Kate Gosselin has responded to claims that her estranged son Collin made in a recent social media post.
Last Sunday, the 50-year-old former reality star turned pediatric nurse shared a TikTok video titled “Kitchen Talk and Tips,” in which she was seen loading her dishwasher while sharing cleaning advice after a day at work.
In the comments section, Kate replied to a fan who shared a screenshot of Collin’s earlier TikTok post, in which he alleged that he and his seven siblings were “forced apart” and “pitted against each other” while living in the spotlight.
“He knows why.. ” Kate wrote, along with a crying face emoji.
The lives of Kate and her ex-husband Jon Gosselin as well as their children, including sextuplets Collin, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Leah and Joel and twin daughters Mady and Cara, were featured in the hit TLC reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8” from 2007 until 2009. After Kate and Jon split in 2009, the show was renamed “Kate Plus 8” and continued airing until 2017.
In addition to her comment about Collin’s TikTok, Kate replied to several supportive messages that fans left on her post.
“To be honest when i was growing up, the way you were portrayed, i thought you were too harsh. as a mom of 4(6,6,3,1) now I GET IT. watching things back, you were so intelligent and organized and efficient. keep being you, kate!” one TikTok user wrote.
“I was really trying to do my very best… just a bit overzealous at times,” Kate replied. “But only bc I cared SO SO much about my kids
Another fan commented, “Looking back now, I can see how you were portrayed as the villain and you weren’t. I apologize for ever thinking that.”
“Aww I appreciate your words. Forgiven,” Kate responded.
“I love this Kate. As we’ve all grown older, we now recognized how misunderstood you truly were. We hear you now,” one follower chimed in.
“So true. How kind. Thank you,” Kate wrote adding an emoji of a smiley face blowing a kiss.
A day earlier, Collin, now 21, shared a throwback photo of himself with the other sextuplets along with Mady and Cara, now 24.
“Born to be a team, us against the world,” he wrote on the image.
He also included a more recent photo of himself driving a car while wearing sunglasses, writing “Forced to do it alone, and wonder every day what our lives could’ve looked like.”
Collin’s post was captioned, “Forced apart, pitted against each other. All the fame and money in the world, but what about kids being kids? I will always love them more than anything. The tears I shed behind closed doors, thinking about the memories we could’ve shared. I love you guys.”
In the comments section, Collin responded to fans’ comments and implied that Kate was responsible for their estrangement and the divisions within their family.
“My twin brother and I don’t speak anymore because of our own mother. Praying for you, I know exactly how you feel,” one fan commented.
“I’m so sorry. It’s so hard to even begin to understand why a parent would want to separate and pit their kids against each other. It literally makes no sense. I’m sorry you have to go through this…” Collin replied.
Jon and Kate rose to fame after Kate gave birth to the sextuplets after having twins using intrauterine insemination. The couple signed on to film two documentaries about their large family in order to make ends meet, but their popularity turned the Gosselins into reality TV royalty. However, the two eventually separated, then divorced, and it was all caught on camera.
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Collin was allegedly diagnosed with a behavioral disorder and sent away to a separate school at the age of 12. Kate sent Collin to live at the Fairmount Behavioral Health System – a psychiatric hospital located in Philadelphia – without telling anyone in the family.
“I was not able, with my own resources here, to meet his needs,” Kate said during an episode of “Kate Plus 8.“
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However, Collin later claimed that Kate sent him away because he was telling people about the way his mother was treating him at home, which he labeled “abusive.” He claimed during an episode of Vice’s “Dark Side of the 2000s” that she had to put him “somewhere where [he] wouldn’t be able to put the secrets out.”
Collin told Vice he hadn’t spoken to at least six of his siblings since 2016. Jon also doesn’t have a relationship with the children outside of Collin and Hannah.
“At the end of the day, none of us decided to be on TV,” Collin explained.
In a 2016 interview with “Good Morning America,” Kate denied the abuse allegations, saying they were “absolutely” unfounded.
“We didn’t get the choice. It was our parents’ decision,” Hannah added. “I don’t resent my parents for putting us on TV because I understand why they did it. It was a good opportunity, and it just turned into something nobody saw it turning into.”
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
