Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of child abuse.
Collin Gosselin is sharing the things that drove him to compete on the upcoming fifth season of ‘Special Forces: The World’s Toughest Test,’— and sticking it to his estranged mom Kate is not on that list.
“I’m an adult now, and there’s enough of my life that my mom took from me and [my] childhood that she robbed from me, and this isn’t about her — it’s about me,” he told Page Six at a red carpet event for the competition series held Thursday night. “It’s about growth. It’s about the amazing people I’ve met, and the amazing journey and adventure that we went on.”
In an interview he did later with Entertainment Tonight, Collin reiterated that Kate, who appeared on the first season of ‘Special Forces,’ didn’t motivate his decision to take part in the series.
“I was forced onto reality TV as a kid with no choice and as an adult I want people to see me for who I am,” he told ET. “You know, I’m not defined by my childhood, even though it was very rough, you know, those things don’t define us.”
“Well, I mean, I got asked earlier today did I do this for my mom and I didn’t do this for my mom, I did this for me,” he said. “I did it for me and I did it for all the kids out there who have been through rough things and went through hell growing up. I did it for them.”
While the 22-year-old is a reality TV veteran, having appeared on various shows with his family since he was a toddler, this experience differed greatly from what he experienced in the past.
In an interview with E! News, Collin advised others to use their difficult past as motivation for their future.
“You can go through so much in your life and you can have the worst childhood and the worst circumstances and be dealt the worst hand of cards, just keep going,” he said. “Know your why, put your head up every morning, even if it’s hard, just keep going, and that’s what I did this whole show. I did it for all those children out there. You can go through so much but there’s growth in the future. There’s healing in the future and there’s love in the future.”
He also reflected on what the younger version of himself would think about grown-up Collin competing on the military-themed show.
“I look at, like, pictures of myself as a kid and I just– I’ll do anything for that kid, and that’s how I think of it,” he said. “It’s hard to sit back sometimes and say, ‘I’m proud of myself,’ but I think we should do that more to ourselves and say, like, ‘I’m proud of everything I’ve done,’” he told E! News.
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“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, I need to do that, I need to do the next thing,’ but look at what you’ve done,” he continued. “And when I look at pictures of little Collin, that’s exactly where I’m at.”
In addition to appearing on ‘Special Forces’ as a way to connect back with and heal his younger self, Collin’s getting ready to release his memoir In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, which will detail his time on reality TV and the abuse he alleges his mom Kate inflicted on him.
“It was just so healing to be able to look at a picture of myself and be like, ‘That’s what I’m doing it for,’ and then think about all the millions of children who go through what I went through — getting thrown into the [entertainment] industry against their will,” he told Page Six at Thursday’s red carpet event. “There’s a big voice in my story that will never die. That flame in me will never die.
“This book is going to expose a lot. … Children deserve to be protected, and that’s what you can expect from my story.”
As The Ashley previously reported, Collin has accused his mom of emotionally and physically abusing him as a child, which he said included Kate zip-tying his hands and feet together and locking him in a basement. At age 12, Kate sent Collin to live in a mental health facility. Collin has maintained that he was institutionalized because people started noticing his abuse. Kate, however claimed that the decision was made because of Collin’s behavioral issues.
After nearly two years in the facility, Collin’s father Jon gained custody and Collin moved in with his dad and sister Hannah. Collin and Jon remain estranged from Kate and the other Gosselin siblings (Mady, Cara, Alexis, Leah, Joel and Aaden).
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Even though he no longer has a relationship with his mom, her decision to send him to the facility has had long-lasting consequences for Collin, who once aspired to join the United States Marine Corps.
“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,” Collin said in 2024. “And see, they don’t need any deeper reason. Being in an institution, that’s good enough … it’s the fact that I was in an institution, and that’s it.”
Kate has yet to comment on her son’s participation in ‘Special Forces’ or his red carpet interviews. While she might not be cheering Collin on, he did report to E! News that he has plenty of other family support, including from Colleen Conrad, his dad’s ex who’s become a surrogate mother to Collin and Hannah.
“A lot of tears and a lot of I love you’s… my dad and Colleen, they were so supportive of me and are just so proud of me,” he said.
Colleen’s daughter Jordan has also shown her support, writing on Collin’s Instagram post from the premiere, “I just cannot believe how much of an adult you have become so proud of you”.
Stephanie Gosselin–who married Jon last November– responded excitedly to Collin’s Instagram post from July announcing he would be on the show.
“Can we be proud that I kept a secret?” she wrote. “I can’t wait to watch this with dad! Your mugshot looks great! We love youuu!”
Joining Collin on the upcoming season of ‘Special Forces’ are Alexia and Mauricio Umansky (daughter and ex-husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards); champion boxer Alycia Baumgardner; Brandi Glanville (‘RHOBH’); Bre Tiesi (Selling Sunset); actress Candace Cameron Bure; actor David Charvet; disgraced U.S. Congressman George Santos; comedian Hannah Stocking; two-time NFL Super Bowl Champion LeSean McCoy; NBA Champion Matt Barnes; U.S. Olympic figure skater and bronze medalist Maxim Naumov; actor Oliver Hudson; and actress Ruby Rose.
‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’ premieres September 24 on FOX. Watch a preview of the season below!
RELATED STORY: Kate Gosselin Says She’s “Confident with Zero Doubt” She Did the Best She Could with Son Collin
(Photos: FOX; Instagram)
