\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Collin Gosselin<\/strong><\/a> is sharing a special message for his \u201creal mom.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday (June 17), the 22-year-old son of Jon<\/a><\/strong> and Kate Gosselin<\/strong><\/a> took to Instagram<\/a> to pen a touching message to Colleen<\/strong> Conrad<\/strong>, whom his dad dated from 2014 to 2021, in honor of her birthday.<\/p>\n Colleen<\/strong>\u2018s birthday happened to fall on the same day that Collin<\/strong> announced his forthcoming memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t plan this at all, but coincidentally on the day of the official announcement of my book, it is Colleen<\/strong>\u2019s birthday,\u201d Collin<\/strong> wrote. \u201cShe is the strongest woman I know, who stepped in at the toughest part of my life and CHOSE to be a mother to me.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cHappy birthday to my wonderful, hardworking, passionate, and I could go on\u2026 to my real mom,\u201d he continued. \u201cI love you so much. Also I had to add a Rascal Flatts song, because we always sing Rascal Flatts songs together.\u201d<\/p>\n Jon<\/strong>, 49, and Colleen<\/strong> grew up together in Pennsylvania, but didn\u2019t start dating until 2014, about five years after his divorce was finalized from Kate<\/strong>, 51. In August 2021, Jon<\/strong> announced that he and Colleen<\/strong> had split, around four months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.<\/p>\n Jon<\/strong> later said that he and Colleen <\/strong>remained good friends and that he was helping her through her cancer treatments.<\/p>\n In 2023, Colleen<\/strong> publicly supported Collin<\/strong> after Kate<\/strong> spoke about his alleged behavioral issues.<\/p>\n Hours before Collin<\/strong>\u2018s birthday message to Colleen<\/strong>, he announced that his book, In the Shadow of Eight<\/em>, will be released on October 13, 2026. The cover is a paparazzi photo of Kate<\/strong> with her hand over a young Collin<\/strong>\u2018s mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a long time, I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d ever tell this story,\u201d Collin<\/strong> wrote on Instagram<\/a> as he announced the memoir. \u201cGrowing up, millions of people watched my life on television. People felt like they knew me. They knew my family. They watched me grow up.\u00a0But there was so much they never saw. ?For years, I kept those experiences to myself. Some because I was afraid. Some because I didn\u2019t think anyone would believe me. And some because I just wasn\u2019t ready.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cWriting this book forced me to revisit some of the hardest moments of my life, but it also gave me something I\u2019ve been searching for for a long time: my voice. This isn\u2019t the story people think they know. It\u2019s the story I\u2019ve lived.\u201d<\/p>\n Collin<\/strong> is one of Jon<\/strong> and Kate<\/strong>\u2018s 22-year-old sextuplets, alongside Alexis<\/strong>, Hannah<\/strong>, Aaden<\/strong>, Leah<\/strong>, and Joel<\/strong>. They are also parents to 25-year-old twins Mady<\/strong> and Cara<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Following their divorce in 2009, Kate<\/strong> was awarded custody of all eight of their children. In 2016, she sent Collin<\/strong> to a behavioral health institution following what she described as \u201cunpredictable and violent behavior.\u201d<\/a> After leaving the institution, Collin<\/strong> moved in with Jon<\/strong> and, after a lengthy court battle, Jon<\/strong> was awarded custody of his son<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n Last year, Kate<\/strong> was hospitalized for nearly three months following a \u201clife-altering\u201d injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n Posted To:Collin Gosselin<\/a> Jon Gosselin<\/a> Kate Gosselin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Collin](\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/collin-colleen-788x525.jpg\")
<\/a>