Kate Gosselin defiantly declares 'my kids know who I truly am' after son Collin's abuse allegations

Kate Gosselin has defended herself amid abuse allegations from her estranged son Collin in his memoir In the Shadow of Eight. 

The mother of eight, who has strenuously denied Collin's claims in the past, was responding to a supporter in the comments section of a TikTok video she posted of her and her boyfriend Steve Nield celebrating his birthday.

When a follower changed the subject and commended her for all the sacrifices she has made, Kate replied: 'Wow. Thank you. I needed this encouragement. I know who I am and my kids know who I truly am and to me, that's all that matters.' 

The 51-year-old made no mention of Collin in the clip itself, which showed her enjoying a festive breakfast with Nield, her former bodyguard.

'Happy B-day,' Kate began, to which Nield replied, 'It's bacon day.'

‘Crispy bacon, the way you like it because it's also you’re birthday,' Kate told him. 'So I made you blueberry pancakes and bacon and we're ruining your heart on your birthday. I don't like the idea of bacon, you know that, but you love it so we have to compromise.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Kate's representatives for further comment. 

In the TikTok clip, Kate also updated followers that she and her beau were picking up a new female puppy this weekend.

'We’re going to do a color reveal, I have ideas,' she said before addressing Nield: 'I didn’t even tell you about it.'

The day she posted the TIkTok comment in her defense, a former nanny, who worked for the reality star, claimed that she saw Kate mistreat her son Collin.

The woman, identified only as Ashley H., told People that she worked for Kate over a decade ago as a cleaner, as well as a fill-in nanny for the reality star's eight children: twins Mady and Cara, and sextuplets Collin, Alexis, Joel, Leah, Aaden and Hannah.

Collin, now 22, recently accused Kate of abuse in his new memoir In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, and Ashley is backing up his allegations – which Kate has repeatedly denied over the years.

'She very much outwardly treated Collin different,' Ashley claimed.

'She 110 percent abused Collin. It's hard to almost put into words the specific hate that she had towards Collin. You could just feel it. I saw her grab Collin many, many times.'

According to Ashley, she quit working for Kate after just six months and claims that she even called Children and Youth Services to report her at the time.

'I know for a fact that I was not the only one who did that. I want to use this opportunity to not only back Collin that his mom was psychologically abusive to him, not to mention the physical,' she said.

'I didn't understand how somebody could be so nasty, downright evil and nasty to their own kids.'

In his book, Collin claimed that a Children and Youth Services investigation was opened after he showed up at school in pain after Kate allegedly 'yanked' his ear.

The Daily Mail has contacted both Kate and Collin for comment.

Kate sent Collin to live in a residential behavioral health facility in 2016, shortly before his twelfth birthday, where he remained for two years until he went to live with his dad Jon full time.

Kate later claimed that Collin had displayed 'unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies' towards his siblings and that he had 'received multiple psychiatric diagnoses'.

Collin was diagnosed with multiple mental health issues, including autism, ADHD, and bipolar.

He was later re-examined as an adult and was found by a clinical psychologist not to have any current psychiatric or behavioral problems.

Earlier this month, Kate addressed Collin's recent allegations about her in a TikTok comment to one of her fans, saying, 'I know rational and logical people or anyone who has dealt with mental illness understands what's going on here.'

She denied the allegations once again in another TikTok comment posted this week, telling one of her fans, 'I know who I am and my kids know who I truly am and to me, that's all that matters.'

The Gosselin family originally skyrocketed to fame in their TLC reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8, which followed then-married couple Kate and Jon Gosselin as they raised their sextuplets.

The couple eventually split and Kate got custody of all eight children. She then continued doing the series, under its new title Kate Plus 8, until it was canceled in 2017.

Collin is now lifting the lid on what life was like growing up in the spotlight in his new memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.

In the bombshell book, Collin claims that Kate subjected him to physical and mental abuse – which she has denied.

He said that it started out 'in the emotional space' before things allegedly escalated.

'And then there was the physical side. I learned early that my mom's anger didn’t stop at words. Sometimes it was a sharp yank to my ear. Sometimes a slap across the face. She would always stretch her fingers outward and hit us with the palm of her hand. Right across the cheekbone. Quick, decisive, meant to correct.'

Collin then claimed that the strikes were so brutal that they left his face bruised.

'It was always the same side of my face that carried the evidence. It would turn purple, bruised, tender to the touch, marks that faded just in time to be replaced by new ones,' he wrote.

'I learned to angle myself away from her without making it obvious, to anticipate her hand before it moved,' he continued.

He also reiterated previous allegations that he had been forced to live in a 'locked basement', where he slept on an air mattress and was monitored via a camera.

Kate, who has denied abusing Collin, was recently asked by a TikTok user why she hasn't taken legal measures against her son over his abuse claims against her.

She replied: 'I can't because I'm a public figure. Rules are different unfortunately. Or I definitely would! The rules are different for ppl in the public eye.

'I consulted a high power LA attorney (you've definitely heard of him) years ago when other people were putting crazy stuff out there and that's what he said. The courts don't honor it if you're in the public eye [sad face emoji].'

Jon was granted full custody of Collin in 2018, as well as his 22-year-old sister Hannah in 2016.

Collin is estranged from his 22-year-old siblings Aaden, Alexis, Joel, and Leah as well as his 26-year-old twin sisters Madelyn and Cara who also starred in Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Collin is currently starring on season five of Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.