Collin Gosselin's memoir alleges childhood abuse and confinement by mother Kate Gosselin

Right · 1Collin Gosselin, 22, a former child star of the TLC series Jon & Kate Plus 8, has released a memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, that accuses his mother, Kate Gosselin, of emotional and physical abuse. 1 Right · 1In an interview with ABC, Collin said Kate made him sleep in a locked basement room to isolate him from his father, Jon Gosselin, and that after a attempt to run away she zip-tied his wrists and ankles and locked him in. 2 Right · 1The Daily Mail, quoting the book, reports he describes sleeping on an air mattress in a basement with no toys or furniture, monitored by a camera linked to a handheld device carried by his mother, a nanny or an assistant, and says he alleges Kate zip-tied his hands before he was sent to the Fairmont Behavioral Health Institute. 1

Right · 1He also alleges physical abuse, writing of yanks to the ear and slaps across the face that left one side of his face purple and bruised, and says Kate once pulled a brother's ear so hard it was injured. 1 Right · 1Collin told ABC a teacher noticed a swollen earlobe, which he attributed to Kate dragging him by the ear, and that he told a guidance counselor; he said Kate was unhappy about it, he was later pulled from school in fourth grade, and he was too afraid to speak when child protective services asked about abuse allegations. 2 Right · 2Collin was placed in a residential behavioral health facility in 2016, shortly before his 12th birthday, and stayed about two years before living full time with Jon, who was granted full custody in 2018. Collin says he was sent away because he pushed back against filming and could have exposed the family's image, and that he was heavily medicated and had little family contact. 1 2

Right · 2Collin also says he and his siblings were exploited by the show, describing near-constant filming and staged photo shoots, and has said his earlier life "was a lie". 2 1 Right · 1Kate told People magazine in 2016 that Collin had received multiple psychiatric diagnoses and was placed in a facility for the safety of the family and for his own well-being after outpatient treatment proved insufficient, and called him a very troubled young man. 1 Right · 2Collin says an independent psychological evaluation found he did not have the diagnoses attributed to him; the Daily Mail reports he was re-diagnosed as an adult and a clinical psychologist found no current psychiatric or behavioral issues. 2 1

Right · 2Both outlets say Kate has not responded to their requests for comment on the new claims; on TikTok she wrote that she cannot sue for defamation because she is a public figure, saying she would otherwise. 2 1