Life After Kate: Collin Gosselin Involved In Strict Military Program, Jon Reveals
Feb. 5 2020, Published 4:06 p.m. ET
Jon Gosselin has revealed his once-troubled son, Collin, has joined an ROTC military program.
It's been a little over a year since Collin was released from a Pennsylvania facility after his mom, Kate Gosselin, accused him of "behavioral issues."
The 15-year-old sextuplet spent three years in an unnamed facility with barely any contact with the rest of his family.
It was only when Jon fought to obtain sole custody of Collin that he was granted permission to visit his son on rare occasions, before eventually being able to take him home to Reading, PA in December 2019.
Since then, Collin appears to be thriving, having lost a significant amount of weight and getting into shape.
In a new podcast First Class Fatherhood, Jon indicated to fans that he's thrilled about Collin now entering a military-style organization.
"Colin is in JROTC - so he stays pretty active," the proud dad said.
JROTC stands for Junior Reserves Officers' Training Corps. While it is not mandatory to go into the military after attending the JROTC program, it does give an individual an advantage if they were involved. In addition, the program is taught by former military servicemen.
Scroll down the RadarOnline.com gallery to look back at Collin's life storythat has featured suffering but ultimate triumph.
The Gosselin family initially rose to fame on their hit TLC reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8. But after 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate divorced in 2009. Following their tumultuous split, Kate got sole custody of her eight kids
Eventually, Kate got her own reality show, Kate Plus 8, but after a legal battle with Jon, the show was forced into a hiatus for several years before returning to television in 2014. By 2016, however, it wasn't really Kate Plus 8 anymore. Collin was forced to move away from the family to live in a residential facility to manage what Kate referred to as "special needs."
It seems that Kate and Collin have had a difficult relationship. In her book, I Just Want You To Know, published in 2010 - five years before Collin was sent away - she wrote an open letter to him discussing his behavior.
"As you have grown, however, I must say you have also challenged my authority greatly. At two and a half, you began testing and trying my parenting at every chance. I called Daddy at work many days crying because you would not obey. As you have grown, this fact has not changed. You continue to be determined to do what you want to do, and I continue to try to rein you in," Kate noted.
Kate did acknowledge however, the difficulty her divorce with Jon had on Collin. “I know the recent events in our family structure have greatly upset you, maybe you most of all. I want you to know that I have made and will continue to make decisions based on what I believe is best for you and your brothers and sisters. These changes, I realize, are still painful and hurt a lot,” the mom wrote.
At one point, Collin and Alexis were both expelled from their private school due to bad behavior.
Jon has tried to keep the kids off camera, believing it would ruin their development and affect them greatly as they grew up. Most recently, a judge ruled in his favor and Kate was found in contempt on December 19 for continuing to film her children. RadarOnline.com recently reported that TLC has since terminated its relationship with Kate following the court ruling.
During Jon's podcast episode on Monday, February 3, host Alec Lace asked the former reality star dad, 42, how the relationships were between his and Kate’s 15-year-old sextuplets today.
“Tumultuous,” he replied.
Jon currently has custody of Hannah and Collin, while their siblings, Leah, Joel, Alexis, and Aaden, live with Kate.
“There is no contact between Collin and his other siblings,” Jon claimed. “There is contact between Hannah and the other siblings. So the problem right now is we have parent alienation and we have sibling alienation.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jon gained sole custody of both Hannah and Collin in 2018. Twins Cara and Madelyn, 19, went off to live at college last fall.
Jon explained on the podcast that he is hoping to reunite the children with therapy and through their Guardian Ad Litem — a third party that acts as an additional parent and has direct access to the judge.
"The Guardian Ad Litem is trying to alleviate that. And I’m trying to get family therapy through Collin and Hannah’s therapist,” Jon said. “So that therapist can talk to the other siblings and try to find some common ground, because I think it’s super important.”