Collin Gosselin Reveals Real Reason Why He Believes Mom Kate Sent Him to a Behavioral Institute at Age 11

Collin Gosselin savagely blurred his mom Kate Gosselin’s face in a pointed social media message ahead of the release of his highly anticipated memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.”

via: People

Collin Gosselin has theories about why his estranged mom Kate Gosselin sent him away when he was 11.

After Jon & Kate Plus 8 reality stars Kate and Jon Gosselin's 2009 divorce, Kate was awarded custody of their eight children — twins Cara and Madelyn, and sextuplets Collin, Alexis, Aaden, Leah, Joel and Hannah. Then, she sent Collin to a behavioral institution for what she claimed to be “unpredictable and violent behavior” when he was 11.

In a September 2025 interview with The U.S. Sun, now published in full on June 27, Collin, 22, said he believes his mom sent him away because he questioned why Kate Plus 8 continued after his parents' divorce and he no longer wanted to be on camera.

“I was stubborn enough to question my mom,” Collin said. “I questioned her about everything, and that came before the rebellion of me not wanting to be on camera and be a part of her circus.… That questioning led to me later not wanting to be on camera, and that really killed her.”

“I don't know what reason it was, whether it was her reputation she was saving by sending me away from home, or whether it was the fact that maybe it's easier to sign a work permit for seven children that are voluntary, instead of seven children that are voluntary and one that's involuntary,” he continued. “So there are a lot of things to question there.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMjtby2Zoys

In the 22 months that Collin was away, he said, Kate visited “one time for probably about 20 minutes, and the whole time I was blamed.”

“It was about a year of me being there, and the whole time I had these glasses on and tears coming down my face. I was overweight. I was sick. They had me on all these medications,” Collin said. “And she's sitting there looking at her kid, who was clearly not who he used to be and sick and just out of it. And she's just telling me that I broke her family, that my siblings want nothing to do with me, all that stuff.”

A lawyer for Kate declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE on July 1.

In a 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Collin recalled feeling scared when he was sent away from his home. “I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know where I was going,” he said at the time. “That was the most scared I've probably ever been in my life. I didn't even say goodbye [to my siblings].” 

“Our family was under a spotlight 24/7… I know strongly that the reason I was sent away was for my mother to protect her reputation,” Collin added.

Kate said in 2016 that Collin had "special needs." In response, Collin told Entertainment Tonight in 2022: "It's unfortunate that that's how my mom, you know, phrased me as a person. You know, I don't see those things and I don't think anybody else sees those things, but if that's how she sees me then, you know, that's her point of view."