Former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin confirmed he and his longtime girlfriend Colleen Conrad broke up amid her battle with breast cancer. Back on Monday, Conrad announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer but did not thank Gosselin for his support following her surgeries. This led fans to assume the two had broken up, and Gosselin confirmed on Thursday this was correct.
Gosselin, 44, told The Sun he is “incredibly sad” that the seven-year relationship ended, but he wants to “start a new chapter” in his life. He said their relationship became “fraught” during the coronavirus pandemic and said the split had nothing to do with Conrad’s cancer battle. “It’s hard, it was a big decision. We have been together for seven years which is a long time, so it’s very upsetting,” he told The Sun. “It’s really hard to even talk about it. When you’re with someone that long, especially in the public eye and she’s someone private.”
The former couple faced “some struggles” and they tried to “push through” them, but their relationship ultimately did not work out, Gosselin said. “I still love and care for Colleen but we’ve both determined that it’s the natural end,” he said, adding that the two began facing problems in summer 2020. They even tried couple’s therapy, but even that could not save their relationship. He said the two broke up in April, after Conrad, 51, spent the winter supporting Gosselin during his COVID battle.
“We decided to terminate our relationship, we were both ready,” Gosselin said. He decided to leave Reading, Pennsylvania behind to move to Florida, even asking Amazon to transfer him to the Sunshine State. However, his children Collin and Hannah wanted to finish the school year, so they stayed in Pennsylvania. “Then we got to April and that’s when Colleen was diagnosed with cancer,” Gosselin said.
Gosselin said it was a “huge shock” when Conrad was diagnosed. He “decided to stand by her and do the best I can,” despite the state of their relationship, he told The Sun. “I wanted to see it through and support her through her treatment and work through it all,” he said, adding that his Amazin medical insurance also helped Conrad. “I have very good medical insurance, it covers the whole family, so I knew that would be the best option for her,” he said.
Conrad stopped posting on Instagram in November 2020, but she suddenly returned on Aug. 5. “You find out who’s really there for you when you need them to be there the most,” read the quote she shared. “This says it all,” Conrad captioned the meme. Two days later, she revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a single mastectomy and a DIEP Flap procedure in July.
“The reason I decided to post this was that I was lucky that it was caught early. And to remind everyone not to put off your mammograms and do your monthly breast exams,” Conrad wrote. “Set a monthly alarm if needed. Even men, who can also get breast cancer. Early detection will make the world of difference and give you a better fighting chance.” She then ended her post by thanking her children and her sister Debbie for their support. She made no mention of Gosselin in the post, but he claims they are still living together. He also told The Sun he was surprised by the post because he went to appointments in Philadelphia with her.
“I’d like to make clear this was a mutual breakup and something that was being discussed before Colleen’s diagnosis. It has nothing to do with cancer,” he told The Sun. “She’s gonna be fine I believe, I trust her doctors and the outcome looks fantastic. God bless her, you know, I mean, everything’s gonna hopefully pan out really well for her, her future looks good and she’s healthy. I’m happy for her.”