Collin Gosselin Accuses Mom Kate Gosselin of Abuse: ‘I Have Finally Found My Voice’

Collin Gosselin says his mother Kate Gosselin physically and verbally abused him as a child.  

In a bombshell interview with The Sun, the former TLC star says the reality behind his family’s hit show Jon and Kate Plus 8 was “rough.” Collin, now 20, accuses his mother of isolating him from his siblings, locking him in a basement “containment room,” and eventually having him institutionalized at age 11. 

“My mother at many, many times, and most of the time became physically aggressive, verbally, very abusive with the things she would say,” Collin said of his experience as a child. “And obviously that carries over to the emotional side of things where a young child doesn’t know any better, so it was a very, very emotionally abusive relationship.”

‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ alum says his mom zip-tied his hands, locked him in the basement  

The Gosselins rose to fame thanks to their TLC reality show, which premiered in 2007. The series followed Kate, her then-husband Jon Gosselin, and their eight children: twins Cara and Mady, born in 2000, and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Leah, Joel, and Collin, born in 2004. 

Jon and Kate divorced in 2009 and Kate was awarded custody of all eight children. Collin says the abuse escalated after the split when he became the family “scapegoat.” He was kept apart from his siblings and forced to spend hours in a locked room in the basement with just a mattress. 

“I was there, you know, most of the day because I didn’t go to school after a certain point,” he said. 

“And when my mother would put me in that room multiple times, she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and bolt locked the door, turned the lights off and had cameras there just watching me,” he added. 

Collin’s father Jon, who gained custody of his son and daughter Hannah in 2018, backed up the abuse allegations.

Collin Gosselin explains why he’s speaking out about his childhood 

In a post on his Instagram, Collin opened up about why he decided to speak out about his painful past. 

“It has taken me a long time to find the strength needed to speak about my mother’s abuse,” he wrote. “I have finally found my voice, and I hope to be the voice for children everywhere facing abuse. It is never ok. Your story can be told, just like mine.”

“As well, I wish to bring attention to the system that failed me as a child, and hopefully, in turn, it will help others,” he added. 

Collin went on to say that is was “still incredibly difficult” to see photos of himself as a child but that speaking out gave him “a smell sense of justice.” He also thanked his dad for “fighting so hard to obtain custody of me, and saving me from the institution where I was wrongfully committed.”

Kate Gosselin claimed her son had a ‘distorted perception of reality’

Kate has not responded to Collin’s allegations. However, her lawyer Richard Puleo did speak to The Sun. In a statement, he said his client had not done anything to “intentionally harm” her son. Instead, Kate “did what she did to protect herself and her family” from Collin’s “troubled behavior.”

While Kate has not commented on Collin’s new interview, she did speak out after he appeared in a 2023 episode of Vice TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s. 

In a lengthy Instagram post, Kate claimed that Collin had “multiple psychiatric diagnoses” and that he was institutionalized as a child following “many attacks/outbursts,” including one that involved a weapon. She went on to claim that his “unpredictable and violent behaviors” have continued “to the present day.”

“Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues he has always struggled with … Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help,” she wrote.

Collin has pushed back against his mother’s statements. He told The Sun he was misdiagnosed as a child and that recent evaluations prove he does not have any mental health conditions. He also blamed his mother’s post for squashing his dreams of serving in the military. Collin claims he was discharged from the Marines during training after she aired details of his medical history.

How to get help: To connect with mental health resources near you, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website.

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