Former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Collin Gosselin is accusing his mother Kate Gosselin of abuse.
During an interview with ABC News’ Juju Chang, Gosselin, 22, shared what he alleged took place behind the scenes of the popular reality TV show that he grew up on.
“Simply put, my whole life that I lived was a lie,” Gosselin said. “All the things you see on TV, lies.”
Gosselin said that he and his seven siblings were being “overworked” and “exploited” while filming the reality series.
The Gosselins famously had eight children (now 22-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Leah and Joel, and a set of 26-year-old twins, Mady and Cara), and their TLC reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, premiered in 2007.
Kate and Jon announced their divorce in 2009 and after the divorce, Kate was granted primary custody of the eight children. The series was later renamed Kate Plus 8 in 2010, focusing on Kate as a divorced mother raising all eight children, with Jon mostly absent from the show. Filming was later suspended after Jon’s lawyers delivered letters to TLC, demanding they halt production. The last episode aired in 2011.
Gosselin alleged that the abuse began after his parents’ divorce and said that one of his teachers noticed he had a swollen earlobe.
“My mom had dragged me across the room by my earlobe and my teacher saw and then I talked to my guidance counselor, and I told them about it,” he said. “And my mom was not very happy that I spoke about that.”
Gosselin said that he was pulled out of school by his mom when he was in the fourth grade.
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The Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test star said that he tried to run away from home but his mom allegedly zip-tied his hands and feet together before locking him in a room in their basement.
He said his mother removed him from their home just before his 12th birthday and placed him at Fairmont Behavioral Health System, a mental health facility in Pennsylvania.
“I was told, ‘This is for your own good,’” he said. “I threatened my mom’s income, I threatened her image, and people will do anything to protect their reputation, especially my mom.”
During an appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Gosselin spoke more in details about the abuse he alleged he experienced as a child.
“When it was Jon & Kate Plus 8, even though it looked like America’s happiest, biggest family, behind the scenes it was not like that,” Gosselin said.
“My mom would be physically and verbally abusive to me,” Gosselin alleged.
When asked about some of the earliest memories he had, Gosselin said he began to face his mother’s “wrath” when he was eight-years-old.
“She had a room specifically built in the storage part of our unfinished basement that was cinder block walls and cement floors with a bolt lock on the outside of the door, where she would keep me” the In The Shadow Of Eight author continued. “She’s denied that previously, publicly, saying that she has never done any of that.”
Gosselin claimed that he has documentation where his mother admitted that she “does in fact have a room where she locks me in.”
Kate has previously denied her son’s allegations of abuse.
In a statement shared to Instagram in 2023, Kate wrote, “My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years. For the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being, he was placed in a facility following years of outpatient treatment which proved insufficient for his needs.”
“The decision to admit him was made by emergency room doctors following one of his many attacks/outbursts—this one involving his use of a weapon. Fast forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Collin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah, and others around him,” she continued.
“Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with. As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and this is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight,” Kate wrote.
“All parent-child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, and certainly not easy for others on the outside to understand,” the Kate + Date star added. “All measures that were taken in our home were at the explicit recommendation of his pediatric psychiatrist and/or his team of specialists and were put into place to safeguard every member of our family, our friends as well as our family pets.”
“Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help. His brothers and sisters and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us,” he post concluded.
Gosselin has been estranged from his mother since 2016.
Gosselin’s father Jon was awarded sole legal and physical custody of Collin in December 2018.
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