Collin Gosselin says Kate ‘zip-tied his arms & legs and locked him in basement as a kid’ as he reveals show’s dark side
COLLIN Gosselin has revealed the dark side of his childhood away from the cameras of the hit 2000s reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8 in an emotional video interview with The U.S. Sun.
The former reality star has made a swathe of allegations against mom Kate, who he alleges emotionally and physically abused him as a child – saying he “never had a childhood”.
Speaking in depth about his childhood, brave Collin, 20, said he was always treated differently from his seven other siblings by Kate, and despite being part of one of the most popular reality TV shows of its time, he grew up isolated and alone.
Sometimes, he alleges he would have his hands and feet zip-tied and be locked in a specially-built basement room that contained only a bed and cameras to watch him for a whole day or part of a day “multiple” times.
When he was 11, he was left terrified after Kate had him admitted to a mental health facility following diagnoses of several behavioral and psychiatric conditions that he believes he never had.
Collin has even shared private medical records with The U.S. Sun to prove he has no mental illnesses or behavioral conditions.
And in heartbreaking scenes, tearful Collin reads out for the first time a desperate letter he penned in crayon, begging his dad to “save” him from the facility and let him live with him.
Kate has not responded to the claims, but her lawyer Richard Puleo, who represented her in her last case against Jon, said he did not believe she’d done anything to “intentionally harm” Collin.
He added that “she did what she did to protect herself and her family” from what he alleged was “troubled behavior” by Collin.
Collin’s claims are supported by dad Jon Gosselin, who said the alleged abuse took place after he and Kate divorced and he moved out of their home in Pennsylvania when he had no custody of his sextuplets Collin, Hannah, Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel and twins Mady and Cara.
“It was rough. I definitely went through it a lot as a kid from my mother’s end. So it was tough,” Collin said in an exclusive interview.
“I just remember being isolated from my siblings and constantly taking the fall for her emotions or the tough things going on in her life.
“I just remember being a scapegoat and always taking the brute end of things.”
“I was 100% treated differently [than my siblings]. I was isolated and I was taken away from them and I didn’t eat dinners with my family,” Collin added.
“I didn’t get to play or hang out with my siblings. I didn’t have a childhood with them and I never really had a relationship with them growing up.”
Collin said he was about eight or nine when things really started to escalate with his mother – and her treatment of him became more extreme.
“My mother had a room built in our unfinished section of the storage basement,” he said
“She had a room put up with cameras in it, a tiny window in the corner and it was bolt-locked from the outside.
My mother would put me in that room multiple times, she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and bolt locked the door, turned the lights off and had cameras there just watching me.
Collin Gosselin
“So this, it was like a containment room, literally, and it had a mattress on the floor and that’s how I lived.
“And I was there, you know, most of the day because I didn’t go to school after a certain point.
“So most of the day I was in that room and I was away from my siblings and I never really went outside.
“I never played with them. I was kept there. It was literally containment.”
Medical records submitted as part of Jon and Kate’s custody battle show how Collin reported his mother’s alleged abuse to his counselor at the time.
“My mother at many, many times, and most of the time became physically aggressive, verbally, very abusive with the things she would say,” Collin said.
“And obviously that carries over to the emotional side of things where a young child doesn’t know any better, so it was a very, very emotionally abusive relationship.
“And when my mother would put me in that room multiple times, she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and bolt locked the door, turned the lights off and had cameras there just watching me.”
BASEMENT ‘STILL THERE’
Dad Jon revealed how he spoke to the people who bought their old house and they asked him about the basement room.
“The room in the basement where she kept Collin is still there,” Jon told The U.S. Sun.
“My friends’ in-laws bought our house and one time they asked me ‘Why is there a room in the basement with a bed and a lock on the outside?’
“It must have been terrifying for him.”
Echoing claims that emerged in papers filed during his custody battle, Jon, who eventually gained custody of Hannah and Collin, added: “I never found out about her [Kate] singling out Collin, and the basement and the zip ties, until way afterwards. That kind of thing didn’t happen until after I left.
“I didn’t hear about that until Hannah told me about it, once I got custody of Hannah. I think once Hannah knew she was safe and not going back to mom’s she felt she could tell me.
“At that point Collin was institutionalized. He also started opening up to the doctor there and then because I became the legal parent, then they started telling me what he was telling the therapist and stuff. And it all matched up with what Hannah said.”
One sibling has supported Collin’s claims – The U.S. Sun reached out to the other sibling and received no response.
Collin told how he was removed from school after he started reporting Kate’s alleged abuse to teachers.
