BRAVE Collin Gosselin says he's still open to building a relationship with his estranged mother despite the catalog of abuse he says he suffered as a child at her hands.
The college student, 20, exclusively told The U.S. Sun that mom Kate zip-tied him to chairs, locked him in a basement room, and isolated him from his siblings before checking him into a mental hospital as a child.
At just 11, his mom Kate had him admitted to a psychiatric facility for over two years – where she only visited him once.
Scared and alone, young Collin managed to write a handwritten note to his dad Jon – who at that point had divorced Kate and did not know where Collin was.
In the note, Collin begged his father to be his "savior" and rescue him – which, after months of fighting in courts, Jon eventually did.
Kate did not respond to Collin's allegations, but her former lawyer said he didn't think she'd ever do anything to intentionally harm Collin.
But now, despite everything, Collin claimed the door is open for a reconciliation with Kate and his estranged brothers and sisters: Aaden, Leah, Alexis and Joel, all 20, and Mady and Cara, both 24.
"So first and foremost, my relationship with my brothers and sisters is of top priority to me," Collin told The U.S. Sun exclusively.
"And I think the only way that my mother and I would be able to reconnect and fix our relationship in the future is, if she would just come forward with the truth and all the things that she has kept under wraps.
"And you know the many times that she's tried to soil my name and my father's name. I just would want her to come forward with the truth.
"[But] Yes, that door would be open. 100 percent."
Collin spoke to The U.S. Sun on video from his new dorm room at college, where he just started last month.
He said he was enjoying college – although his number one dream remains returning to the Marine Corps to finish his training.
Collin was dismissed from the Marines in August last year, just a month after Kate made a long and extensive post on Instagram about how Collin had multiple psychiatric diagnoses and was "unpredictable and violent" – claims Collin vehemently denied.
Collin believed the post led to him being discharged from the Marines.
"Because of this post and the attention that it got, things started to get looked through on Parris Island.
"And what was discovered was that I was in an institution and from their side of things, from the side of things in the Marine Corps, they couldn't tell if these claims on social media … were true or not," he said in the interview with The U.S. Sun last month.
I think the only way that my mother and I would be able to reconnect and fix our relationship in the future is if she would just come forward with the truth
Collin Gosselin
"And that ultimately led to my discharge because I wasn't able to prove that I had a diagnosis and provide sufficient evidence that these were false until I got home.
"And that's when I sought out to get a professional psychiatric evaluation done. And that ultimately ruled out all of these diagnoses."
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 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.
"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 toward Jon, Hannah and others around him.
"Collin's 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 measures 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 need a lot of help. His brothers and sister and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies toward 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 further at this time."
Collin shared the results of psychological evaluation, carried out after he was dismissed from the Marines, with The U.S. Sun which showed he had no psychological or behavioral issues at all.
But even now that he's started college, he said he has not given up on his Marine dream and one day hopes to be able to re-enlist, saying "there's very few dreams, if any, that trump that dream. So yes, 100%"
He added: "It wasn't really a surprise to me, the conclusion of that evaluation that I got done.
"It was not a surprise to me, because I knew in my close family. You know, the family that's been around me.
'WEIGHT OFF MY SHOULDERS'
"We've always known this would be the conclusion, however, getting that done and actually following through with that, especially after the event of my discharge in the Marine Corps.
"That was something that I felt was very necessary, and it was a huge relief, and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders."
In an interview published yesterday, Collin spoke about how the last time he saw his mother was when she took part in TV show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
Kate took part in it last year but only lasted one episode before she injured her neck during a challenge and had to withdraw and get medical treatment.
"It seems like she had a very difficult time on Special Forces and you know. even so, with everything going on right now," Collin said.
"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…"
When asked if he'd like to make a return to TV by taking part in a show like Special Forces in the future, Collin said he thinks it would be a "cool opportunity" and would be a good chance to show his mother and the world what he's "capable of."
Collin, his seven siblings and his parents all found fame on TLC reality show Jon and Kate Plus Eight in 2007.
After initially appearing to be a big happy family, Jon filed for divorce two years later, and the exes have been publicly at war ever since.
