Collin Gosselin is pulling back the curtain on his reality TV childhood, his estranged relationship with mom Kate Gosselin and more in his new memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, out now.
Collin rose to fame on his family’s Discovery Health/TLC series, Jon & Kate Plus 8, which aired from April 2007 to July 2017. The show documented former couple Jon and Kate Gosselin as they raised eight children — twins Mady and Cara and sextuplets Collin, Hannah, Aaden, Joel, Leah and Alexis. Following Jon and Kate’s 2009 divorce, the show was renamed Kate Plus 8 and followed the matriarch as a newly single parent.
Collin was institutionalized by his mother at Fairmount Behavioral Health System in Philadelphia when he was 12 years old. He spent roughly 22 months in the psychiatric facility, during which time he claims he received one visit from Kate. He has alleged that Kate sent him away to silence him from speaking out about her alleged abuse. Kate has disputed the claims and accused Collin of behavioral issues.
Collin Gosselin shared his beliefs about why his mom, Kate Gosselin, institutionalized him when he was 11 years old. “I was stubborn enough to question my mom,” Collin, 22, said in a September 2025 interview with The U.S. Sun, which was published in full on Saturday, June 27. “I questioned her about everything, and that […]
“My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years,” she said after Collin spoke out in a 2023 ViceTV interview. “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.”
She 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.”
Collin Gosselin Frank Micelotta/FOX
Following his release from the facility, Collin moved in with his dad, who was granted sole legal and physical custody of his son. Collin has been outspoken about his childhood since then, claiming that Kate isolated him from his siblings, kept him locked away in a basement and forced him to take multiple medications.
In June 2026, Kate addressed whether she planned to take legal action against Collin amid his claims.
“The rules are different for ppl in the public eye,” she wrote in a TikTok comment. “I consulted a high power LA attorney (you’ve definitely heard of him) years ago when other ppl were putting crazy stuff out there and that’s what he said. The courts don’t honor it if you’re in the public eye :(.”
Keep scrolling to see the biggest revelations from Collin’s book:
Kate Had an Intense Presence on Set
“You couldn’t miss how the energy tilted the second she entered a room,” Collin writes of his mom wielding her power while filming their family’s show. “I watched producers, people with real authority, just go quiet around her, softening in submission.”
Jon and Kate Received a Behind-the-Scenes Bribe
Collin alleges in his book that TLC offered Jon and Kate $2 million to stay together “and pretend the marriage was intact” for the sake of the show prior to their split. He also claims that his parents secretly met with Dr. Phil, who had “a real interest in preserving the TLC empire.”
The Kids Were Forced to Perform
“The script was nonnegotiable: behave, act happy, smile,” writes Collin. “If any of us slipped and became overwhelmed (and showed it), [our mom would] lean in and hiss through clenched teeth: ‘Smile.’”
Collin’s Relatives Raised Concerns About the Kids
Collin reveals his aunt Jodi Kreider and her husband, Kevin, publicly expressed concern for the kids, while Kevin testified in court about child labor laws.
“They were among the first to raise public awareness about kids in reality TV being unprotected,” Collin notes.
Collin Details Kate’s Alleged Abuse
At one point, Collin claims he was hit on his bare bottom with a red plastic serving spoon.
“She spanked all of us frequently. And she did it hard,” he writes. “There was one time she pulled my brother’s ear so hard it was actually injured.”
Collin Claims Kate Locked Him Up
After Collin attempted to run away from home, Kate allegedly zip-tied his hands and feet and left him alone in the family’s basement — a bare area Kate referred to as Collin’s “bedroom.” The space had two cameras, including one facing where Collin slept and another on the doorway. Collin claims he sometimes had to call out through the cameras when he needed to be let out to use the bathroom.
“Once I was bound, she grabbed me by my wrists, pulled me up into a standing position and then threw me down, slamming my tailbone against the hard floor,” he claims.
Collin previously made the basement claims in a 2024 interview with The Sun. At the time, Kate’s attorney, Richard Puleo, told the outlet that he didn’t believe Kate had done anything to “intentionally harm” her son, noting that “she did what she did to protect herself and her family” from Collin’s allegedly “troubled behavior.”
Kate Gosselin is speaking out after estranged son Collin Gosselin once again accused her of childhood abuse. In a Saturday, June 27, interview with the StrangeMcKnights YouTube channel, Collin, 22, made allegations of childhood mistreatment at the hands of his mom and invited Kate, 51, to undergo a lie detector test over his claims. On […]
Kate Had Multiple Reports to Child Services
Collin claims that Jon has paperwork documenting 14 complaints made to Children & Youth Services (CYS) about Kate, which Collin discovered as an adult.
“None of it mattered,” Collin writes. “My mom knew how to perform, how to stay just inside the lines. To the system, she was untouchable.”
Kate Allegedly Forced Collin to Take Medication
When Collin was 11 years old, his mom allegedly forced him to start taking multiple medications, including antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and anti-anxiety pills. He claims he was never told why he was being medicated. He claims Kate sometimes physically helped force the pills down when he had trouble swallowing them.
Jon Was Unaware That Collin Was Sent Away
Collin claims that Jon had no idea he was sent to a behavioral facility until a year and a half into his stay, when Collin reached out to his dad to ask for help. He writes that after his roommate was released from the institution, he was able to pass along a handwritten note from Collin to Jon’s manager, asking his dad to come get him.
Collin Suspected Kate Had an Affair
In November 2025, Kate went public with her boyfriend, former bodyguard Steve Neild, whom she said she had been dating for a little over a year. The romance reignited past rumors of an affair between Kate and Neild. Collin writes in his book that he suspected something was going on between them before Jon moved out of the family home in 2009. Neild was married until 2023.
Us reached out to Kate, TLC, Fairmount and Dr. Phil for comment.
