Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of child abuse and domestic violence.
Kate Gosselin is refusing to comment on the most-recent allegations of abuse made by her estranged son, Collin; however, the Kate Plus 8 star’s lawyer did have something to say on Kate electing to stay mum.
As The Ashley reported, 20-year-old Collin gave a bombshell interview to The Sun this week, accusing Kate of abusing him as a kid, and then sending him off to a mental health facility in order to keep the alleged abuse covered up. In the interview, Collin claimed that, when he was around eight or nine years old, Kate would zip-tie his hands and feet and lock him in a special room in the basement.
“She had a room put up with cameras in it, a tiny window in the corner and it was bolt-locked from the outside,” Collin said. 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 … 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 went outside. I never played with them. I was kept there.”
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Kate’s lawyer Richard Puelo stated that Kate did not want to comment on Collin’s most-recent accusations.
“She has no comment because it’s not going to change the past,” Kate’s lawyer stated, before adding in his own personal sentiments on the accusations.
“And I don’t believe she intentionally harmed any of her children in any way, shape or form.”
The lawyer also explained that Kate usually refrains from commenting on things like this “because she always knows that this gets taken out of context.
“She doesn’t want to comment. Doesn’t need to. The record speaks for itself.”
He also added a rather confusing statement to his comment.
“The facts believe the truth,” Richard said. “Whatever took place, the ones that are truthful are the ones that took place…”
During his interview with The Sun, Collin stated that– in addition to the alleged basement lockdown— Kate abused him in other ways.
“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, adding that what Kate was “very emotionally abusive.”
Collin claimed that Kate eventually shipped him off to a mental health institution because, according to him, her alleged abuse was starting to be noticed.
“It got to the point where word was getting out and child services were being called,” Collin said. “In her desperate attempt to protect herself, she placed me in this institution with no notice. I was one day just up and gone.”
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As The Ashley previously told you, Collin was placed in a mental health institution by his mom for nearly two years beginning in 2016. Kate has claimed in the past that Collin was placed in the facility for behavioral issues and because he had “special needs”; however, both Collin and his dad, Jon Gosselin, have denied for years that Collin has “special needs.”
Jon gained custody of Collin in 2018 after Kate failed to attend the court hearing to fight her ex-husband for custody. (Jon also obtained custody of daughter Hannah Gosselin, while the other six Gosselin kids remained in Kate’s custody.)
Jon told The Sun that he didn’t find out about Kate’s alleged abuse of Collin until he got custody of Hannah, well after he and Kate split up.
“I didn’t hear about that until Hannah told me about it, once I got custody of Hannah,” he said. “I think once Hannah knew she was safe and not going back to her 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.”
This week, Jon also co-signed on Collin’s claim that Kate had a special room for him in the basement. Jon told The Sun that the family who went on to purchase the home later asked him about the room, as it was still there when the house was sold.
“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?’” Jon said. “It must have been terrifying for [Collin].”
While Kate is refusing to comment on Collin and Jon’s latest claims of abuse, she did speak out last year after Collin, Jon and Hannah gave interviews for VICE TV‘s Dark Side of the 2000s.
During the episode, Jon and Collin discussed some of the alleged abuse that Collin suffered at Kate’s hands, and Hannah confirmed that Collin was, indeed, kept separated from her and their other siblings. After the episode aired, Kate took to Instagram to make a statement and defend herself. (Her daughter Mady also defended Kate online at the time.)
“I have never wanted to have to do this but I feel I have been backed into a corner and left with no choice,” Kate wrote at the time. “Although it saddens me to do so, I need to speak out now.
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“My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnosis 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.
“My son’s unpredictable and violent behaviors have sadly continued regularly towards Jon, Hannah and other around him,” Kate wrote, but did not provide examples. “Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with.”
Kate called Collin’s “complete fabrications” heartbreaking.
“All measures that were taken in our home [regarding Collin] were at the explicit recommendation 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,” Kate added.
Kate’s statement was not well-received by fans, causing the ‘Kate Plus 8’ star to go rogue in the comment section of the post and defend herself even more. (Click here to read all that Kate had to say about that.)
On Tuesday, Collin continued to speak out, thanking Jon for helping him escape the years of abuse he allegedly endured from Kate.
“It has taken me a long time to find the strength needed to speak about my mother’s abuse,” Collin wrote on Instagram. “I have finally found my voice, and I hope to be the voice for children everywhere facing abuse. It is never OK. Your story can be told, just like mine…As well, I wish to bring attention to the system that failed me as a child, and hopefully, in turn, it will help others.”
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In the comment section, Jon’s ex-girlfriend Colleen Conrad— who became a mother figure to Collin— applauded the 20-year-old for finally speaking out.
