Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of child abuse and other disturbing details.
Collin Gosselin is opening back up about the alleged abuse he suffered from his mother Kate Gosselin and vowing to be an advocate for other kids who are being abused and exploited.
On Tuesday night, the former Kate Plus 8 star posted a story to his Instagram sharing new details about his side of what happened in the Gosselin home when he and his seven siblings were kids.
“I remember when my mom would send my siblings off to school every day and then put her hands on me and drive scarring words into my head,” he wrote. “I remember how I had to pretend like everything was fine once my siblings returned home.”
Collin acknowledged that fans of the show were allegedly shown a false representation of his true home life.
“Late nights like this I think about how so many people are still upset that a show they watched for years portrayed a false narrative, while hiding so many dark secrets,” he stated.
Collin acknowledged that many of the show’s fans remain on Kate’s side and have leveled harsh insults at him because he’s been speaking out.
“No matter how many hurtful things you say to me, I will never stop advocating for scapegoated and abused children,” he wrote. “NEVER.EVER… I know that there is a growing epidemic of child abuse and child exploitation across the globe and I will use my voice and experiences to address that epidemic. Keep coming for me, I will keep advocating.”
As The Ashley has previously reported, Collin responded to a fan on TikTok saying that being on reality TV from such a young age “robbed [him] of [his] childhood a little bit […] so really it wasn’t real life, it was just a show … it was a performance.”
This is just part of Collin’s ongoing abuse allegations against his mother. The Ashley reported last September that Collin alleged in an interview with The Sun that Kate would bind him with zip ties and lock him in a basement at eight and nine years old.
“So most of the day I was in that room and I was away from my siblings and I never went outside. I never played with them. I was kept there. It was literally containment,” he said at the time.
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Collin has also spoken out about his two-year mental health institutionalization in 2016, which Kate claimed was for unspecified “special needs,” but, as The Ashley shared back in 2018, dad Jon Gosselin shut down all claims that Collin was “on any spectrum or [had] special needs.”
Collin and one of his sextuplet sisters, Hannah, were under Jon’s custody (until his 18th birthday in 2022) following a court date, which Kate failed to attend back in 2018. Collin has been active on Instagram in recent days, even attending his dad’s wedding to Stephanie Lebo on Sunday.
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Kate has yet to comment on Collin’s recent allegations, but last year her lawyers released statements in response to the zip-tie comments.
“There’s always two sides to every story and when things take place in the past, it’s hard to determine because people have differing recollections and perspectives. I think she did whatever she did to protect herself and her family from some of his troubled behavior as a child,” the statement reads. “However, I think if Kate did the things that Collin is accusing Kate of, she would have been investigated by the authorities and prosecuted.”
Collin’s siblings and Kate have not yet commented on his latest statements.
Last month, Collin revealed that he is writing a tell-all book about his childhood and the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Kate.
RELATED STORY: Jon Gosselin Marries Stephanie Lebo: Details on the Couple’s Big Day, Including Which Gosselin Kids Attended the Ceremony
(Photos: TLC; ET; Instagram; TikTok)
4 Responses
He needs to write a book about all he suffered- get it off his chest- it’s healing!
I very much believe him.
Being the “scapegoat” is definitely a real thing.
Not all children are raised the same and there’s literally nothing a person can do once they are assigned their roles. Nothing.
Black sheep, star child, favorite, whipping boy..
I never really watched the show but from little clips I remember Kate was a horrid person & I could totally see this being true. I’m not sure why she would have fixated on Collin but knowing family abuse dynamics the other kids were probably too afraid to say anything for fear of reprisal or made to believe that he was actually a “bad kid” – which might be why the other kids minus Hannah have no-contact (also having to feel like they choose a side).
I’m glad he’s finding his voice & trying to heal from everything. Maybe he’ll get some closure from telling his story.
I don’t know how anyone can still be a Kate fan. She acted like a psycho on the show. Kids make messes. She would lose her ever loving mind when they acted like normal kids and made messes. I remember watching Colin especially and it was evident looking in his eyes that he was terrified of her. If she was acting like this knowing she is being filmed then I knew it was 100 times worse when there were no cameras.