Here's what happened to Kate Gosselin's son who was put in a program for special needs children

The Gosselin Family first rose to fame with their reality television show, Jon & Kate Plus 8. The show was renamed to Kate Plus 8 after the couple divorced.

The 14-year-old sextuplets and 17-year-old twins soon crawled into the hearts of fans worldwide. However, Kate sent Collin away in 2016.

In an exclusive interview with People, Kate said at the time that "Collin has special needs" and needed to receive treatment at an undisclosed facility.

“I've known all along where he is, but the world doesn't know and I'll leave it at that. [...] It was not really a choice, it was on advice from his doctors and it had to happen."

Kate Gosselin, ET Online, January 11, 2017

Her decision started a media frenzy, fueled by Jon who had no idea where he son was or what treatment he was receiving, and fans were equally concerned.

Collin made a public appearance when he was 12 years old, and again earlier this year, on his 14th birthday. Jon shared a snapshot of the happy reunion with his 32,000 Instagram followers.

Only two of the sextuplets - Collin and Hannah - spent their birthday with their father, while Alexis, Aaden, Leah, and Joel chose to spend the day with their mother instead.

It is still unclear whether Collin had returned to life as normal, or if he returned to the facility after his birthday, as he hasn't made another appearance on either parent's Instagram feed.

Kate hasn't given any explanation about Collin's 'special needs' either. However, she acknowledged in her book, I Just Want You To Know, that the divorce was a traumatic experience for Collin.

He was only five years old when his parents separated. In a letter penned to her son, Kate wrote: 'I know the recent events in our family structure have greatly upset you, maybe you most of all.'

She added that the choices she made on his behalf were for his own good, even though the 'changes [...] are still painful and hurt a lot.'

Season 6 of Kate Plus Eight only had three episodes which aired in July 2017. A release date for season 7 is yet to be announced.