What is the David Goggins deadbeat dad controversy? Daughter Jade's allegations explored in wake of viral video

David Goggins has been a motivation for many, but the military veteran shares a tumultuous relationship with his 24-year-old daughter, Jade. 

The author faced “deadbeat dad” allegations on TikTok, with many others discussing the same on social media. For those unaware, Goggins’ daughter uploaded a clip from her account, @jademgoggins, on the platform. While she shared a childhood picture with her father in the post, Jade’s following caption sparked controversy: 

“Mama, I’m chasing a ghost. #10years #silenttoolong #daddyissues #donebeingquiet #donewiththelies” 

David Goggins alleged daughter has come out on TikTok to say he has never been in her life and is a deadbeat 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ay19MvJ8Cf

— lve me (@616lvemlone) August 23, 2025

The post made its way to other platforms, and the hashtags led to many accusing David Goggins of being an absent father, while some defended him.

Later, Jade made her TikTok account private, while Goggins addressed the allegations at an event. For those unaware, the ex-Navy SEAL has usually refrained from talking about Jade in the past. 

He previously mentioned his daughter in a rare interview a few years back, but talked about becoming a father at a young age, when he was “in the worst possible place” in his life.

At the time, Goggins reflected upon being in a bad relationship with his partner and spoke about how it can impact someone trying to get better. 

However, the motivational speaker didn’t talk much about his relationship with his child. 

David Goggins rejects the “deadbeat dad” allegations, calling them a lie during a recent public appearance

The 50-year-old veteran was recently at the Aspire Conference, where he addressed the accusations of being an absent father. Goggins mentioned being targeted by his daughter on Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok, while rejecting all the allegations. He started by saying: 

“I don’t talk about my daughter. I don’t talk a lot about her because guess what? She didn’t ask to be where I am. So, I ain’t talk a lot about her.”

David Goggins claimed: 

“She’s done a couple things. One on Facebook, a few years ago. She did something on Reddit and she just did something here about a week ago on TikTok.“

He mentioned his daughter’s name and asked the crowd to look her up on TikTok. Goggins added: 

“Basically, what she does is she calls me an absent father. She’s never seen me before. Doesn’t know who I am type of s***. That’s how it makes it look. Which is a f***ing lie.” 

David Goggins recalled that his daughter called him a “deadbeat dad” on Facebook in 2018 and made similar accusations on Reddit later.

The motivational speaker-author started explaining the context and added:

“Me and her mom got divorced when she was about one years old.” 

David Goggins accused Jade’s mom of making her hate him. He further claimed he was in his daughter’s life until she was 15.

He further called out certain internet users for creating content on the deadbeat dad allegations against him. Goggins asserted that he refrained from replying because of his daughter. 

The U.S. Armed Forces veteran addressed a court case and asked the host to read something from his phone. The anchor read back how Goggins never missed a child support payment. The ex-Navy SEAL continued: 

“They went out calling me a deadbeat dad, trying to make it look like not only did I not see her, I wasn’t paying child support.” 

Goggins revealed that his ex-wife and daughter sued him in 2016 to modify the child support. He claimed he earned only $12,000 that year, while his former spouse thought he was earning millions for appearing on the podcasts.

David Goggins asked the crowd to look up the lawsuit, saying it is in the public domain. He further said:

“Long story short, my daughter is 24 years old now. Child support in Indiana ends at 19. My book came out December 2018. So if I wanted to keep money from my daughter, I would’ve waited eight more months. Push it back. That’s not me bro. But they don’t want to tell that story.”

He claimed that his daughter and ex-wife received $743,000 in child support in the last 18 months until the former turned 19. Goggins also invited his mother to the stage, who spoke about the problematic text exchange between David and her granddaughter.

She also claimed that Jade never called David dad and addressed him by his name.

After a viral video from the Aspire Conference, Goggins also addressed the same in an Instagram video and called out the social media users for judging him and accusing him of being a “deadbeat dad.”