“I was telling my teachers things that were going on at home and after that, I was taken out of school and I would tell the camera crew and I would tell a lot of people who were just around a lot what was going on, but my mother did a good job of hiding those things,” he said.
“There was nine separate instances where abuse against Collin had been reported… you feel powerless.
Jon Gosselin
“What really made the biggest change is when I was taken away from school and when visitation to my father was restricted by my mother and when I was taken away from the camera crew or really any family friends, that’s when things really started to change.
“I had no relationship with anybody. I was fully isolated from everybody. I had no friends, nobody.”
Dad Jon has shared several letters he was sent from the Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth, and Families in Pennsylvania that notified him of reports of abuse against Collin but stated they were “unfounded.”
Jon said the letters made him feel “powerless.”
“They would say ‘someone reported that Collin’s being abused and we found it unfounded,’” Jon said.
“Look at those letters and look at all those ‘unfoundeds’. It’s such a f**king crock of s**t.
“And when you ask Collin and Hannah, they say that these people would come knocking on the door to the house, get everyone together and talk to them in front of Kate.
“There was nine separate instances where abuse against Collin had been reported and they were all unfounded. You feel powerless, but you definitely know something’s going on because it’s coming from different sources.”
Kate’s lawyer Richard Puleo commented: “If Kate did the things that Collin is accusing Kate of, she would have been investigated by the authorities and prosecuted.”
However Collin says seeing that no action was taken when he reported the alleged abuse “makes him upset for my younger self.”
“It upsets me because, you know, I look back and I realize how helpless I was,” he said.
“And, you know, my mother had a way of talking to people that when children’s services came, we were never able to really talk to them one-on-one without her outside the room kind of sticking an ear through the door.
“I had no relationship with anybody. I was fully isolated from everybody. I had no friends, nobody.”
Collin Gosselin
“But yeah, I went to school one day with a purple ear. My ear was swollen and purple and bruised. And my teacher had asked like, what’s going on?
“And that’s when I kind of spilled the tea about everything. And I told my teacher, and [Child and Youth Service] was called shortly after that. And, you know, after my mother got wind of that, I was taken out of school in fourth grade. I no longer went to school with my siblings.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth, and Families in Philadelphia who said they cannot comment on individual cases but stated that “keeping children safe is our top priority” and “any potential abuse and neglect is investigated and handled urgently.”
Collin was home-schooled from fourth grade and was diagnosed with multiple mental health issues as an outpatient.
Medical records shared with the U.S. Sun state how he was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar disorder and related disorders, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and PTSD before being taken to a Fairmount Behavioral Health System – a mental health facility in Pennsylvania in 2016.
Collin believes he was wrongly diagnosed with the conditions, and his medical records from a mental health evaluation he underwent last year show he has none of the conditions and nothing to indicate any other psychiatric issues as an adult.
However at the time, he said the multiple medications he was on made him feel “like a zombie.”
Collin believes his mother placed him in the facility so no one would find out about her alleged abuse.
“It got to the point where word was getting out and child services were being called,” Collin said.
“And I just think that me being at home in the house, there was just too many ways that my mother could have been exploited.
“And in her desperate attempt to protect herself, she placed me in this institution with no – there was no notice.
“My mom always told me nobody would believe me.”
Collin Gosselin
“It was just, one day, it was like up and gone, and I was there and I was there for a very long time… I would see other kids come in and stay there for a small fraction of the time that I was there…
“It was a very, very quick and just, one day I was sent away from home and placed there and I was scared… I didn’t even know what was going on.
“I was asking questions and none of my questions were being answered. And, you know, I was very, very, very terrified.”
Collin added: “I had always felt alone at at home – so this sounds wrong, but in a way it was nice to be away from home.”
He recalled that as lonely as life was at the institution – where he ended up staying for 22 months – “it was not as bad as home… you know, not as bad as… how my mother was towards me.”
Collin alleges he had no formal education during his time at the facility and described memories of spending days there as “just a lot of nothing … sleep, wake up, eat meals.”
A spokesperson for the facility said they could not comment on specific patients, but said that “at Fairmount Behavioral Health System, every day our staff strives to maintain a total therapeutic environment through individualized treatment for each patient.”
They added: “Comprehensive patient-oriented activities include group therapy, family therapy, allied therapy and educational services.”
Eventually Collin managed to send a letter to his dad that he scrawled on notepaper in crayon, begging him to come and rescue him and let him live with Jon and his then-partner Colleen.
Officials respond to Collin's allegations
The U.S. Sun contacted Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services, which oversees child welfare in the state and asked for comment on Collin and Jon's allegations:
“Keeping children safe is our top priority at the Department of Human Services (DHS), and we are committed to ensuring the health and well-being of children throughout the Commonwealth.
