Jon Gosselin Seemingly Addresses Kate’s Claim That Collin Gosselin is ‘Mentally Ill’

Jon Gosselin is defending his 22-year-old son Collin’s ability to tell his story after Kate Gosselin invoked “mental illness” amid the release of Collin’s memoir alleging childhood abuse. In an October 15 statement, Jon said those claims about his son’s mental health could harm his reputation, credibility and future.

At Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City, Jon and Kate Gosselin stand before a TLC backdrop during the Discovery Upfront Presentation on April 23, 2008. Photo by Thos Robinson / Getty Images.

Jon said multiple independent psychiatrists had evaluated Collin and found the characterization untrue. He didn’t identify whom his warning addressed. His representative, Adriane Schwartz, said he’d stayed quiet to let Collin speak for himself: “Jon has remained quiet to give Collin the space to share his story in his own voice. He fully supports his son and is incredibly proud of him.”

Earlier that week, Kate had responded to a supportive TikTok commenter: “I know rational logical [people] or anyone who has dealt with mental illness understands what’s going on here. I had nothing to do with it.” She’s consistently denied wrongdoing.

Kate Gosselin laughs alongside her children and TLC President and CEO Angela Shapiro at the Discovery Upfront event held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 23, 2008. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.

In his memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, Collin alleges physical and emotional abuse by Kate, escalating after he resisted taking part in the family’s TLC show. He also alleges that she sent him to a psychiatric hospital and withheld his whereabouts from Jon.

Collin says Kate came to see him when he was 12, about a year into his hospitalization. The visit lasted roughly 20 minutes, he recalled, and included her telling him, “Collin, you destroyed our family.”

Jon Gosselin mans the DJ booth at the PBM Princess x Kemo Sabe red carpet event during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 25, 2026. Photo by Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images.

After finding out where Collin was, Jon took him out of the hospital in 2018. Collin says their reunion revealed how much each had been kept from knowing: he’d been told his father wanted nothing to do with him, while Jon had been told Collin didn’t want him to visit. Collin hadn’t known his father was pursuing court action and trying to locate him.

Jon and Kate divorced in 2009, and Collin and his sister Hannah eventually lived with their father. Collin says he and Jon needed time to learn how to be close again. “We worked on that, and now we’re closer than ever. Good things take time,” he said.

Collin’s memoir is available online and in bookstores.

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