COLLIN Gosselin is eager to return to reality TV – but this time, he’s eyeing a very different challenge than his childhood show Jon and Kate Plus Eight.
The 20-year-old sextuplet said he thinks it would be a “cool opportunity” if he were asked to take part in Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test – the same show his mom Kate Gosselin appeared on last year.
The former Marine recruit believes he’ll fare better than his estranged mom – who withdrew from the show in the first episode after injuring her neck – and thinks he’s well-equipped to deal with any challenges he might face.
Collin, who last month accused his mom of abusing him as a child by zip tying his hands and feet and locking him in a basement room in a world-exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, says he’d love to take on a challenging show like Special Forces to show his mom what he’s “capable of.”
Kate hasn’t spoken to Collin since she had him diagnosed with a long list of mental health conditions and put in a mental institution in 2016, when he was just 11 years old.
Collin, who recently underwent a psychological evaluation which he shared with The U.S. Sun to prove he has no mental health problems, blames his mom for cutting short his Marine career and ending his dreams of serving his country.
He was discharged from the Marines towards the end of his training period in August last year, just a month after his mother had made a long post on Instagram where she said he had “multiple psychiatric diagnoses” and was “violent” and “unpredictable” – claims Collin strongly denies.
Collin is now enjoying his first semester at college in Pennsylvania.
“I actually did watch Special Forces. I think it’s a very neat show,” Collin told The U.S. Sun in a new exclusive interview.
“And what was upsetting is having to watch her [Kate] kind of struggle through it, and it seems like she had a very difficult time on Special Forces.
“You know, even so, with everything going on right now, I still did deeply feel sorry for her, and how she had to struggle through those challenges on that show.
“Despite my mother, and you know her, her constant effort to protect her reputation at the cost of mine, and the things that she has said about me and the things that she has done to me, I still feel
in my heart. I feel sorry for her.
“I feel you know, that the things that she has done have been very tough, and they have affected me.
“However, you know my my drive and my want to move forward and to achieve my dreams is is greater than that.”
When asked if he would ever want to go on the same show, Collin responded: “I don’t think if anybody was presented that opportunity, I don’t think they turn it down. I think that’d be a cool opportunity.
“It’d be a good chance for me to show my mother and to show the world what I’m capable of… it was the first time that I had seen my mother in a while on that show, but it’s also been a while since my mom has seen me.
Even with everything going on right now, I still did deeply feel sorry for her, and how she had to struggle through those challenges on that show
Collin Gosselin
“So maybe this would be an opportunity for her to see me and see what I am actually capable of.”
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
He pointed out that the show is very different to Marine boot camp, but says he’d be ready to overcome any challenges put in his way.
“You know the show Special Forces is not the Marines, but you know I I do think that, when I was in boot camp, you know I went through challenges, and I overcame them.
“You know, when she was on that show, she endured challenges, and you know how it was.
“It was hard to see her struggle through those challenges, so you know, they have some similarities, but I wouldn’t say they’re too similar.”
Collin believes it would be empowering for him to return to TV as an adult as opposed to when he was a child on Jon and Kate Plus Eight, where he had no control over anything.
Collin appeared on the show from birth along with his siblings Hannah, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel and twins Mady and Cara.
The show was one of the most successful reality TV series of the 2000s and documented the lives of Kate, husband Jon and their eight kids.
Jon and Kate divorced in 2018 but filming continued with just Kate and the kids until the show was canceled for good in 2011.
‘PUSHED INTO THE LIMELIGHT’
“When I was younger and just being kind of pushed into the limelight, I don’t think it’s ideal for a child, especially a young child,” Collin said.
“But as we grow older we have more control over our lives and our decisions.
“I think that in a different light, with more control, I think more control over, you know being on TV and on camera, I think that changes things a lot.”
Brave Collin shocked fans with his admissions about his heartbreaking childhood, where he said he was alienated from his siblings and subjected to mental and physical abuse by Kate, before being put in a mental health institution for over two years.
Kate did not respond to the allegations but her former lawyer Richard Puleo said he didn’t think she’d ever done anything to purposely hurt Collin.
In heartbreaking scenes during The U.S. Sun interview, he read out a letter he’d written in crayon begging his dad to rescue him from the facility.
He says he was overwhelmed by the response he received from fans, once the story and accompanying video was published.
“I’ve received a lot of love and a lot of support from that. And it’s really amazing to see.
I’m not only hurt and embarrassed, but the fact that it led to my discharge. You know I’m crushed and devastated. I’m just left here wondering what that dream could have been.
Collin Gosselin
“You know, I actually read through every single comment of my Instagram post. I scrolled like for an entire night one night just reading all of them, and a lot of those comments brought me to tears.
“It was really amazing to see, because you never know when
you come out about something like this, and you never know what kind of support you’ll receive.
“So it was really amazing to see the love and the support from a lot of people.”
For now Collin says he’s really enjoying his first semester at college and has moved into his own dorm room.
But as much as he likes college, his number one dream is still to return to the Marine Corps.
“It’s going really…I have no complaints,” he said.
Kate Gosselin's 2023 statement about Collin
Kate posted this statement on her Instagram page in July 2023:
“I never wanted to have to do this but I fell 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.
“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. The decision to admit him was made by emergency room doctors following one of his many attacks/ outbursts – this one involving his use of a weapon. Fast forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Collin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him.
“Collins distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with. 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 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, and certainly not easy for others on the outside to understand. All measure that were taken in our home were at the explicit recommendations of his pediatric psychiatrist and/or his team of specialists and were put into place to safeguard every member of our family, our friends as well as our family pets.
“Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to needs a lot of help. His brothers and sister and I have not been directly involved in his life dues to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us. What his sister Mady posted on social media recently is completely accurate and I deeply appreciate her bravery in doing so.
“This is all I have to say on the matter and I will not be discussing this subject ant further at this time.”
“A lot, of coursework, but you know it’s not the Marine Corps. The Marines has been a dream of mine, for you know it’s it’s a lifelong dream and it’s really it’s been difficulty recently, when my mother has come out with these false diagnoses and these allegations.
“It’s been really difficult, because I’m not only hurt and embarrassed, but the fact that it led to my discharge. You know I’m crushed and devastated. I’m just left here wondering what that dream could have been.”
When asked if he is till hoping to rejoin the Marines he replied emphatically: “100 percent. That’s the dream.
“And there’s very few dreams, if any, that that trump that dream. So yes, 100 percent.”
The U.S. Sun reached out to Fox for comment on Special Forces World’s Toughest Test.
