Jon Gosselin publicly backed his son Collin Gosselin after the release of Collin’s memoir, saying he was proud of the book and warning that anyone who keeps calling his son mentally ill will be held accountable. The comments land as the family dispute that once played out on Jon & Kate Plus 8 moves into a new chapter, this time centered on Collin’s account of his childhood.
Jon told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 15, that Collin’s memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, was heartbreaking and written with a mission to help other victims of abuse. He said Collin has already been evaluated by multiple independent psychiatrists and that repeating the mental-health claims is hurting his son’s reputation, credibility and future. Jon also said the days of using mental health to discredit and silence Collin are over.
That response follows a post Kate Gosselin made on TikTok earlier this week, when she wrote that rational, logical people or anyone who has dealt with mental illness would understand what is going on and added that she had nothing to do with it. Jon’s representative, Adriane Schwartz, said he stayed quiet so Collin could tell his story in his own voice and said he fully supports his son and is incredibly proud of him.
The dispute is part of a much older fight. Jon and Kate Gosselin starred on Jon & Kate Plus 8, which debuted in 2007 and ended in 2009 after five seasons, and their 2009 divorce led to a custody battle that became national news. Collin and Hannah chose to live with Jon after the split, and Collin has said Kate sent him to a psychiatric hospital without telling his father, then stayed for about 20 minutes during a visit when he was 12. He said their conversation ended with her telling him, “Collin, you destroyed our family.”
Collin has also accused Kate of being physically and emotionally abusive toward him from a young age, allegations she has previously and consistently denied. Us Weekly said it reached out to Kate about the memoir and the abuse claims and had not heard back by the time of publication. Jon’s public defense now puts the focus on whether this family fight will keep playing out in public, or whether the next response will finally come from the mother he accused of trying to silence his son.
