Kate and Collin Gosselin’s Family Drama, Explained: His Abuse Allegations & More

In 2007, Jon Gosselin, Kate Gosselin, and their eight children became household names while starring on the reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8. The show documented the former couple’s dynamic while raising twin daughters and sextuplets.

Jon and Kate split in 2009, and Kate was awarded primary custody of the children (Mady, Cara, Hannah, Collin, Aaden, Leah, Joel, and Alexis). Eventually, though, Hannah and Collin decided to live with their father instead, and Jon was granted legal and physical custody of them both.

Things have been particularly contentious in Collin and Kate’s relationship over the years, and this October, he’ll be telling his side of the story in his memoir In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood. 

“Writing this book forced me to revisit some of the hardest moments of my life, but it also gave me something I’ve been searching for for a long time: my voice,” he shared.
”This isn’t the story people think they know. It’s the story I’ve lived.”

However, Collin has already publicly shared many of his bombshell allegations against his mother. Below, we rounded up a timeline of the drama, beginning back in 2016 when Kate revealed that Collin was spending time away from the family at a treatment center.

Does Collin Gosselin have special needs?

Kate appeared on the cover of People magazine with seven of her children in 2016, but Collin was noticeably missing. At the time, she claimed, “Collin has special needs. [There’s] a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things. This has been a struggle we’ve had for a very long time, and it’s one I’ve dealt with on my own. I’ve felt very alone in this. By the same token, it’s not something that has only impacted me or him. Our entire family has been impacted.”

She said that her then-12-year-old son was “enrolled in a program that is helping him learn the skills he needs to be the best him he can be.”

In response to his mother’s claims that he had “special needs,” Collin told Entertainment Tonight, “It’s unfortunate that that’s how my mom phrased me as a person. I don’t see those things, and I don’t think anybody else sees those things, but if that’s how she sees me, then that’s her point of view.”

In 2019, Jon told Daily Mail that Kate forced Collin to live in the special needs treatment center for three years, despite the child never being diagnosed with anything other than ADHD. He and Collin also appeared in Vice TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s in 2023, and Jon revealed that doctors still had “no diagnosis” for Collin and were going to “figure that out.”

In response to that claim, Kate told People, “My son, Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years. For the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters, and for his own well-being, he was placed in a facility following years of outpatient treatment, which proved insufficient for his needs. The decision to admit him was made by emergency room doctors following one of his many attacks/outbursts — this one involving his use of a weapon.”

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Kate alleged that Collin’s “unpredictable and violent behavior” continued after Jon had him released from the treatment center. She said her son has a “distorted perception of reality.” She added, “All parent-child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, let alone easy for others on the outside to understand.

Meanwhile, Collin accused his mom of sending him away because he was “starting to tell people what was going on at home and, you know, she caught wind of that and had to put me somewhere where I wouldn’t be able to get the secrets out.”

Mady publicly backed up her mom’s claims about Collin’s behavior. “I do not owe my allegiance to any person(s) who has physically threatened me and every member of my immediate family (some incidents as recent as last year),” she alleged on Instagram. “Further, I will never allow someone who has exhibited hateful and even violent behavior toward others based on their racial identity, gender identity, or religious beliefs to be in my life. Kindness, tolerance, love, and acceptance are core values in my life, and I refuse to compromise them for ANYONE, even my brother Collin, who has unfortunately made his opinions very clear in private.”

Why did Collin Gosselin move in with Jon Gosselin?

Jon told Daily Mail that he “rescued” Collin from the treatment center after the then-teenager’s roommate smuggled out a note Collin had written, begging for help. Jon alleged that Kate didn’t even tell him Collin was in the facility.

Per The Sun, the letter said, “Dear dad, I’m not trying to trick you, but I still love you. I told mom I want to live with you and she said no. But right, she can’t choose for me. And I’m old enough now, I’m your son, not hers. She was abusive to me after I left her house. And I’m sorry, I’m sorry, take this to court. …dad, you’re my savior. Please help me. And let me meet Colleen. I’m counting on you to get me out of here.”

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A post shared by Collin Gosselin (@collingosselin1)

At first, Jon was awarded temporary custody of Collin in 2018. The then-14-year-old had “numerous home visits” with his dad, and Jon said Collin “wanted to live with me” after leaving treatment. Collin’s decision came after his accusations of abuse against Kate (more on that below). He eventually moved in with his dad full-time.

What did Collin Gosselin accuse Kate Gosselin of?

Before Collin was institutionalized, he began privately making allegations of abuse against his mother. The specifics of his accusations have come to light over the years.

Collin told The Sun that his mom would zip-tie his hands and feet and lock him in a basement room that had nothing but a bed in it. “It was like a containment room, literally, and it had a mattress on the floor, and that’s how I lived,” he alleged. “And I was there, you know, most of the day because I didn’t go to school after a certain point.”

He said she “isolated” him from his siblings and called her “physically aggressive” and “verbally” abusive at times. Collin also accused Kate of taking him out of school when he started reporting her alleged abuse to his teachers. “I went to school one day with a purple ear. My ear was swollen and purple and bruised,” Collin claimed. “And my teacher had asked, like, ‘What’s going on?’ And that’s when I kind of spilled the tea about everything.”

Jon said he received multiple letters from the Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth, and Families in Pennsylvania with reports of abuse against Collin, but they all remained “unfounded.”

Kate’s lawyer said he believed that the reality star didn’t do anything to “intentionally harm” her child, but claimed she “she did what she did to protect herself and her family,” from Collin’s “troubled behavior.”

In 2023, Collin enlisted in the Marines, but was later dismissed due to “non-disclosure of pre-enlistment history.” His dismissal came one day after Kate’s statement (above) about his alleged “multiple psychiatric diagnoses,” and Collin said he believes his mother is to blame for him losing his position in the military.

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In response to that, Kate’s lawyer said, “Could Kate’s post have had some influence? Sure, I think it may have made them delve into Collin’s history. But blaming his mother for being thrown out of the military is misplaced.”

After Collin announced his 2026 memoir, fans urged Kate to sue him for defamation, and she replied, “I can’t bc I’m a public figure. Rules are different, unfortunately. Or I def would!” She also added, “The rules are different for ppl in the public eye. I consulted a high-power LA attorney (you’ve definitely heard of him) years ago when other ppl were putting crazy stuff out there, and that’s what he said. The courts don’t honor it if you’re in the public eye.”

Collin posted a new allegation against his mother on his Instagram Story on June 30. “Never forget the fact that my mom would write in her diary how she ‘had to pray to God to stop hitting me’ (this was while I was 2 years old by the way),” he accused. “And this is why using my voice to put these things in the light is so important.”

If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.