Kate Gosselin is bracing for the October release of a memoir by her estranged son Collin that promises to expose long-buried family secrets.
The 22-year-old, who stars in the upcoming fifth season of Fox’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” will publish “In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood” on Oct. 13. A source close to the family said that the former “Jon & Kate Plus 8” matriarch considers any child who discusses their past to be a “traitor.”
“Collin couldn’t be more spot on when he says he isn’t the one who should be nervous about the book coming out,” the source added, referencing Collin’s earlier comment that he is “not the one that should be nervous.”
Collin has been estranged from his mother since 2016, when Kate sent him to a behavioral health institution at age 11. She had alleged he was violent and exhibited unpredictable behavior. Collin later countered those claims with documentation from his medical team, asserting that Kate abused him and institutionalized him for refusing to participate in the family’s TLC reality shows.
Jon Gosselin, who lost custody of all eight children when he and Kate divorced in 2009, located Collin three years into his institutionalization and secured his release. Jon was subsequently granted legal and physical custody of Collin, as well as of Hannah, one of Collin’s sextuplet siblings, after she left Kate’s home. The remaining sextuplets—Joel, Alexis, Leah, and Aaden—stayed with Kate along with older twin sisters Mady and Cara, 25, and have remained estranged from their father.
For Collin, who graduated with honors under Jon’s guidance, the memoir represents both personal reckoning and a platform for others.
“Writing this was like therapy for me,” Collin said. “It was insanely healing. Just to be able to look at a picture of myself and be like, that’s who I’m doing it for and then think about all the millions of children who go through what I went through, being thrown into the industry against their will. That’s what you can expect in this.”
The book will delve into what Collin describes as the “dark” spotlight of growing up on camera and the “trauma” behind the scenes. Among the revelations: details about Steve Neild, Kate’s former bodyguard who became her boyfriend after Jon’s departure. The source explained that Kate had originally forbidden the children from ever discussing Neild, but when she learned the relationship would be exposed in Collin’s book, she preemptively confirmed it herself in September 2025.
“This book is going to reveal the truth and people will finally see the real Kate Gosselin, and it’s not pretty,” the source said.
Collin has framed the memoir as carrying weight beyond his own experience. “There’s a big voice in my story that will never die,” he continued. “This book is going to expose a lot, and there’s going to be a big message coming from it, and I hope you’re ready.”
The mother and son’s fractured relationship centers on those years of separation. After Jon secured Collin’s release from the facility, the young man rebuilt his life under his father’s care while maintaining distance from the parent who had institutionalized him. The source noted that Kate “doesn’t want anyone in the family to talk about their past,” a stance that Collin’s forthcoming account directly challenges.
A representative for Kate did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment on the book or her son’s allegations.
“Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” premieres Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.