Collin Gosselin Recalls 'Crying Loudly' and Being Forced to Urinate on Himself in New Book — as He Accuses Mom Kate of Locking Him in Basement for 2 Years
Collin Gosselin made shocking allegations in new book 'In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.'
Oct. 14 2026, Published 1:21 p.m. ET
Collin Gosselin accused his mother, Kate, of subjecting him to physical and verbal abuse as a child, RadarOnline.com can report.
In his new memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, he claimed she would "slap" him and lock him in a basement.
Collin Always Felt 'One Mistake Away' From a
The memoir released October 13.
Kate, 51, divorced husband Jon Gosselin, 49, in 2009, causing the show to continue on as Kate Plus 8.
During that time, Collin, one of the couple's sextuplets, alleged that his mother would slap his face and yank his ear if he didn't act the way she wanted in front of the cameras.
Collin admitted he wasn't a perfectly behaved child and sometimes acted out because he did not want to film their hit TLC show. Over time, he claimed he was treated differently from his siblings and often felt "one mistake away from losing whatever little ground I had."
"I learned early that my mom's anger didn't stop at words," he wrote. "She would always stretch her fingers outward and hit us with the palm of her hand. Right across the cheekbone. Quick, decisive, meant to correct."
"This was routine," he said. "Just another method of correction, repeated often enough that pain stopped feeling like a warning and started feeling like the cost of being noticed at all."
'I Felt Like a Ghost'
Collin was only 9 when he began experiencing extreme levels of neglect, according to his book.
When he was 9, Collin claimed Kate moved him into the unfinished part of the basement, away from his brothers Aaden and Joel, forcing him to sleep on an air mattress in what seemed like a storage closet.
“Suddenly I was separated and moved out of sight,” he said. “For me, it was a message: My place in the house wasn’t fixed, and it could always get worse.”
Collin claimed that a Children and Youth Services investigation was sparked after a teacher discovered his injured ear, but when they showed up at the home, he said he was fine out of fear of retaliation.
Kate pulled him out of school temporarily and took his toys away, boarding up his mattress with a wall in what felt like a "small holding cell." Cameras were installed to monitor him, which he alleged he had to use to contact Kate to go to the bathroom. In one instance, no one responded to him despite "crying" for help. He was eventually forced to urinate on himself.
"I remember the shame more than anything," he said.
He also claimed that he was forced to eat alone, without his siblings, before being locked up again.
"I felt like a ghost who had missed his own life," he explained.
Collin Was Kept Away From His Father
Collin was allegedly barred from seeing his father and his siblings for years.
He estimated that he spent 70 percent of his time down there, seeing daylight through a small window near the ceiling.
"Sometimes I wonder, if the house had burned down, would anyone have remembered to come unlock the door?" he wrote.
Things got so bad that he tried running away, but with nowhere to go, he came back home where Kate was livid and allegedly tied him up with zip ties.
"I remember the pressure more than the pain," he said.
He was eventually taken to a hospital and transferred to Fairmount Behavioral Health System. After two years, he was moved to a residential facility and weaned off medications he'd been given there.
During these years, Collin was told his father didn't want to see him anymore. He learned later that Jon never said that. His father worked relentlessly to get Collin released back into his care, as Kate had gotten full custody of the kids after their separation.
Kate Gosselin Denies Abuse Allegations
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Kate has been estranged from Collin for years.
On a recent episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Collin read a report in which Kate admitted to restraining him in the basement.
"He always tells wild stories. I've been investigated before. Yes, I have a room that I lock him in, and a psychiatrist approved that," the report read.
Kate has denied the severity of the allegations over the years, once stating that the measures taken against Collin were in the best interest of his health and the safety of her other kids.
Her attorney also claimed she did nothing to "intentionally harm" him.
