Last week, Collin Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8 publicly accused his mom, Kate Gosselin, of abuse.
Collin, now 19, had much of his childhood documented on his family’s TLC reality show from 2007 to 2010, along with his seven siblings.
After Jon and Kate split up in 2009, Collin and his siblings — six of whom, including himself, are sextuplets — ended up living with Kate. However, in 2016, it was revealed that Collin had been sent away by Kate to a facility for kids with “psychiatric and behavioral problems,” called Fairmount Behavioral Health Institute.
That same year, Kate told People that Collin had “special needs” that required him to be sent to the facility. “[There’s] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things,” she said.
However, Jon alleged a few years later that Collin had “never been diagnosed with any known medical condition” other than ADHD, and ended up having him removed from the institute. Jon also wound up claiming that Collin had called Kate “abusive” in a written letter — though Kate vehemently denied any allegations of abuse.
Today, Collin — who now lives with his dad — is speaking out himself in Vice TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s, along with his sister Hannah, who also lives with Jon.
In the series, Hannah agreed with Collin’s claim that his “misbehaving” was “no different” than that of his siblings growing up. “He would be separated from us,” she alleged. “He would not get to come outside and play with us. He would eat dinner at different times than us.”
Collin also said that he felt like Kate drove a “social barrier” between him and his siblings when he was sent away to Fairmount. “She told them the story one way, and obviously, I see the story a different way,” he claimed, adding that he hasn’t spoken to his siblings since 2016.
And Collin went on to allege that Kate had sent him to Fairmount in a bid to silence him after he started telling his teachers at school that she was abusive.
“I was starting to tell people what was going on at home and, you know, she caught wind of that and had to put me somewhere where I wouldn’t be able to get the secrets out,” Collin claimed.
“Being in an institution, it took a toll on me mentally,” he shared. “It was a really, really dark place. All I had was myself. I didn’t have anybody else. I had no support system. It was scary. I was confused. I was lost.”
As mentioned, Kate has repeatedly denied any claims of abuse over the years, even telling Good Morning America in 2016 that she’d been “investigated many times,” and that allegations made about her abusing her children were “always unfounded.”
And now, Kate has broken her silence on Collin’s most recent claims from the Vice investigative series.
Sharing an extensive statement to her Instagram page last week, Kate began by alleging that Collin has received “multiple psychiatric diagnoses” over the years, before claiming that he has a “distorted perception of reality.”
“I have never wanted to have to do this, but I feel I have been backed into a corner and left with no choice. Although it saddens me to do so, I need to speak out now,” she said. “My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years. For the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being, he was placed in a facility following years of outpatient treatment which proved insufficient for his needs.”
“Fast-forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Collin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behavior has sadly continued regularly toward Jon, Hannah, and others around him,” Kate claimed.
“Collin's distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with,” she wrote. “As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and this is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight.”
“All parent-child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, let alone easy for others on the outside to understand,” she added.
Kate went on to state that she believes Collin “remains a very troubled” individual who needs “help” for his “unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies.” You can read her full statement here.
Shortly after Kate’s statement was published, her ex Jon hit back through a representative.
“Kate posting cruel false accusations regarding Collin seems to be just another way for her to justify her inexcusable horrific past behavior toward him,” Jon’s rep told the US Sun. “True love for a child wouldn’t include a mother attacking their son to the public.”
“Collin had to be cleared by the Marines with a full background check including mental, physical, and medical clearance through the US Marine Corps,” Jon’s statement continued, before adding, “The government's full diagnoses clearly reflects the truth.”
“Do not forget that a judge awarded sole legal and physical custody of Collin to his father,” Jon’s rep concluded.
