Jon Gosselin & Kate Gosselin's Family Feud: Collin's Abuse Allegations, Cheating Rumors and More

After the 2006 special Surviving Sextuplets and Twins, millions of viewers gladly accepted TLC's invitation to check in more regularly with Jon Gosselin, his wife Kate Gosselin and their eight kids.

As a result, Jon & Kate Plus 8 was born. Premiering in 2007, the show was a strangely captivating hit, with the how-do-they-make-it-work family dynamic being the initial draw for fans watching twins Mady and Cara, born Oct. 8, 2000, and sextuplets Alexis, Aaden, Collin, Hannah, Leah and Joel, born May 10, 2004, grow up onscreen.

But then the draw became the fact that the titular couple were not making it work, and the Gosselins' marital issues and eventual divorce in 2009 were some of the biggest can't-look-away stories of the late aughts.

Both Jon and Kate faced rumors of infidelity—which they denied. Slamming allegations that she had cheated on him with her then-bodyguard, Kate told People in 2013 the accusations were "disgusting, unthinkable, unfathomable" and that she was "horrified" by what she was reading. Jon also blasted speculation that he had been unfaithful during their marriage.

"The most common misperception [is] that I cheated on my wife, that I left my family [and] that I'm a party boy," he said in an episode of Oprah Winfrey's Where Are They Now? that same year. "But my family knows the truth."

Still, forever joining Jon and Kate is their eight.

The quick math you did (and then redid, because that outrageous number couldn't be right) is correct. Mady and Cara, who were 6 when the TLC show premiered, are now 23-year-old college graduates and their now-not-so-little siblings are 20.

And though the Gosselins haven't had their own show in years, the drama never stopped.

The post-split series Kate Plus 8 was first canceled in 2011 and then brought back for three seasons between 2015 and 2017, though not always featuring all eight kids.

Kate, who got full legal custody of the children in the divorce, shared in August 2016 that Collin had "special needs" and was enrolled in a program away from home that was more suited to his "educational and social challenges." His absence left "a huge hole" in the family, she told People, but she and his siblings took comfort in knowing he was getting the help he needed.

During the same sit-down with the family, Mady told the publication she and Cara had no interest in seeing their dad—but if he wanted to have a relationship with them, "talking about us on TV is not the way to make that happen."

A few months later, Jon said he had an idea of where Collin was but didn't know for sure, telling Entertainment Tonight he planned to ask a judge to make his ex disclose their son's location. Kate pushed back at speculation something nefarious was occurring.

"We're both court-ordered not to speak about the care and custody of our children in detail," she said on Good Morning America. "I have known all along where he is. The world doesn't know. And, I'll leave it at that." Jon's attorney responded in a statement that he "is a loving and caring father acting within the scope of the law to do what is best for his kids."

At the time, Jon said he hadn't seen Collin for roughly 18 months. Fast-forward a couple of years, however, and Collin and Hannah were living with him. He then told E! News in 2020 that he and the rest of the sextuplets weren't speaking.

Collin broke his silence on the ongoing rifts within the family on the July 2023 episode of Vice TV's Dark Side of the 2000s called "Jon & Kate: Family Circus," saying that he hadn't talked to any of his siblings other than Hannah since 2016.

"I think my mom kind of drove a social barrier between us," he observed. "She told them the story one way, and, obviously, I see the story a different way."

But Collin was open to reconciling with everybody.

"I really, really hope one day that we can all reconnect and put the show behind us and just be siblings again," he said, "and take back that time we didn't have."

Afterwards Kate detailed her side of the story, writing on Instagram that she and Collin's siblings had not been "directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies." Mady also alleged on her Instagram Story, per People, that Collin had "physically threatened me and every member of my immediate family (some incidents as recent as last year)."

Jon defended his son, telling People in a statement, "It took courage for Collin to sit down and speak about his past and the last thing I would have expected was more abuse to come his way from a sibling that hasn't seen or spoken to him since he was in sixth grade."

Still, Collin has indicated his estranged siblings will always have a place in his heart.

“I love my siblings very, very much,” he told Entertainment Tonight in August 2024. “I would never hurt them. I would never trash their names in the media. But what I do believe is that my mother is behind the things that they say in the media. She’s behind their opinion of me. I think if we knew each other today, we’d be very good friends.”

While discussing his past, Collin told the outlet he didn’t get to say goodbye to his siblings when he was taken to a facility as a child.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” he continued. “I didn’t know where I was going. I’ve told all my family this. I mean, that was most scared I’ve probably ever been in my life. Up until then, I was at home with my siblings, with my mom, and she didn’t give me any information on where I was going, what was going on.”

Collin also alleged his mom visited him once during his stay. “It was about for thirty minutes,” he added, “and the entire time all she did was lecture me and told me that I destroyed our family.”

Though Kate did not publicly address Collin's allegations at the time, in part of her July 2023 post, she wrote, “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.” 

