Jon Gosselin ‘Would Love’ for Ex-Wife Kate to Apologize to Son Collin After Tell-All Interview

Holding out hope. Days after Collin Gosselin’s explosive tell-all interview, a source exclusively tells In Touch that dad Jon Gosselin “would love it if Kate [Gosselin] saw the interview and apologized for what has transpired.”

While the former TLC personality is trying to look on the bright side, the insider says “he’s not holding his breath” when it comes to his ex-wife reaching out. “Jon is incredibly proud of Collin,” the source notes. “Anyone can see that he has grown into a respectful, kind, hard-working adult despite Kate’s treatment of him.” 

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, November 28, the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star, 18, reflected on his falling out with his mom, who had first placed Collin in an institution for alleged behavioral issues in 2016. “I’m sure that Kate had her hands full with eight kids but that doesn’t justify placing him in that situation,” the source continues, noting that “it’s quite obvious” that Collin “should have never been institutionalized.”

Though Collin had a difficult childhood, he hasn’t let his experience deter him from achieving his goals. “At the age of 18, he goes to school, he has a full-time job and has a total level head on his shoulders,” adds the insider. “Collin has worked hard on himself and truly has a bright future. I just hope Kate is watching and has some type of remorse for unnecessarily institutionalizing him. Collin had challenges that in any other family situation would have been dealt with at home and with care, but Kate’s agenda to focus on the show seemed to come first.”

After Collin left Fairmount Behavioral Health Institute, he went to live with Jon, 45, who was granted sole physical and sole legal custody of Collin in 2018. Jon and Kate’s divorce was finalized in December 2009.

“After being there, I didn’t have a relationship with her. 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,” Collin told the outlet, later adding that he wants “to believe it was because of TV and what being in the public eye does to a family.” 

A source previously told In Touch that Kate “would be open” to reconciling with her estranged son, even though “she is still bitter over things he has said” about her. “He is her child, and she loves him regardless, but she can be very spiteful,” the insider explained. “Once you cross her it is difficult to recover.”

Despite all the hardships Collin faced during his childhood, the source tells In Touch that he “learned to rise above the pain” and “hopes that he can one day reunite with his brothers and sisters” – Cara, Mady, Leah, Alexis, Joel and Aaden – whom he says he hasn’t spoken to in “five or six years now.” He does, however, keep in touch with sister Hannah, whom Jon was also granted custody of.

A rep for Jon Gosselin did not immediately respond to In Touch’s request for comment.