Heavy The "Dancing With the Stars" alum spoke out.
Kate Gosselin returned to Instagram for the first time in three years to address claims her son Collin made about her parenting – as well as her daughter Mady’s response.
On July 21, 2023, the “Dancing With the Stars” season 10 alum posted a lengthy message to her Instagram page after her son’s fiery tirade about her on the Vice TV documentary “Dark Side of the 2000s.”
In her response, Gosselin said it “saddens” her to have to speak out against her son, but that she feels she has “been backed into a corner and left with no choice.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Kate Gosselin Gave Details About Her Son’s Alleged Issues
Collin, 19, is one of sextuplets and a set of twins that Gosselin shares with her ex-husband, Jon. Kate Gosselin has not lived with Collin since sending him to a Philadelphia facility for children with “special needs” when he was 12 years old.
On the Vice TV special, Collin admitted that he “wasn’t a perfect child,” but claimed his behavior “was no different than from” his seven siblings. His sister Hannah, who is the only other child not to live with their mother, also claimed Collin was ostracized from the rest of the family when living in their mother’s home.
According to In Touch Weekly, Collin also alleged that his mother sent him to a psychiatric facility because he began to talk about her treatment of him to others. “I was starting to tell my teachers that, you know, my mother was … can I use the word abusive or are they not allowed to use that on air?” Collin said, before alleging that his mother “sent [him] away” because he began to share stories about her parenting.
“I 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,” Collin alleged on the Vice special.
He also claimed that he did not hear from his mother after he was involved in a nearly-fatal car accident in 2022.
In response, Kate Gosselin posted a statement to Instagram for the first time since July 2020 to give details on what prompted her to send her son to a psychiatric facility – and why she is no longer in contact with him.
“My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years,” she wrote. “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.”
Gosselin blamed the ex-husband for prematurely removing Collin from treatment, then claimed, “My son’s unpredictable and violent behavior has sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and others around him.”
While Gosselin stated that she followed “explicit recommendations” from a pediatric psychiatrist and team of specialists, she does not feel her son received the full treatment he needed.
“Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help,” she wrote. “His brothers and sisters and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us.” She also called her son’s perception of reality “distorted.”
Kate Gosselin was slammed in the comments section of her post. One commenter wrote that Gosselin’s public post about Collin made her “sick,” while another accused the former TLC star of abandoning her son.
“She has not posted since 2020 and this is what she decides to break her silence with. 🤯. SAD!” another wrote.
“Staying silent is far better than posting this,” wrote another.
“As a mother I would never make a public post regarding my child. Sometimes as a mother we have to just eat it and pray for them but shame on you for this post,” added another commenter.
But another commenter praised Gosselin for how she handled “the extremely difficult hand she was dealt” as a divorced mom of eight, and urged others to “walk a mile in her shoes.”
“I have chills. Thank you thank you thank you for SEEING the truth!” Gosselin replied.
Jon Gosselin Slammed Kate’s Response & Gave an Update On Collin
Jon Gosselin denounced his ex-wife’s comments in a statement to People, describing her allegations as “false” and “abusive.” “At this point, Collin is training to be a Marine in order to serve his country and is unable to respond to his mother’s callus lies,” the DJ told the outlet.
Despite Jon’s support, in September 2020, Collin Gosselin made headlines following an alleged violent altercation with his father. Three years ago, the teen posted and deleted an Instagram post in which he called his dad “a liar” and accused him of punching and kicking him, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
An investigation was launched by Pennsylvania Child & Youth Services, People reported at the time, but no charges were filed against Jon. A source told the outlet that the altercation allegedly occurred after Collin became upset with his father during a car ride.
“Collin got furious and was screaming and swearing,” the source claimed. “When they got home, he was still screaming and cursing and he went into the garage and got … a big heavy bottle of liquid — and hurled it at Jon’s car, denting it.”
Mady Gosselin Accused Her Brother Collin of Being ‘Violent’
Following Collin’s Vice TV appearance, his sister Mady posted to her Instagram story to expose her estranged brother’s alleged behavior. In a July 19, 2023 post on her Instagram stories, Mady, 22, wrote that she felt obligated to “set the record straight” regarding her brother’s estrangement from most of the family.
Mady accused Collin of physically threatening “every member” in the immediate family as recently as 2022. She also claimed he has exhibited “hateful” behavior toward others, “reaching the point of physical violence and hate speech.”
Kate Gosselin did not respond to Heavy’s request for comment on Mady’s statement, but in her Instagram post, the mom of eight commended her daughter’s “bravery” in giving an “accurate” description of the situation with Collin.