'Jon & Kate Plus 8' Star Collin Gosselin Blames His Estranged Mom For His Military 'Discharge'

"Jon & Kate Plus 8" star Collin Gosselin has opened up about being discharged from the US Marine Corps despite being close to graduating.

Collin claimed his mother, Kate Gosselin, institutionalized him in a mental health facility to protect her reputation, a decision that left him in a "dark place."

This institutionalization caused the US Marine Corps to let him go. Although Collin Gosselin plans to appeal the Marines' decision, he will attend Pennsylvania State University to study finance.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Collin revealed that he is no longer pursuing a career in the US Marine Corps due to his history with mental health care.

"I was discharged," the 20-year-old son of Kate and Jon Gosselin explained. "I was towards the end of training, very close to graduating. The paperwork was looked into, and they found out that I was, in fact, in an institution at one point in my life."

He noted that the Marines didn't need any "need any deeper reason" to make their decision, adding: "Being in an institution, that's good enough … to discharge me. It was the fact that I was in an institution, and that's it."

Despite this setback, Collin expressed his determination to challenge the decision, stating that he has "very few other wishes in life that would top being a United States Marine."

Meanwhile, he plans to attend Pennsylvania State University to study finance.

Collin's recent update comes a year after his father's representative revealed that he had successfully passed a rigorous background check and mental health evaluation for the Marines.

The spokesperson also criticized his mother, Kate, for previously claiming that Collin exhibited "violent outbursts." According to the representative, "the government's full diagnoses reflect the truth," countering Kate's assertions.

Kate had made headlines by telling People Magazine that her son, whom she described as a "troubled young man," regularly engaged in physical altercations with his family members.

She made these statements in defense of her daughter Madelyn, who had accused Collin of "violence and hate speech" on Instagram.

Kate further claimed that due to his alleged behavior, Collin was placed in a "facility following years of outpatient treatment which proved insufficient for his needs."

However, Collin alleged that his mother, Kate, had him institutionalized to "protect her reputation."

In a candid statement, Collin said, "I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know where I was going. That was the most scared I've probably ever been in my life. … I didn't even say goodbye [to my siblings]."

Now living with his father, Jon, and sister, Hannah, Collin reflected on the traumatic experience of being institutionalized at just 12 years old during a November 2022 interview, describing it as a "dark place" that left him feeling "hopeless."

He shared how his time at two "scary" facilities caused significant "damage" rather than helping him.

Reflecting on those years, Collin revealed, "I was in a dark place mentally… I think being in a place like that does more damage than it helps you."

He continued: "I spent my 13th and 14th birthday there, so I was young," he continued. "I didn't have a lot of life skills. I didn't really know even what to expect, what to think of being there at the time, so I was hopeless."

During the November 2022 interview, Collin asserted that being institutionalized left him unable to share his side of the story.

"I wanted to take time for myself, and I wasn't able to give the truthful answers," he explained.

Collin continued, "I mean, there were just things out there, you know, not my words — other people's words. It was tough, but, you know, it's good now to be able to put my own word out there."

He also shared that writing a letter to his dad, Jon, was the "one thing" that helped him "mentally figure out that there was a way out of there."

Despite being ready to discuss his "hard" years growing up, Collin admitted that he has yet to mend his relationship with his mother.

"Even before [being] there, I don't think we had much of a relationship, and I think that just kept tearing it even more down," he said, adding that their time in the public eye further strained their bond.

Since their divorce, Jon has been estranged from his six other children, a situation he believes to have been orchestrated by his ex-wife, Kate.

"I think it's maybe parent alienation," Jon said on "The Domenick Nati Show," per E! News. "You're swaying someone."

He continued, "Some people just can't not be alone, so they'll do anything or if they have the means, they're going to sway their children or whoever is in their life to not go with the other parent."

Jon further noted that the last time he talked to Kate, whom he split from in 2009, was in 2018, while they were in court. That was also the year Jon won custody of Collin and Hannan, the only kids who have a good relationship with him.