“In Pennsylvania, child welfare is a county-administered and state-supervised system; most child abuse investigations take place at the county level, and we work with our county partners to make sure that any potential abuse and neglect is investigated and handled urgently.
“Per the Child Protective Services Law, child abuse reports and investigations are confidential, and DHS cannot comment further on any specific child abuse reports or investigations.”
He wrote: “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.”
Reading the note for the first time since he wrote it when he was 12, Collin described it as “heavy.”
“I remember saying that I’m not trying to trick you because I remember thinking that nobody believed me as a kid,” Collin said.
“My mom always told me nobody would believe me.”
Jon described receiving the letter as “heartbreaking” and immediately began proceedings to gain custody of Collin and bring him home.
Collin was finally able to go home and live with Jon in December 2018, where he started the long process of adjusting to life in the outside world and catching up with his education.
“Integrating back into like society with kids in my age group, it was tough,” Collin said.
“It was like towards the end of middle school. And, you know, I remember finding some academic work a little difficult and I didn’t really know how to talk to my peers, but, I kind of look back now with memories and I laugh at myself because I was so awkward.”
Collin weaned off all the medications he was on and successfully graduated high school and embarked on his lifelong dream to join the military.
However in August last year he was dismissed from the Marines during his training for “non-disclosure of pre-enlistment history.”
Just one month prior, his mom Kate – who has had no relationship with him since he was in the mental health facility – wrote a long post on Instagram in which she said Collin had received “multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years.”
Kate Gosselin's 2023 statement about Collin
Kate posted this statement on her Instagram page in July 2023:
“I never wanted to have to do this but I fell I have been backed into a corner and left with no choice. Although it saddens me to do so, I need to speak out now.
“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. Fast forward to the present day, and following Jon’s removal of Collin from treatment, my son’s unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him.
“Collins distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with. As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur and is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight.
“All parent child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, and certainly not easy for others on the outside to understand. All measure that were taken in our home were at the explicit recommendations of his pediatric psychiatrist and/or his team of specialists and were put into place to safeguard every member of our family, our friends as well as our family pets.
“Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to needs a lot of help. His brothers and sister and I have not been directly involved in his life dues to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us. What his sister Mady posted on social media recently is completely accurate and I deeply appreciate her bravery in doing so.
“This is all I have to say on the matter and I will not be discussing this subject any further at this time.”
She went on to say in the post that he had been admitted to the facility as a child due to an attack involving a “weapon” and was “unpredictable and violent” – claims Collin vehemently denies.
Collin believes his mother’s post caused him to be dismissed from the Marines and has now shared his medical records to prove he has no mental health issues.
The Marines requested that Collin undertake an psychiatric evaluation if he wished to re-enlist.
Collin underwent the evaluation last October and it concluded that “Collin Gosselin does not meet criteria for any of the diagnoses of concern in your evaluation request. Nor do I see evidence to indicate any other psychiatric diagnoses or behavioral disorder in his current functioning.”
The doctor named on the report – Dr. Delfin – declined to comment when approached by The U.S. Sun.
Collin said it was important to him to set the record straight about his mental health after his mother made the Instagram post, which he described as “upsetting.”
“It’s very important because due to these allegations that she posted on social media, my dream of becoming a US Marine was crushed and it was taken away from me and now I have to fight and do everything I can to fulfill that dream still,” he said.
“It’s very important to put these allegations to rest and it’s important to me, for her, to come forward with the truth because I want nothing more than to serve my country.”
Jon said, “[Kate] tried to prove that he has mental health issues so he doesn’t have viability when he talks to the press.
“So like, ‘He was in an institution’, ‘Oh he’s just talking like this because he has mental illness.’
“She discredits him by saying he’s got all these illnesses and he doesn’t.”
Kate’s lawyer responded: “I don’t think the Marine Corps saw Kate’s post and decided to throw Collin out.
“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.”
Kate's side
Richard Puleo has represented Kate in previous legal matters. Here is his full statement in support of her:
“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.
“However I can personally attest to this situation as I knew Kate and all eight of her children since they were small and I don’t believe Kate ever did anything intentionally to harm Collin.
“I think she did whatever she did to protect herself and her family from some of his troubled behavior as a child.
“That’s not to say he’s got psychological impairment, I’m not a psychiatrist.
“However I think if Kate did the things that Collin is accusing Kate of, she would have been investigated by the authorities and prosecuted.
“Additionally I don’t think the Marine Corps saw Kate’s post and decided to throw Collin out.
“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.
“Kate has no interest in saying anything, which is what she’s done in the past.”