“I am so proud of you, Collin!” she wrote in the comment section of his Instagram post. “You finally got to tell your story and the truth. I knew the day would come when you were strong enough to handle it and I I’m so glad that day finally came. I love you so much and you know I will always be there for you if you need me!”
RELATED STORY: Collin Gosselin Claims Mom Kate Gosselin Zip-Tied His Arms & Legs and Locked Him In Basement Room As a Child
(Photos: TLC; Instagram; YouTube)
18 Responses
What strikes me is that Jon says Collin told his therapists/psych doctors at the hospital about his abuse. He was still a minor at that time so why weren’t the authorities involved and investigating Kate? Why did the school allow Kate to have Collin just stop showing up? I lived in the same County in PA that they did, and the schools did not mess around with truancy. If Collin’s version of event sis true, then he needs legal representation because the State failed him in every way. It also bothers me how his siblings turned their backs on him, except for Hannah confirms the abuse. As far as Kate goes, I don’t know how as a mother you can just not show up to court for a custody hearing. Saying she loves him with all her heart must be so insulting and traumatic for Collin to read. I hope he is able to overcome his trauma and become a Marine like he wants.
What psychologist or team of pediatric doctors would recommend tying up a child and locking them in a room in isolation?
I think they’re both liars that rewrite and deny the past.
Colin claimed his father tried to choke him. Jon said “Colin had to be contained physically”. Jon said he was going to hurt others or himself when Jon wouldn’t have grabbed him.
The other kids spoke about harassment and that Colin threatened them and Kate.
On the other hand Kate is clearly mentally abusive.
Keith, so just hoping it’ll all go away so she can get her t v show back cuz.She doesn’t want to work a real job
She was trying to get the “family business” started again.
Not anymore. Any chance of getting another show is complete shot now.
“She has no comment because it’s not going to change the past” really truly screams she is guilty of everything being said about her and she has absolutely no intention of taking any accountability for it and definitely won’t be apologizing. To me it’s like the same thing as when a narcissist says something along the lines of…who cares that was like 10 years ago get over it already.
As an adult who’s beaten by their parent as a child, I agree, she’s definitely giving off guilty vibes For responding that way
You could tell way back on Jon and Kate Plus 8 that she was abusive, to both the kids and Jon. It sucks that Collin won’t probably get legal justice for what happened to him, but he should be proud of himself for having the courage to speak out about what he went through. The other kids who were with Kate have all been brainwashed, probably out of fear that what happened to Collin would happen to them. The older two are the worst, little Kate disciples. Kate is the one who needs to be institutionalized, preferably in a fucked up women’s prison somewhere. She gives a lot of David Eason vibes.
She is so vile. The truth is that she hated Colin because he didn’t conform to how she wanted her minions to behave. She is a tyrant and she wanted to rule over her family without any resistance. That’s why she got rid of him. Had it been for his own good, she would have visited with his siblings when he was in the institution in order to repair the relationship. She barely visited herself.
And she was abusive, they retrieved some of her diaries back then and she admitted to it.
Colin probably has issues. There were incidents while he was living with Jon. But Jon still supported him and loved him.
What a vile, disgusting and revolting human being
That was some very intentional wording by the lawyer that equals only one thing…the bitch is guilty as hell.
She is an absolute tyrannical monster. In the video of little Colin I can’t help but notice his siblings with big smiles. But Colin looked lost. Even separated more by distance than his siblings. It’s heartbreaking to see this little boy look deeply sad.
I am sure the statute of limitations is up so he won’t get any justice for the abuse or for her locking a little boy in a mental institution. And shame on that mental institution who saw dollars and cents for what Kate was paying them. Versus a little boy that needed protection not commitment to a mental institution. He must have been terrified!
Colin has worked hard to get past the abuse. But he still is living with the effects. Being kicked out of the military because he was involuntarily and wrongly committed to a mental institution. I would sue her ass civilly. Her lies and bullshit is still affecting his adult life.
Let’s add another insult to the very real injury: It was Collin’s share of the show earnings that she used to cover the costs on the institution. There is no low to which she has not sunk.
That’s basically an admission of guilt
Basically an admission of guilt because she sure as hell would be proclaiming her innocence. Disgusting!
she would sue for defamation if it weren’t true.
I hope she loses her job as a NURSE, she’s treating patients and she did this… she should never be allowed to be a nurse again…
Colin: My mom abused me… and locked me in the basement tied to a chair…. among other terrible things…
Kate’s Attorney: “She has no comment because it’s not going to change the past,”
DA FAWKKKKKK
…. I’m sorry, you don’t want to say that didn’t happen…
are you saying that it did!?!?!?!
She’s a monster. An absolute MONSTER….