Collin Gosselin, who became famous as a young child on Jon & Kate Plus 8, has spoken about growing up on camera and why he believes children need greater privacy. Gosselin said on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast that filming became such a routine part of childhood that he initially did not realize there was anything unusual about it. Newsweek reached out to Gosselin's representative via email for comment on Wednesday.
His story follows other former child reality stars, including Jill Duggar Dillard, Jacob Roloff and Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, who have publicly revisited aspects of their childhoods as adults. Family reality television introduced audiences to children before many were old enough to understand what being famous meant. Now, some members of that generation are adults and are publicly reassessing what happened when cameras were invited into their childhoods.
Gosselin grew up on Jon & Kate Plus 8, the reality series following Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin as they raised their eight children, a set of twins and sextuplets. The show documented the family's everyday life and the challenges of raising eight children, initially airing on Discovery Health before moving to TLC. After Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin divorced, the original series ended in 2009 and later returned as Kate Plus 8, focusing on Kate Gosselin raising the children.
For Collin Gosselin, there is barely a memory of childhood before television. Speaking to Shetty on On Purpose, Gosselin said his earliest memories already included camera crews, cables and lights inside the family home. As the program grew, he alleged, producers sometimes asked the children to repeat lines, reactions or facial expressions.
Gosselin said that became increasingly difficult to square with the idea of “reality” television. Later, he began resisting filming himself. Gosselin recalled tentatively telling his mother at around 8 years old that he did not want to participate.
Gosselin said he also tried to communicate his unhappiness nonverbally during filming by looking away or refusing to appear cheerful. Gosselin's concerns extend beyond his own experience. During the interview, he argued that children need space to experience difficult emotions and make mistakes without those moments being recorded for an audience.
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