Collin Gosselin says ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ tore his family apart
Kate Gosselin and her children in 2012.
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
Former child reality star Collin Gosselin is now 18 years old and says he hasn’t been in contact with his mother or the bulk of his siblings for years.
“I want to believe it was because of TV and what being in the public eye does to a family,” the teen recently told “Entertainment Tonight.” “I think it tore us apart.”
The younger Gosselin is speaking out about his estrangement and the drama surrounding his family, which found fame on the TLC series “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”
Years ago, Kate Gosselin went public about putting Collin, one of her sextuplets, in a facility because she said he had “special needs.”
That came after her contentious divorce from Jon Gosselin.
The Gosselins’ series, which premiered in 2007, focused on their life raising sextuplets and twin daughters.
The show eventually became known as “Kate Plus 8” after the couple divorced in 2009, with episodes that aired off and on between 2010 and 2017. (TLC is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Jon Gosselin eventually was granted custody of Collin, who lives with his sister Hannah, at their father’s home.
But Collin Gosselin said his relationship with his mother Kate is nonexistent.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have a relationship,” he said. “I think every son wants to have a relationship with their mom. But I’m doing very well.”
He also said he has not spoken with the four other sextuplets — Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah — or their 22-year-old sisters, twins Cara and Mady, in five or six years.
“I want to respect their space and their time and respect how they feel about everything,” he said. “So I’m kind of just waiting for the day that they reach out.”
CNN has reached out to reps for Kate Gosselin for comment. She is set to appear in a new reality series “Special Forces: The Ultimate Test” in which she and other celebs compete as part of a special forces training camp.
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