Collin Gosselin shares a special message for his “real mom.”
On Wednesday (June 17), the 22-year-old son of John and Kate Gosselin took to Instagram to write a touching message to Colleen Conradwhich his father dated from 2014 to 2021, in honor of her birthday.
Colleenbirthday happened to fall on the same day as Collin announced his forthcoming memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.
“I had not planned this at all, but it happened to be on the day of the official announcement of my book Colleenbirthday,” Collin wrote. “She is the strongest woman I know who stepped into the hardest part of my life and CHOSE to be my mother.”
“Happy birthday to my wonderful, hardworking, passionate, and I could go on… to my real mom,” he continued. “I love you so much. I also had to add a Rascal Flatts song because we always sing Rascal Flatts songs together.”
John49 and Colleen grew up together in Pennsylvania but didn’t start dating until 2014, about five years after his divorce was finalized from Kate51. In August 2021, John announced that he and Colleen had split, about four months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
John said later that he and Colleen remained good friends and that he helped her through her cancer treatments.
In 2023, Colleen publicly supported Collin after Kate talked about his alleged behavioral problems.
Hours before Collin‘s birthday message to Colleenhe announced that his book, In the shadow of eightwill be released on October 13, 2026. The cover is a paparazzi photo of Kate with his hand over a youth Collin‘s mouth.
“For a long time I wasn’t sure I would ever tell this story,” Collin signed on Instagram when he announced the memoir. “Growing up, millions of people watched my life on TV. People felt like they knew me. They knew my family. They watched me grow up. But there was so much they never saw. ?For years I kept these experiences to myself. Some because I was scared. Some because I didn’t think anyone would believe me. And some because I just wasn’t ready.”
He continued, “Writing this book forced me to revisit some of the most difficult moments of my life, but it also gave me something I’ve been looking for for a long time: my voice. It’s not the story people think they know. It’s the story I’ve lived.”
Collin is one of John and Kate‘s 22-year-old sextuplets, next door Alexis, Hannah, Aden, Leahand Joel. They are also parents to 25-year-old twins Maddy and Cara.
After their divorce in 2009, Kate was granted custody of all eight of their children. In 2016, she sent Collin to a behavioral health facility by what she described as “unpredictable and violent behavior.” After leaving the institution, Collin moved in with John and after a lengthy court battle, John was granted custody of his son in 2018.
Last year, Kate was hospitalized for almost three months after a “life-changing” injury.
Sent to:Collin Gosselin Jon Gosselin Kate Gosselin
