She's been called the Queen of Mean, a tyrant, and leader of the House of Horrors.

So, what is the behind Kate Gosselin? Who is she, really?

She has a lot of supporters and fans, so maybe things just sort of happened for her and she is trying to go with the flow. On the other hand, it could be that there is more to this reality TV mom than she's leading on.

For starters, how did Jon & Kate Plus 8 even come to be? It's highly unlikely that TLC network directors just happened to wander into Wernersville, PA only to spot Jon and Kate Gosselin juggling six little babies plus a set of twins and think to themselves - let's do a show about them!

Most people think it really did happened like this, of course. A lot of people also think that everything just sort of happened for Jon and Kate. That becoming trailblazers in the world of reality TV was never on the agenda. Things just kind of aligned and it all fell into place.

Others couldn't buy into this story of stumbling upon so much fame and fortune by chance. After a little digging (or a lot of digging), author Robert Hoffman penned what he believes to be the inside scoop to Kate Gosselin's master plan to trick us all in his book Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled the World.

Well, hearsay is hearsay, rumors are rumors, and somewhere the truth is out there. What the world knows does not come straight from Kate's mouth, but it does come from Jon and   kids.

Here's what they have to say about this notorious ex-wife and mother.

15 She Meticulously Planned Her Empire

Like mentioned before, the show Jon & Kate Plus 8 didn't happen by chance. Kate knew exactly what she was doing from the start. And if she didn't, she sure made it seem like she did. From making the right TV connections to networking in big money, she was on it.

Her ultimate goal? To be rich and famous. She wanted to be the mother of all mothers with a Martha Stewart empire and doing it all with a huge brood. All the mothers in America would look up to her and marvel at her supermom-esque. Only, it didn't happen quite like that.

At least she got the rich and famous part. Being the mother of all mothers is probably not going to happen since she can barely keep her feet on the ground. With haters galore, her flaunting, promoting, and her opinionated mouth hasn't won her the title of Mother Martha Stewart yet.

14 Her Dad Abused Her

Kate Gosselin and her parents have been estranged for years. Charlene and Kenton Greider evidently only wanted to be random. They only visited their eight grandchildren when it was convenient for them. This just didn't work for Kate.

You can imagine why as her own father has been accused of beating his own daughter. Kate was allegedly the victim of childhood abuse. Both physical violence and psychological abuse were a part of her growing up years. He was a strict religious man and she was a normal rebellious teen. The two didn't get a long and it got physical, not only for her but for her siblings, as well.

Kate has three sisters and one brother - none of whom she is close to anymore. The Greiders also have 19 grandchildren in total and are close to none of them either. It's quite the cold, distant family. Perhaps the patriarch is to blame for this.

13 She Got Pregnant In High School

The  entire premise behind Kate's multiple births was that she suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome. PCOS is a hormonal disorder causing enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges. It's the leading cause of infertility in women causing irregular periods and don't ovulate regularly.

Because of Kate's strict and violent father, she rebelled and became promiscuous, which he  hated. She conceived while still in high school. Her father forced her to have an abortion and not to tell anyone, which she obeyed, but despised her father for.

If this pregnancy did occur then perhaps the onset of her PCOS hadn't really done it's damage yet. It is a hormonal problem, after all. There is speculation that she fabricated her PCOS in its entirety and the teenage pregnancy was hidden for more than one reason.

12 Became A Nurse To Land A Rich Doctor Hubby

Did you know that Kate Gosselin was a nurse? Yes, the self-proclaimed germophobe actually went to nursing school and was plunged neck high into a germ ridden environment.

You can even see the photo of her cringing at her daughter's dirty hands. One thing's for certain and it's that she always has a bottle of hand sanitizer with her. So, why would she choose the profession in which you basically marry germs?

To land herself a wealthy doctor, of course.

It didn't work out well for her, though. Throughout college, she was said to have thrown herself at every doctor she could - attractive or not. But, she only got rejected. This made her very angry, but she didn't give up that easy.

