stress, just their cuteness. At the time it felt like the days were long… but in hindsight it sped by. And I’m sad.”

Her reflections come at a time when her family’s history is once again in the public eye. In recent years, two of her children — particularly Collin — have spoken publicly about tensions within the family, even claiming that siblings were “pitted against each other.”

Kate has countered with her own perspective, but the family’s fractured dynamic remains a point of fascination for fans and tabloids alike.

It’s been over a decade since “Kate Plus 8” wrapped, but for Kate, the shadow of that era still lingers. The fame may have faded, but the responsibilities never did. She still shoulders the weight of providing for her children, even as most of them now navigate adulthood.

She has no retirement savings, no residual income from the show, and no illusions about the cost of her choices — or the toll of her legal battles.

For those who followed the Gosselins during their meteoric rise, the image of Kate today — scrubs on, hair pulled back, loading the dishwasher after a 12-hour shift — is a stark reminder of how far she’s come and how much she’s endured.

The glitz of reality TV, it turns out, was fleeting; the real work began when the cameras turned off.

And if you ask Kate Gosselin what really happened to her millions, she’ll tell you in just six words: “The lawyers took it. All of it.”