Collin Gosselin is sharing a special message for his “real mom.”
On Wednesday (June 17), the 22-year-old son of Jon and Kate Gosselin took to Instagram to pen a touching message to Colleen Conrad, whom his dad dated from 2014 to 2021, in honor of her birthday.
Colleen‘s birthday happened to fall on the same day that Collin announced his forthcoming memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.
“I didn’t plan this at all, but coincidentally on the day of the official announcement of my book, it is Colleen’s birthday,” Collin wrote. “She is the strongest woman I know, who stepped in at the toughest part of my life and CHOSE to be a mother to me.”
“Happy birthday to my wonderful, hardworking, passionate, and I could go on… to my real mom,” he continued. “I love you so much. Also I had to add a Rascal Flatts song, because we always sing Rascal Flatts songs together.”
Jon, 49, and Colleen grew up together in Pennsylvania, but didn’t start dating until 2014, about five years after his divorce was finalized from Kate, 51. In August 2021, Jon announced that he and Colleen had split, around four months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Jon later said that he and Colleen remained good friends and that he was helping her through her cancer treatments.
In 2023, Colleen publicly supported Collin after Kate spoke about his alleged behavioral issues.
Hours before Collin‘s birthday message to Colleen, he announced that his book, In the Shadow of Eight, will be released on October 13, 2026. The cover is a paparazzi photo of Kate with her hand over a young Collin‘s mouth.
“For a long time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever tell this story,” Collin wrote on Instagram as he announced the memoir. “Growing up, millions of people watched my life on television. 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 those experiences to myself. Some because I was afraid. 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 hardest moments of my life, but it also gave me something I’ve been searching for for a long time: my voice. This isn’t the story people think they know. It’s the story I’ve lived.”
Collin is one of Jon and Kate‘s 22-year-old sextuplets, alongside Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Leah, and Joel. They are also parents to 25-year-old twins Mady and Cara.
Following their divorce in 2009, Kate was awarded custody of all eight of their children. In 2016, she sent Collin to a behavioral health institution following what she described as “unpredictable and violent behavior.” After leaving the institution, Collin moved in with Jon and, after a lengthy court battle, Jon was awarded custody of his son in 2018.
Last year, Kate was hospitalized for nearly three months following a “life-altering” injury.
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