Kate Gosselin has taken aim at her 19-year-old son Collin, branding him ‘violent and unpredictable’ and claiming that he ‘fabricated’ allegations of abuse against her.
The 48-year-old former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star issued a sensational statement against her teenage son on Friday in the wake of his appearance in VICE TV docuseries, Dark Side of the 2000s, in which he claimed his mother had ‘abused’ him as a child and kept him separated from his seven siblings following her split from his dad Jon.
Mother-of-eight Kate broke her silence on her child’s shocking claims just one day after her 22-year-old daughter Mady shared a lengthy statement on her Instagram Stories and accused Collin of ‘physical violence and hate speech.’
In her own words, Kate reiterated Mady’s claims and said the reason that Collin was sent away to Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute in Philadelphia back in 2016 was because he ‘received multiple psychiatric diagnoses.’
In her detailed statement, Kate said: ‘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.
Mom talk: Reality TV star Kate Gosselin has responded to her son Collin’s allegations of abuse
Bombshell claims: Collin Gosselin spoke about his mother in VICE TV’s Dark Side of the 2000’s
Happier times: The family found fame with the TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8
‘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.’
She continued to PEOPLE: ‘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.
‘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 this is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight.’
The former reality TV star went on to say that ‘all parent-child relationships are complex,’ and described the situation as ‘incredibly complicated and painful.’
She said: ‘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.
‘Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help. 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.
‘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 any further at this time,’ Kate added.
Speaking out: Kate’s ex-husband Jon Gosselin also appears in the VICE TV docuseries
Tight trio: Jon pictured with two of his eight children, Hannah and Collin, who are both 19
Life update: Jon confirmed in a statement that Collin is currently ‘training to be a marine’
Kate’s claims are in complete contrast to what her ex-husband told VICE TV as he alleged that doctors told him that they didn’t have a diagnosis for his son back in 2016.
The former TV star, who now DJ’s in his spare time, claimed he spent $1million to get his son out and gain full custody. He already had custody of their daughter Hannah, who is also 19.
In response to Kate’s fresh claims, a representative for Jon told DailyMail.com that his ex-wife is ‘unable to control her abusive words’ towards their son.
The statement read: ‘Kate posting cruel false accusations regarding Collin seems to be just another way for her to justify her inexcusable horrific past behavior toward him. True love for a child wouldn’t include a mother attacking their son to the public.’
‘Collin had to be cleared by the marines with a full background check including mental, physical and medical clearance through the US Marine corp. The governments full diagnoses clearly reflects the truth.’
He continued: ‘Do not forget that a judge awarded sole legal and physical custody of Collin to his father. Kate never even showed up to court and lost full custody of her own son.’
‘Regarding these brand new false accusations, it’s seems clear that even today after not seeing her son since the 6th grade, she is unable to control her abusive words towards him.
‘At this point Collin is training to be a marine in order to serve his country and is unable to respond to his mother’s callus lies,’ they added.
Another view: Kate’s daughter Hannah also makes some bold claims in Dark Side of the 2000’s
By her side: Kate pictured with her 22-year-old twin daughters Mady and Cara
Jon’s daughter Hannah also appeared in VICE TV’s Dark Side of the 2000’s and made some rather shocking claims about her mother too.
According to Hannah, Collin was often ‘separated’ from the rest of the kids due to bad ‘behavior’ when they were younger.
She recalled him not being allowed to play outside with them, or even join them for meals much of the time.
‘He would be separated from us, like, he would not get to come and play outside with us. He would eat dinner at different times than us,’ she said.
Hannah continued: ‘We did not talk to Collin for years while he was in the facility, we didn’t even know where he was.’
However, once Jon was awarded custody and Collin went to live with him, the truth about where he had been was revealed.
‘That was a big thing for me because I couldn’t comprehend why my mom would do that to one of our siblings, her own kid,’ Hannah said.
‘That is like a really dark part of our past. They don’t talk to Collin. Everyone eventually found out what happened to him but now they decided to just not have a relationship with him.’
Collin also claimed that his mother was ‘very controlling,’ as he shared his side of the story in the docuseries.
‘She’s determined, she knows what she wants and she gets what she wants. I think my mom kind of drove a social barrier between us. She told them the story one way, and obviously I see the story a different way,’ he added.