However, in a September 2024 interview with The U.S. Sun, he alleged Kate was "physically aggressive" as well as verbally and emotionally abusive towards him when he was a child and that she used to lock him in a "containment room" in their basement.

"When my mother would put me in that room multiple times," he told the outlet, "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 also alleged that because of his mother's allegations about his mental health his "dream of becoming a U.S. Marine was crushed and it was taken away"—with him saying he believes the diagnoses he previously received weren't accurate.

Per medical records Collin shared with the publication, he underwent an evaluation last October that reported he "does not meet criteria for any of the diagnoses of concern" and that the doctor did not "see evidence to indicate any other psychiatric diagnoses or behavioral disorder in his current functioning."

Kate's lawyer Richard Puleo responded to the allegations, telling The U.S. Sun he doesn't believe "Kate ever did anything intentionally to harm Collin" and that he thinks "she did whatever she did to protect herself and her family from some of his troubled behavior as a child."

"I think if Kate did the things that Collin is accusing Kate of, she would have been investigated by the authorities and prosecuted," he added to the publication. "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."

E! News also reached out to Kate, Collin and Jon for comment but did not hear back.

Considering where the family members stand, perhaps it wasn't too surprising when Kate posted a photo in honor of the sextuplets' 20th birthday in May that only featured Alexis, Aaden, Leah and Joel and not Collin and Hannah. The picture was a rare share, though, neither parent splashing the kids' pictures on social media too often. 

Back in July 2023, John shared a picture of himself with Hannah and Colin at their high school graduation.

Incidentally, Kate was also there, but the exes did not mingle.

"Hannah invited Kate," Jon explained to People, "and we saw each other, but there was a whole football field between us."

During a May 12 Instagram Live session from "somewhere in South Carolina" in between DJ gigs, Jon noted, "I can't believe they're 20...I wished all my kids happy birthday publicly."

Seeing the six, let alone all eight, all-grown-up Gosselin kids together again would indeed be a momentous event. But while they're busy doing their own thing, keep reading to see the siblings' transformation through the years:

On Mother's Day 2024, two days after the former couple's sextuplets turned 20, Kate shared a tribute the four who lived with her: Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah.

"No more teenagers in this house! Happy 20th birthday, my forever babies! I love you!" she wrote on Instagram. "Who feels old? I know I do! #20yearsold #ItsaPICKLE."

Hannah shared new pics of herself on her and the other sextuplet's 20th birthday May 10.

On to the next chapter! The sextuplet graduated from high school in 2023.

Jon shared a pic of sextuplets Collin and Hannah graduating from high school in 2023, years after they had moved in with him.

Kate appears with twin Mady and Cara in New York City in 2019.

"Happy 18th birthday!" Jon wrote on Instagram in 2022. "Today is your birthday we gonna say it loud. I love you. Love, Dad."

"Our big celebration of #15 is finally winding down here! We celebrated ALL DAY LONG, beginning with a present at 6:30 am before school! I'm so very thankful for my ‘babies'.... somehow they are 15 already?!" Kate wrote on the special milestone in 2019. "I'm amazed by them each day! I'm so proud of the positive qualities I've seen developing as they edge closer to adulthood." 

"This was yesterday! Feels like school never ended...and they're already back! #SeniorYear #EighthGrade #ProudMom," Kate wrote on Instagram in 2018.

 

"Happy 15th Birthday Hannah, Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Joel and Leah!!!! Wow I can't believe you are 15!!! Time is flying by!!!" Jon Gosselin shared on Instagram when posing with Hannah and Collin Gosselin. "I love you all very much. I wish you the best day ever and I hope you enjoy your birthday celebrations today and this weekend!!! Love always, Dad." 

"My beautiful 'little girls' .... they keep reminding me how many days until they turn 14. Today it was '12 days til we turn 14, Mom.' HOW'S THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!" Kate shared with her followers in 2018. "I told Leah that she's too small to turn 14. She said 'Yeah, true. Are you sure I'm not turning 11 or 12?' I'm positive. I gave birth to you. They'll always be my babies....I love them so very much!" 

"I can't believe they're 13!" Kate Gosselin wrote on Instagram when celebrating a major birthday for her sextuplets. 

Rewind to 2014 when Kate and her children found themselves visiting Alaska. 

Kate also treated her twin daughters Cara Gosselin and Mady Gosselin to a trip to New York City in 2014, where they stopped by the Manhattan Hotel. 

"A precious Christmas memory. My 6 were 6. Christmas Eve 2010 and they're SO excited for Christmas!" Kate Gosselin wrote on Instagram with a throwback photo. "Look at those adorable smiles! #TheyAreMyHeart #My8ReasonsToKeepOnKeepingOn #NoMatterWhat #TrueLoveX8." 

 

Back in October 2007, Jon and Kate Gosselin gathered their eight kids together for a trip to New York City. First stop? A visit to NBC's Today show. 

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