What Happened To Collin Gosselin After Jon And Kate Plus 8?

On May 10, 2024, Jon and Kate Gosselin's sextuplets, whom so many of us watched on the TLC series "Jon & Kate Plus 8," celebrated their 20th birthday. The final episode of the show aired in 2009, and its sequel series, "Kate Plus 8," continued until 2017, with the youngest cast members growing up even more in the years since. On May 12, 2024, Kate posted a photo to Instagram, showing four of the sextuplets, Alexis, Aaden, Leah, and Joel, posing with their birthday cake. Yet, the exclusion of the others, Hannah and Collin, is raising a few eyebrows. Since his time on the show, Collin has been vulnerable about his childhood experiences with his mother and why they are estranged today.

Even years after their messy divorce, it likely doesn't surprise many that Jon and Kate Gosselin are not on speaking terms. In addition to the sextuplets, Jon and Kate had twin daughters, Cara and Mady. Having had eight children and a volatile and very public divorce, it's no wonder that some of the children took sides and ultimately became estranged from one of their warring parents. Yet, Collin, in particular, has spoken out about the tragic details of his childhood and how they have impacted his relationship with his mom since their reality show ended.

In a 2016 interview with People, Kate Gosselin revealed that she had enrolled her then 12-year-old son, Collin Gosselin, at Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute. She explained, "Collin has special needs," adding, "[There's] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things." Kate made it clear that from her perspective, Collin's behavior caused trouble within their large family. "This has been a struggle we've had for a very long time, and it's one I've dealt with on my own," she explained. She said, "I've felt very alone in this. By the same token, it's not something that has only impacted me or him – our entire family has been impacted."

According to Kate, the program Collin was enrolled in was "helping him learn the skills he needs to be the best him he can be." Yet, Collin himself had a very different perspective. In 2022, the Gosselin sextuplets turned 18, and Collin spoke with Entertainment Tonight about his experience. "Institution — scary place, but I learned a lot about myself," Collin explained. According to him, "I was in a dark place mentally. I think being in a place like that does more damage than it helps you." The experience did, however, bring him closer to Jon Gosselin. Collin noted, "I spent my 13th and 14th birthday there," and added that writing to his dad ultimately helped him.

Collin Gosselin noted that his relationship with Kate Gosselin was nonexistent once he left the institution in his Entertainment Tonight interview. He also clarified that their relationship had been strained before he was sent away. He blames much of that strain on living their lives on a reality show. He said, "It tore us apart, and it gave us less time to actually be together as a family, but more time to be in the public eye."

In the first episode of the series, "Dark Side of the 2000s," titled "Jon & Kate Plus 8: Family Circus," which aired in 2023, Collin and his sister, Hannah, spoke out about the abuse that he suffered from their mother when they were young. On the episode, Collin said of his mother, "I want to think that she needed someone to take out her anger and frustration on, and it was just kind of me," per Honey. At the time, Kate doubled down on her actions in an Instagram post.

It's clear that Collin and Hannah have stuck together over the years and are close with their dad. In April 2024, Jon told E! News, "Hannah and Collin store their stuff in my house. They don't really live there. But it's a different time for me in my life only because, one day, they're in my house, and then the next day, they're not." Collin plans to head to college in the fall of 2025.