‘Kate Plus 8’: Kate Gosselin Cries Before Daughters Cara & Mady Head To College In New TV Special

TLC

The mom of eight is far from being an empty nester, but 18-year-old Mady says her mom is ‘not coping well’ in a trailer for their new TLC special!

Mady and Cara Gosselin, 18, are all grown up! Kate Gosselin‘s oldest twins headed off to college earlier this month, and the proud mama is struggling. “[College] is going to come faster than I ever could have imagined…but it’s the pain that’s hard. I don’t wish it on anyone,” Kate says through tears in a trailer for a new Kate Plus Eight special documenting her twins’ next adventure. “I hate it.” The 18-year-olds graduated from Pennsylvania’s Lancaster Country Day School in May, and the girls left their Pennsylvania home to attend college this fall in New York City.

Though Mady and Cara both moved to the Big Apple, they decided on separate schools — marking the first time they’re attending separate institutions and the first time they’ve lived away from their family home. “We keep having family members leave,” Kate admits in the trailer, alluding to her 15-year-olds Hannah and Collin that decided to live with dad Jon Gosselin. “[Our mom] is not coping well,” 18-year-old Mady confesses, as she confirms she leaves for NYC in just a few days. Her sextuplets seemed a little concerned as well, admitting their mom “put up a shrine like [the twins are] dying. They’re going to college!”

The Kate Plus Eight special follows the family’s adventures as they prepare to step into young adulthood, and have a little fun along the way. “We’re doing a college tour trip. I have thought about this day for a long time,” Kate explains, as Mady and Cara don’t appear impressed by some potential accommodations. “College dorms are depressing. Some of the windows are like ‘this’ big,” Mady complains, as the camera pans to a tiny room with two single beds next to each other. “I feel like I’m in prison!”

“Obviously the [younger sextuplets] aren’t going to be enthused with college, so I built in some fun things to do,” as the camera cuts to Kate and the kids bungee jumping and go-karting. “There is no one in the world more competitive than Kate Gosselin. That is a fact,” Mady affirms, as her mom slams into a wall while go-karting. “I did hear a crack [in my back] — the wall hurts,” Kate admits — ouch!

“I’m going to surprise them and do a last meal,” Kate notes in another scene, as she cooks up a celebratory crab dinner to mark Mady and Cara’s milestone move. The family dinner proved to be another emotional moment for Kate, as she exclaimed “Do you want me to cry in my crab?” While there hasn’t been any confirmation, there has been discussions around a potential spinoff surrounding Mady and Cara’s college experience, Kate revealed at a Television Critics Association event on February 12. Ultimately, she confirmed, “it’s up to them.” In the meantime, the Kate Plus Eight special airs on Tuesday, October 2 on TLC.