11 She Married Jon For His Family's Money

When her gold digging plan to marry a rich doctor failed, she decided to take a different route - the old money route.

Kate and Jon first saw each other at a picnic back in 1997. They said it was love at first sight. Two years later, they got married. Their twins Mady and Cara were born in 2000 and in 2004, Kate gave birth to the now-famous sextuplets.

This plan worked out well for Kate. Jon's parents were very wealthy and very, very generous. His dad bought the newlyweds first house and also sent them a large check every month.

As you can imagine, this is just what was Kate was hoping for. With all the extra income, she was able to turn her focus to bigger things...mainly how to get more money.

10 Her Secret Role Model Was Bobbi McCaughey

Kate Gosselin didn't trademark the "rich and famous by multiples" plan. Another individual had already stumbled upon this and done very well for herself. Kate role model was Bobbi McCaughey.

Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey are a couple in Des Moines, IA who gave birth to one daughter and then septuplets with the use of fertility treatments in 1997.

The reason Kate was so attracted to this situation was because after having the seven babies, the McCaughey's were given a house, a van, endless baby supplies, college scholarships, and even a congratulatory call from the president.

These McCaughey babies not only granted Bobbi loads of freebies, but more importantly a ton of fame and notoriety.

9 No One Would Publish Her Cookbook

Before deciding to go full throttle on the McCaughey copycat baby-making plans, she channeled a little Martha Stewart. Kate created a cookbook that she had big plans to publish through a Christian publishing company.

Everything was going great until the decided not to publish. Apparently the publishing company discovered that Kate hadn't exactly been honest about her recipes. They weren't her own and originality was part of the deal, so the plug was pulled.

As you may know, she has since gotten a new cookbook published titled Love Is In The Mix. More than anything in her life, she is desperately trying to sell this book, but the reviews are awful. The cookbook is full of unhealthy, processed recipes using box dinner mixes and canned soup.

From the looks of things, published or unpublished, Kate is a flop when it comes to cookbook writing.

8 Both Pregnancies Were Due To Unnecessary Fertility Treatments

Like mentioned before, Kate Gosselin was thought to have suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS. It's a hormonal imbalance that is the leading cause of infertility in women.

She underwent fertility treatment from a doctor she referred to as her "African doctor." Why Kate refers to her doctor in that way is still somewhat of a mystery. No one is sure whether the doctor was holistic or actually from an African nation.

Either way, she became pregnant with twins the first rounds of treatments followed by the sextuplets during her second round of treatments. Because of rumors circulating about her high school pregnancy, it's thought that these treatments were unnecessary...except in the event that she was aiming for multiple births.

She also had the choice not to carry all six embryos to full term, but chose to keep them all and gave birth 10 weeks early to all six live babies.

7 Started Marketing Her Children Soon After Birth

It's obvious that Kate didn't waste anytime networking with TV personnel once she found out she was expecting multiples. The kids were born in May 2004 and in exactly two years Discovery Healthy featured the special Surviving Sextuplets and Twins.

Kate claims that a news report about their family just so happened to reach a Discovery Health channel producer, which is what led to airing the special program. Most people say this version of the Gosselin's start is slightly unbelievable, though.

The special was a huge hit, so making a series about the Gosselins seemed like the smart way to go. It was incredibly enticing for the young family, too, so thus was born Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Since then, Kate has done all she can to keep the money coming in. She and the network (TLC) even went as far as to fake Christmas morning to capture genuine surprise from the kids. It seems in front of the camera is wear Kate truly wants to be.

6 She Spoke At Churches To Collect Donations

When the children were younger, Kate Gosselin was often featured as a special speaker at different churches. If you remember, her father was a pastor and had connections to many different religious organizations.

At these events, she would tell of her struggles and how she was blessed with her eight children. At the end of each speech, she would collect a "love offering" for her family. Where all of this money went is unknown, but it was thousands upon thousands of donated dollars.

