Collin Gosselin was just 12 years old when he says his mother, Kate Gosselin, visited him at a mental institution. According to his new memoir“In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood,”it was the only visit she ever made. Collin, now 22, writes that he told her he missed her, that she refused the origami gifts he had folded for his seven siblings, and that she said his siblings were“doing so much better”with him away from home.
He claims the visit ended with Kate telling him,“You are here because of you. You broke our family.”Kate has publicly said she placed Collin in the facility in 2016 for safety reasons after outpatient treatment wasn’t enough. Collin has alleged it was because he didn’t want to appear on“Kate Plus 8.”His father, Jon Gosselin, was later granted custody, and Collin left the facility.
A source told Page Six that Kate is“nervous”about the memoir and considers children who speak publicly about the family to be“traitors.”The book is out now, and it’s sparking a much bigger conversation about what kids raised on reality TV actually go through. What do you think: should family stories like this stay private, or does the person who lived it get to tell it?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.