Better late than never! Jon Gosselin took to Instagram to give a shout-out to his twin daughters, Mady and Cara, on Monday, October 10, a couple days after their 16th birthday.
The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star, 39, shared an adorable throwback pic of himself and his two eldest children snuggled up in front of a Christmas tree.
“Happy 16th Bday to Mady and Cara!!! ❤️❤️👭🎂🎂,” the dad of eight — who divorced the girls’ mom, Kate Gosselin, in 2009 after 10 years of marriage — captioned the snap. “October 8, 2000 seems forever ago.”
For her part, Kate shared an equally sweet shot of her own on Mady and Cara’s actual birthday.
“16 years ago, these two perfectly amazing girls were born! I’m so thankful for them each and every day! Happy 16th birthday, Mady and Cara!” she wrote alongside a photo of the girls as infants. “Can’t wait to celebrate YOU today!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ #LoveMom #FiveMonthsOldInPic.”
Despite his touching tribute, Jon’s teen daughters (who voluntarily live full-time with Kate) do not have a good relationship with their father. Back in June, the reality personality turned DJ told Yahoo that things between him and his family “[were] bad.”
Jon told the site that he and his ex-wife hardly speak, and he struggles to spend time with his kids, even though he and Kate have a custody agreement that entitles him to weekly dinners and overnight visits every weekend.
“I have no contact with them,” he explained of the lack of communication he has with his brood when they’re with their mother. “I’m hoping they’re at school today. I just have to trust that everything is going OK.”