Collin Gosselin Just Shared Heartbreaking Abuse Allegations From Behind The Scenes Of "Jon & Kate Plus 8"

Posted on Oct 13, 2026 UTC

Note: This post contains descriptions of child abuse. 

The reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8 was a staple of TLC's lineup, airing from 2007 to 2017. The show followed the Gosselin family and their eight kids after mom Kate gave birth to sextuplets in 2004.

Now, Collin Gosselin, one of the sextuplets featured on the show, is 22, and he has a memoir coming out on Oct. 13 called In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.

In an interview with Juju Chang on Good Morning America, Collin made shocking claims about what he says was going on behind the scenes of the family's show. "Simply put, my whole life that I lived was a lie. All the things you see on TV, lies."

He described the photo chosen for his book cover as saying, "The hand over the mouth was 'be quiet, stop talking.' I couldn't talk about what went on in the home, and now I finally can."

Collin went on to allege that his mother began singling him out for abuse because he pushed back on the demands of filming the family show. "We were redoing takes. It was like a cry a little harder, laugh a little louder, and that's what caused me to say I don't want to be a part of this machine anymore."

"The truth is that my siblings and I were being overworked," Collin said. "There was just no adults to say maybe this isn't okay for children."

Collin alleged that his mother physically abused him following her 2009 divorce from his father, Jon. At this time, Kate had custody of all eight of their children. Collin claims that she isolated him from the rest of the family and made him sleep in a locked cell in the basement.

Collin has previously alleged that his mom locked him in the basement, which he says she has denied. In 2024, in response to this allegation, Kate's lawyer Richard Puleo reportedly told The Sun that he didn't think she would do anything to "intentionally harm" Collin. He went on to say that "she did what she did to protect herself and her family” from what he alleged was Collin's "troubled behavior."

He told GMA that his mom allegedly pulled him from school in the fourth grade because a teacher noticed signs of her abuse. "My mom had dragged me across the room by my earlobe, and my ear was purple and swollen. My teacher saw, and then I talked to my guidance counselor, and I told them about it, and my mom was not very happy that I spoke about that."

Collin also alleged that after he attempted to run away, Kate zip-tied his hands and feet and locked him in his basement cell. Kate had Collin institutionalized at age 12, where he claims he was prevented from seeing his father. In 2023, Jon Gosselin claimed that he spent $1 million getting Collin out of the institution.

In the past, Kate has described Collin as "a troubled young man" who "suffers from multiple psychiatric diagnoses." However, Collin says that an independent psychological analysis he had done in 2023 found that he does not have these mental health conditions. "Everybody's like, 'Were you surprised when you got that?' I was like, 'No, because I knew that. It's just that I needed it on paper.'"

Collin ended the interview with a message to his siblings. "To Maddie, Cara, Alexis, Aiden, Leah, and Joel. No matter how things look from the outside, I love you. I always have, and always will."

"I just will never know what it's like to have a normal childhood, and have a childhood with my siblings, and we will never get that back."

Kate did not respond immediately to BuzzFeed's request for comment, but she has previously denied any claims of abuse, stating in 2016 that while she’d been "investigated many times," the claims were "always unfounded." BuzzFeed has also reached out to Kate's attorney Richard Puleo for comment.

In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood will be released on Oct. 13.

If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.

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