Jon Gosselin has hope for the future of his family after he was hospitalized with a severe case of the coronavirus.
In a new interview on The Dr. Oz Show, which airs Thursday, the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star spoke about his battle with COVID-19. He told Dr. Mehmet Oz that the daughter of his girlfriend Colleen Conrad, Jordan, took him to the hospital when his fever reached 104.8 degrees.
"I was in a wheelchair. I had to wait in the ER," Jon explained. "It was packed, like the hospital was full, and then they put me on a gurney and put me in the hallway in the waiting room, so I could get a temporary room, and then once they evaluated me and once they drew my blood and did all my blood work, all of a sudden I'm getting antibiotics, steroids, and a plasma antibody transfusion for COVID. It happened really fast."
He added that he didn't even realize he was in the hospital until three days after he was admitted.
The ordeal made Jon consider the future of his family. The former reality star split from his then-wife and reality TV co-star Kate Gosselin in 2009, and the two have been locked in a custody battle over their eight children for years.
Currently, Jon has custody over Hannah and Collin, two of the pair's 16-year-old sextuplets. They are also parents to Aaden, Leah, Joel and Alexis, also all 16, as well as 20-year-old twins Madelyn and Cara.
Dr. Oz, who previously came under fire for his controversial comments about the coronavirus, asked Jon what he wanted to tell his six estranged children following his health crisis.
"Just tell them I love them and I'm just thinking of the future more," Jon responded. "I hope they develop a relationship with Hannah and Collin. I hope that one day I can be part of your life. I'm glad that I got a second chance. I was more concerned about myself in the hospital and getting better and getting back to my family. I miss them. That's another surreal part of my life that I have developed a thick skin around to move forward to just help Hannah and Collin right now since they live with me. Those are things that I want to build towards."
The Dr. Oz Show airs weekdays. Check your local listings.