Collin Gosselin Wants ‘Shot at Redemption’ on ‘Special Forces’ After Being Forced to Quit Marine Bootcamp
Collin Gosselin has something to prove.
The Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum is competing alongside 14 other celebs and notable figures in season 5 of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. For Collin, completing the grueling challenges is about winning more than just bragging rights. It’s also a chance to fulfill a long-held dream.
“This exact week, three years ago, I would’ve graduated bootcamp on Parris Island and become a U.S. Marine,” the 22-year-old wrote in a September 24 Instagram post. “Just weeks before, that dream was taken from me. Circumstances outside of my control brought that chapter to an unexpected end.”
Collin Gosselin was discharged from boot camp because of past institutionalization
In 2023, Collin enrolled in boot camp with the goal of becoming a U.S. Marine. But he never completed his training. Instead, he was discharged after the military learned he’d been institutionalized as a child by his mother, Kate Gosselin.
Kate claimed that Collin – one of a set of sextuplets she shared with ex-husband Jon Gosselin, along with a pair of twins – was violent and had behavioral issues. He ended up spending two years in an institution before going to live with his father at age 14. Collin has since accused his mother of both physical and emotional abuse. She’s denied those charges.
Losing out on his dream of becoming a Marine still stings, Collin said in his post.
“The bond with my fellow recruits, my brothers, was cut short. It wasn’t the path I had chosen, but I’m grateful for what the experience taught me and for the people I shared it with,” he shared.
Collin added that he’s tried to live his life according to military values, even though he’s not in the service.
“Since then, I’ve worked every day to better myself. And even without the title of U.S. Marine, I still try to live by the same values: to be a protector, stand up for what’s right, and never stay silent, because silence only protects the bad guy,” wrote the author of the upcoming memoir In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.
Special Forces is a chance for him to really test himself, he added.
“Now, in just a few hours, it’s time to lock back in, dig deep, and push forward under pressure,” he wrote. “Will this challenge be my shot at redemption? See you in the jungle.”
How did Collin do in his ‘Special Forces’ debut?
In addition to having a chance to prove his physical prowess, Collin’s Special Forces stint is a not-so-subtle dig shot at his mother. In 2023, Kate competed in the show’s first season. In the premiere, she suffered a neck injury after falling backward out of a helicopter into open water. She was medically discharged, becoming the first person sent home that season, much to her frustration.
Collin participated in a similar challenge in the season 5 premiere on September 24. While he did not pass with flying colors, he was not sent home, thus guaranteeing that whatever comes next, he will have had a better performance on the show than his estranged mother.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Thursdays at 9 p.m ET/PT on Fox. Episodes stream on Hulu.
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