“Sometimes it was a sharp yank to my ear. Sometimes a slap across the face,” Collin writes
Collin Gosselin has made fresh allegations of physical and emotional abuse against his mother, Kate Gosselin, in his new memoir, In the Shadow of Eight, recounting what he describes as a difficult childhood behind the scenes of the family’s reality television series Jon & Kate Plus 8.
The 22-year-old alleges that his mother treated him differently from his seven siblings, particularly after he began resisting filming the TLC show. In the book, Collin describes incidents in which he claims Kate slapped him across the face and pulled him by the ear, sometimes leaving marks and bruises.
“Sometimes it was a sharp yank to my ear. Sometimes a slap across the face,” Collin writes, describing what he says was a pattern of physical punishment during his childhood.
He also alleges that Kate made him sleep in a locked basement room that had no furniture, where he used an air mattress. According to Collin, surveillance cameras monitored the space, and he sometimes had to bang on the door to be allowed out to use the bathroom.
“Sometimes I wonder, if the house had burned down, would anyone have remembered to come unlock the door?” he writes in the memoir.
Collin further claims that the situation escalated after he attempted to run away from home. He alleges that Kate used zip ties to restrain him before he was sent to the Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute, where he lived away from his family.
In an appearance on On Purpose with Jay Shetty to promote the book, Collin presented what he described as a report from the facility that allegedly documented Kate acknowledging the locked room. The report reportedly quoted her as saying that a psychiatrist had approved the arrangement.
Collin also recalled speaking with child protective services when he was around 12 years old. He said the investigation did not result in a finding of substantiated abuse, describing the determination as “unfounded”.
Kate has previously denied Collin’s allegations and maintained that the decisions concerning his care were made to protect him and the rest of the family. In a 2023 statement shared on Instagram, she said Collin had received multiple psychiatric diagnoses and was placed in a facility after outpatient treatment proved insufficient for his needs.
She also alleged that his behaviour had included violent outbursts and said the measures taken at home were recommended by his paediatric psychiatrist and other specialists. Kate described the family situation as complicated and painful, disputing Collin’s account of their history.
Her attorney, Richard Puleo, defended her in a 2024 statement, saying he did not believe Kate had intentionally harmed her son. He argued that her actions were intended to protect herself and the family, while acknowledging that people can have different recollections of past events.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 followed Kate and her then-husband, Jon Gosselin, as they raised their twins, Mady and Cara, and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel. The couple announced their separation in 2009, and the programme later continued as Kate Plus 8.
Collin’s new memoir revisits his experiences growing up in the public eye and offers his account of the events that led to his estrangement from his mother and several of his siblings. His allegations remain disputed, with Kate maintaining that her decisions were made on medical advice and for the family’s safety.
