‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ Son Collin Gosselin Says Mom Kate ‘Zip-Tied’ His Hands and Feet and Locked Him in the Basement

Jon and Kate Plus 8 son Collin Gosselin is speaking out about alleged abuse he faced as a child. The former reality TV child star, now 20, says that when he was younger his mom Kate “zip-tied” his hands and feet and locked him in the basement.

“It was a very, very emotionally abusive relationship,” Collin told The U.S. Sun in a video interview. “When my mother would put me in that room multiple times, 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 went on to tell the outlet that the room he was locked in was an “unfinished section of the storage basement” and that it contained a mattress on the floor. “And I was there, you know, most of the day because I didn’t go to school after a certain point,” Collin added, “So most of the day I was in that room and I was away from my siblings and I never really went outside.” It is currently unclear if Kate has responded to the allegations.

In 2022, Collin spoke exclusively with ET’s Kevin Frazier, recalling the difficult time he had during his early teen years after being institutionalized by his mother. During his conversation, Collin also revealed that he had not seen most of his siblings in years. 

Collin’s estrangement from his mom and siblings started, he said, when Kate admitted him to a mental health facility. It was originally believed that she did this in 2017, but new comments from the teen indicate it was earlier. “I have not spoken with my siblings in probably five or six years now,” Collin shared. “It’s tough.”

In July 2023, Vice TV aired the “Jon & Kate: Family Circus” episode of their Dark Side of the 2000s docuseries, which features testimonials from both Jon and Collin, with the 19-year-old opening up about his relationship with his mom, Kate. Speaking about his childhood, Collin says she took out her “anger and frustration” on him.

“I’m not gonna say I was a perfect child, but I’d say my misbehaving was no different from my siblings,” Collin says in the teaser shared on social media. “I know my mother was going through a lot of things. I mean, a divorce and plenty of different things that can’t be easy to go through.” He added, “And, you know, I want to think that she needed someone to take out her anger and frustration on, and it was just kind of me. I was in the way and I was there. So, she chose me.”