Kate Gosselin is anticipating a much more subdued Thanksgiving this year, with her children off pursuing their studies at college. The former star of Jon & Kate Plus 8, now 50, shared in a TikTok video posted on Wednesday, October 22, that her holiday festivities will be quite different from what she’s accustomed to.

“I just asked him what he wanted to do for Thanksgiving,” she said in the clip, seemingly referring to her boyfriend, Steve. “Some of the kids have plans, we’re far away from home, don’t forget.” She explained that while they tried to invite some of the kids, their schedules didn’t line up. “So we invited some of the kids and they don’t have enough time off for Thanksgiving to come here and then get home back to college,” she said. “It’s just gonna be me and him, I guess.”

Initially, Gosselin considered simplifying the occasion by opting for takeout or a ready-made meal. “I was thinking we could get takeout… because, you know, I’m not much of a cook,” she confessed. However, her boyfriend had a different suggestion. “He said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, maybe we could go dancing,'” she recounted, throwing a glance his way. “He’s over there smiling, proud of himself. That’s his kind of humor, and I’m not a fan.”

Given her recent leg injury and subsequent surgery, Kate admitted that dancing might not be in the cards. “I thought you would find that amusing,” she told her audience at the end of the video.

@kate.gosselin

Kate is the mother of eight: 21-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Joel, Alexis, Hannah, Collin, and Leah, along with 25-year-old twins Mady and Cara. She’s been candid about the challenges of adjusting to life with her children away at college. When her twins first left, she confessed to “unhealthily coping” by pretending they were still at home. “I couldn’t accept that they had gone. They were off at college, and I wouldn’t see them until the holidays,” she revealed.

To maintain a sense of closeness, Kate has been sending her daughters “nicely decorated boxes” for each holiday. “I remember the first few weeks after they went to separate colleges, we’d be on FaceTime — all three of us crying every night for at least a week or two,” she recounted. “After that, they gradually made friends, and I heard from them less, which worried me. I just wanted to know they were safe.”

Kate is mom to eight children: 21-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Joel, Alexis, Hannah, Collin and Leah, as well as 25-year-old twin girls Mady and Cara. She’s been open about how hard it’s been to adjust to life with kids away at college. When Mady and Cara first left, she admitted she “unhealthily coped,” pretending they were still at home. “I couldn’t accept the fact that they had left. They were gone in college, and I wasn’t going to see them until the holidays,” she shared.

To keep the family close, Kate has sent her daughters “nicely decorated boxes” each holiday. “I remember the first few weeks when they both went to college — two different colleges — we were on FaceTime, the three of us, all three of us crying every night for at least a week or two,” she said. “After that, they slowly found friends and then I didn’t hear from them as much, which scared me. I wanted to know that they were safe.”