Collin Gosselin is giving the full rundown of his own story. The reality TV star is sharing his account of growing up inside one of reality television’s most recognizable families.
The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star appeared on On Purpose With Jay Shetty ahead of the release of his memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.
During the conversation, Collin alleged that his estranged mother, Kate Gosselin, physically and verbally abused him and kept him locked inside a room constructed in the family’s basement.
“My mom would be physically and verbally abusive to me,” Collin told Shetty. Collin claimed that he has documentation from a nurse at the behavioral health facility where he was later institutionalized that references Kate admitting she had locked him inside the room.
He also described the point when filming his family’s TLC series no longer felt right to him. Collin alleged that his resistance to participating contributed to him being isolated from his siblings, removed from school, and eventually placed inside the facility before his 12th birthday.
The 22-year-old said he last saw his mother in person when he was 11 and was being transported in an ambulance.
Kate has previously denied Collin’s allegations of abuse. She has maintained that decisions about his treatment were made with medical professionals and were intended to protect the family. Collin disputes her version of events.
The former reality personality currently has a relationship with his father, Jon Gosselin, and his sister Hannah. He remains estranged from his mother and most of his siblings.
Collin has said that writing his memoir allowed him to take ownership of a childhood largely defined by television cameras and other people’s narratives. He also hopes sharing his experience will encourage others who believe they have suffered abuse to seek support.
The full-length interview is available on Netflix and Spotify.
