Kate Gosselin Posts Tribute to Her Twins amid Drama with Jon: ‘I Love These Kids Fiercely’

Kate Gosselin is proud of the people her children have grown to be.

The Kate Plus 8 star expressed her love for 18-year-old twin daughters Mady and Cara in a loving Instagram post on Thursday, when she praised her two eldest children as “wonderful amazing human beings.”

“I love these kids fiercely.. and I don’t apologize for my tears,” Kate, 44, began.

The mother of eight, who also has 15-year-old sextuplets Hannah, Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah with ex-husband Jon, admitted that “times have been so tough and so needlessly unfair for them.”

But, “despite it all, they’ve turned out to be such wonderful amazing human beings,” she continued.

“I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for each of them once they get away from those who have tried to destroy them versus protect them! #KatePlus8 @tlc,” she concluded.

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One day prior, Kate shared a photo of the family’s dinner table, where they gathered for Mady and Cara’s “last dinner at home” before heading off to college.

“Table setting for last dinner at home … then off to college for Cara and Mady. How’d that happen SO fast?! 😥 So sad. So proud,” Kate wrote.

The touching posts come after Jon made a series of incendiary claims against Kate and their children in the media last month.

While Kate did not name the individuals she claimed “have tried to destroy” Mady and Cara, Jon’s relationship with his oldest daughters has long been fractured, though he annually wishes them a happy birthday via social media.

In August 2016, Mady and Cara told PEOPLE that they weren’t speaking to their father, who had given interviews about their strained relationship against their wishes.

RELATED: Kate Gosselin’s Daughter Says She Has ‘Trust Issues’ After Divorcing Dad Jon Gosselin

“He makes it seem like we’re being kept from him, which is insane,” Mady said. “He should maybe spend some time thinking about why we don’t want to see him, and maybe realize that if he ever does want a relationship with us, talking about us on TV is not the way to make that happen.”

“He doesn’t even know us,” she added. “How can he dare to talk about us?”

Following Kate’s divorce from Jon in 2009 after 10 years of marriage, she received primary custody of the children after a lengthy custody battle.

Currently, Collin and Hannah live with Jon full-time. In December, Jon said he was not in communication with his other children.

“It’s what the kids want to do,” he said. “If they don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, as long as they keep up with their sibling connections.”