Kate Gosselin broke her silence after ex-husband Jon Gosselin and their son Collin Gosselin claimed she had him institutionalized so he couldn’t reveal her alleged abuse.
“I have 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,” Kate, 48, told People in a statement on Friday, July 21.
She alleged that over the years, Collin, 19, “has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses.” His alleged “many attacks/outbursts” led Kate to admit Collin to a treatment facility in 2016.
Kate said she still loves Collin with “all [her] heart” despite their past issues. “Fast forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Collin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behavior has sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him,” she alleged on Friday.
Kate further claimed that “Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with.”
She continued: “All parent-child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, let alone easy for others on the outside to understand.”
Kate insisted that “all measures that were taken in our home were at the explicit recommendation 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.”
Despite her best efforts, Kate claimed that she believes that “Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help.” She added: “His brothers and sisters and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us.”
Kate noted that she supports her daughter Mady’s choice to speak out against Collin earlier this week. “What his sister Mady posted on social media recently is completely accurate and I deeply appreciate her bravery in doing so,” Kate concluded. “This is all I have to say on the matter and I will not be discussing this subject any further at this time.”
Kate’s comments come after Collin made headlines for his allegations on the Wednesday, July 19, episode of Vice’s Dark Side of the 2000s series.
“I was starting to tell my teachers that my mother was — wait, real quick. Can I use the word ‘abusive’ or are they not allowed to use that on air?” Collin began his interview for the show.
When a producer asked whether Collin was “trying to say your mother was abusive to you,” Collin said yes. “Well, yeah. That’s kind of the reason why she sent me away,” he alleged. “I was starting to tell people what was going on at home, and she caught wind of that and had to put me somewhere where I wouldn’t be able to get the secrets out.”
Collin proceeded to open up about his 2016 stay at the Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute. He recalled his father, Jon, taking him out of the facility after he penned a letter asking for help.
“Being in an institution, it took a toll on me mentally,” Collin told Vice producers. “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 — who shares twins Mady and Cara, 22, and sextuplets Collin, Hannah, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel with Kate — claimed in the piece that he had no idea where Collin was during that time. He alleged that was because Kate had full custody of the kids.
As Kate’s statement alluded to, Mady addressed her brother’s claims of abuse via her Instagram Story on Wednesday. “I do not owe my allegiance to any person(s), who has physically threatened me and every member of my immediate family (some incidents as recent as last year),” she wrote, referring to Collin. “Further, I will never allow someone who has exhibited hateful and even violent behavior towards others based in their racial identity, gender identity, or religious beliefs to be in my life.”
Her lengthy message continued: “For me, there is no further conversation to be had about rebuilding relationships with anyone in my life after reaching the point of physical violence and hate speech. I cannot speak any further on why Collin has done these things, just that I have witness them. I’ve had hundreds of people messaging my private accounts with the most hurtful words you can imagine in the last few days, all without knowing the full truth of what we’ve been through. I’m asking for peace and privacy (and no more hate mail) going forward.”
