Kate Gosselin says her children know who she “truly” is amid abuse allegations made by her son Collin.
The 51-year-old former reality star took to TikTok on Thursday to celebrate her boyfriend Steve Neild’s birthday, and got support from her fans in the comments section.
“Happy Birthday Steve ! Strength isn’t just about enduring—it’s about loving deeply enough to do what is right even when it costs you,” one TikTok user wrote in the comments section. “Look at the beautiful life and happily ever after You have found now that You made sacrifices that no Mama should have had to make alone.”
They continued: “When people attack You, it might sting for a moment, but it can never shake who You are. It only confirms that You stood your ground and remained true through it all. God is guiding You two.”
KATE GOSSELIN DEFENDS HERSELF AGAINST SON COLLIN AS HE PREPARES TO RELEASE SHOCKING NEW MEMOIR
Kate responded to the comment by thanking the fan, telling them, “I needed this encouragement and you are right,” before adding that “I know who I am and my kids know who I truly am and to me, that’s all that matters.”
The exchange came shortly after Collin alleged on “The View” that his sister Hannah felt compelled to say the two of them had not spoken in a year as a form of “damage control” for having participated in an upcoming Netflix documentary alongside Collin and their father.
In a statement, Hannah wrote that she has a relationship with her mother and other siblings, but has not “lived with my dad for over a year” and hasn’t “spoken to Collin in close to a year.” She added that she will not be making any more statements about “Collin’s behavior growing up” or her experiences with him as a kid.
“All families are very complicated, and that statement sounded like a lot of the words of my mother, especially the last part. What I do believe has happened is that Hannah’s caught in the middle — and nobody deserves that,” Collin said on “The View.” “I know what it feels like to have to fight to have a relationship with your siblings. I don’t have one with my siblings, and I know how much that hurts. Not only is she caught in the middle, but I do believe my mom is either leveraging finances or Hannah’s relationship with our siblings over Hannah.”
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He added that “Hannah opened up about a lot of truths” in the documentary and is “trying to do pre-damage control … because my mom has placed that guilt on her,” and that that is not fair for Hannah.
Collin recently opened up about the alleged abuse he endured while living with his mother in his memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight.”
In the memoir, he accused his mother of restraining him with zip ties, hitting him when he failed to perform for cameras and isolating him in the family’s basement.
He first spoke out against his mother in a 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight, when he alleged his mom sent him to live at the Fairmount Behavioral Health System – a psychiatric hospital located in Philadelphia – without telling anyone in the family when he was 12 years old. She said he was diagnosed with a behavior disorder, and she couldn’t meet his needs.
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Collin left the facility and moved in with his father, Jon, in December 2018, after Jon was granted custody. His sister Hannah also lived with their father at the time.
“I’d like an apology, simply put, an apology and for her to admit, and just take accountability for what she did,” Collin told Fox News Digital earlier this month regarding his mother.
“And to say, you know, ‘I’m sorry that I’ve soiled your name, and I’ve made every effort to bury you, to protect my reputation,’ I think that’d be very honest and very powerful for her to say that … just show accountability because everything she’s done to protect her reputation, it’s all been at my cost.”
Kate has previously denied allegations of abuse made by Collin.