In many people's opinion, being supported by the church isn't wrong. Perhaps it was the Christian thing to do. What set people off was that Kate grew to expect the church's money and even felt entitled to it. A spirit of thankfulness turned into an ugly sense of greed, it seems.

5 She Asked For Freebies And Gift Cards From Everyone

Feeding and clothing eight children has got to be a monstrous bill. Anyone can see that. When the sextuplets were born, Kate was still working as a nurse. Jon had lost his job, so they were looking at rough times. When Kate was put on bedrest, it was obvious that she wasn't going to keep her nursing job.

Donations came at exactly the right moments according to the Gosselins. They never went without the basics. After the special aired on Discovery Health, the donations flooded in. Kate was even offered a free tummy tuck from a plastic surgeon, which she graciously accepted.

At some point, Kate just stopped accepting things and starting asking for things. She once (or more than once) asked for free dental from her dentist for all eight kids. Being put on the spot, her dentist obliged.

4 Prayed For Help To Stop Spanking Kids So Hard

In her personal diary, which Jon exposed after the divorce, Kate divulged some pretty intense secrets about her children. Knowing her father used to beat her and her siblings, one would think that she wouldn't follow in his footsteps.

It seems she may have struggled with this, though. Kate is a notorious spanker, disciplinarian, and runs her household like a tight ship. She is never without her wooden spoon and tends to spank until the children "happied up."

In her diary, she wrote that she had become so frustrated with disciplining her children that she prayed to God. She didn't pray for her kids, but she prayed that He would give her the strength to stop spanking them so hard.

3 Spanked Collin For Potty Training Accident

As you may have guessed, there is one child that has taken the blunt of Kate's wrath. He isn't shy about expressing his dislike for his mother's behavior either.

In fact, Collin Gosselin has recently been sent away from home due to his special social and educational needs. According to Kate, she didn't have a choice in sending him away. She couldn't handle him anymore.

For more on Collin, see The Truth About Collin Gosselin: 15 Things Kate Has Been Hiding.

At one point during the Gosselin's 5-day potty training session, Collin had an accident. It's been reported that he was spanked because of his disobedience to adhere to the 5-day potty training rule as the other kids had done.

2 Dominant Over Kids And Family Pets

It's not only people that Kate takes her anger out on. The Gosselin family had two German Shepherds, Nala and Shoka, as family pets. Kate behaved kindly to the animals on camera, but as soon as the cameras were off, she wanted nothing to do with them.

It comes as no surprise that she doesn't really like the dogs and never did. She only agreed to them for ratings and would tell Jon to take care of them.

When her and Jon first split, they would take turns living in the house with the kids. Upon arriving for his "shift," Jon would end the dogs locked in their crates behind the house. They were often covered in feces, urine, and vomit. Most of the time, they didn't have food or water either.

Nala grew to despise Kate and her constant yelling and hitting them over the head. She would growl whenever Kate was around. Afraid she would attack, Kate sent both dogs back to the breeder.

1 Invited Her Secret Boyfriend For Thanksgiving Dinner

If you ever wanted a super hero kind of bodyguard, Steve Neild would be that man. He has an impressive history with the New Zealand Police Department and counter terrorism protection. He is evidently easy on the eyes, too (if you're into that salt & pepper kind of look).

Accusations have been slung left and right when it comes to both Jon and Kate having affairs. Kate was rumored to have gotten close to Neild during the breakdown of her and Jon's marriage.

The first Thanksgiving the Gosselins endured while the relationship was on the rocks turned out to be horrible. Jon knew that Kate had made up her mind, but was saving face or ratings. She invited the Neild family to Thanksgiving dinner and Jon remembers it being incredibly uncomfortable. At that point, he already had suspicions of Kate's infidelity.

Sources: www.DailyMail.co.uk, www.RadarOnline.com, www.People.com, www.eonline.com