Collin Gosselin Alleges Physical Abuse by Mother Kate Gosselin in New Memoir

Collin Gosselin, a former child star of the TLC reality series "Jon & Kate Plus 8," has accused his mother, Kate Gosselin, of physical abuse. In a recent interview with Page Six promoting his new memoir, "In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood," Collin detailed alleged incidents of mistreatment.

Collin, now 22, claims that his mother would "drag me across the room by my ear," leading to injuries such as a swollen and bruised ear. He described this as a recurring pattern, stating that a "snappy pull could turn into a smack to the side of my head." He further alleged that the same side of his face would often become "purple, bruised, tender to the touch."

Beyond his personal experiences, Collin also asserted that he witnessed similar mistreatment directed at his siblings. "When I was in the home, I’d witness horrible mental, emotional, and verbal abuse against my siblings," he told Page Six, suggesting that their reactions to being filmed contributed to the alleged abuse. He described his mother as manipulative, making siblings feel that their emotions and reactions were their fault.

In his memoir, Collin reportedly writes that his mother "spanked all of us frequently. And she did it hard." A representative for Kate Gosselin did not respond to Page Six's request for comment.

This comes after Kate Gosselin released a statement in September 2024 addressing abuse claims made by her son. She stated that Collin had received multiple psychiatric diagnoses and was placed in a facility for his well-being after years of insufficient outpatient treatment. She recalled that the decision to institutionalize him at age 11 was made by emergency room doctors following an incident where he allegedly used a weapon.

Kate further claimed that Collin's "unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him" since his father, Jon Gosselin, removed him from treatment. She described Collin's "distorted perception of reality" as a persistent struggle and suggested that fabrications were part of his challenges. She concluded that he remains a "troubled young man" who requires significant help, and that she and his siblings have been estranged from him due to his history of behavior.

Collin was one of the sextuplets featured on "Jon & Kate Plus 8," alongside siblings Aaden, Joel, Alexis, Hannah, and Leah. The family also includes older twins Mady and Cara. Kate and Jon Gosselin divorced in 2009.

Collin has been estranged from his mother since 2016, the same year she sent him to the behavioral health institution. He has claimed that his mother abused and institutionalized him because he resisted participating in the family's reality television ventures.

Jon Gosselin eventually obtained legal and physical custody of Collin in 2018, after Collin was released from the institution. Jon also gained custody of Hannah, while the remaining sextuplets remained with their mother. Collin is also set to appear in Season 5 of Fox's "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test."