MOORESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: In a shocking revelation, Collin Gosselin claims that his mother, Kate Gosselin, admitted him to a mental institution in an effort to keep him quiet about her allegedly abusive behavior. In the latest installment of Vice TV's 'The Dark Side of the 2000s', the now-19-year-old said, "I was starting to tell my teachers that, you know, my mother was — can I use the word abusive or are they not allowed to use that on air?"
Collin, well-known for his role on the reality series 'Jon & Kate Plus 8,' had publicly criticized his mother, Kate, claiming that she used her rage and frustration against him as a toddler. He had earlier claimed that his mother had vented her "anger and frustration" over her 2009 divorce on him. "I want to think that she needed someone to take out her anger and frustration on, and it was just kind of me. I was in the way and I was there. So, she chose me," Collin stated at the time.
Why was Collin Gosselin sent to a behavioral institution?
A producer then questioned the teen on the 'Jon & Kate Plus 8: Family Circus' episode: "Are you trying to say your mother was abusive to you?" To which, Collin answered directly, "Well, yeah, that’s kind of the reason why she sent me away. 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."
In 2016, Collin was sent to the Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute by his mother Kate, 48, to take care of his "special needs." After being sent to a different institution in Pittsburgh, Collin sent a handwritten letter using crayons to his father, Jon Gosselin, pleading for support, as per Us Weekly. Collin admitted to Vice producers, "Being in an institution, it took a toll on me mentally. 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."
Jon, on the other hand, claimed that he was unaware of his son's whereabouts during that period because Kate had full legal custody of their eight kids after the couple's 2009 divorce. The ex-couple are parents to twins Mady and Cara, both 22, and sextuplets Collin, Alexis, Hannah, Leah, Aaden, and Joel. Collin contacted Jon, and Jon took him out of the institution. Jon applied for Collin's legal and physical custody in November 2018, and he eventually received it along with Hannah's.
Hannah claims that none of the Gosselin siblings have contact with their brother Collin. Collin also claimed that Kate "drove a social barrier" between him and his siblings, with whom he hasn't communicated since 2016 when he moved away, and that she failed to reach out to him after a terrible car accident in 2022. "She told them the story one way, and obviously I see the story a different way."
Kate refutes Collin’s abuse allegations
Collin's allegation involving Kate's motivations for putting him at the Fairmount Behavioral Health Institute in Philadelphia at the age of 12 is the most recent development in a long-running drama in the famed family. But Kate, who spent 11 seasons on 'John & Kate Plus 8' with her ex-husband Jon, 46, has vehemently refuted any allegations of abuse.
In a 2016 interview, she reacted fiercely when 'Good Morning America' questioned her about Collin bringing up the alleged abuse to coworkers and a following social services inquiry. "I’m in the public eye," she declared. "I’ve been investigated many times. It’s always unfounded, obviously." In the interview, Kate added that Collin's relocation was "not even really a choice," but rather was carried out "on the advice of his doctors, and it had to happen." Kate continued, "This is the best thing I can do for him right now, and so that comforts me."
Hannah, who co-starred in Vice's documentary with Collin, supported Collin's statements that their mother allegedly treated him distinctively from the other siblings. She said in the episode, "He would be separated from us. Like, he would not get to come and play outside with us. He would eat dinner at different times than us."
