Natalia Grace Mans’ (née Barnett) mom, Cynthia Mans, has shed light on the current status of the former orphan’s relationship with her adoptive family after Cynthia and husband Antwon Mans claimed they were “done” with her.
Cynthia revealed in an interview with The U.S. Sun published on Tuesday, January 9, that Natalia, 22, did move out of her and Antwon’s home in Indiana. However, they have already started working through their issues and are “absolutely perfect.”
“No, she doesn’t live with us but we are fine,” Cynthia added, noting that Natalia is “living with friends” but still contacts the Mans regularly.
While Cynthia could not go into detail about what caused their brief falling out with Natalia — this will be explored in a future installment of Investigation Discovery’s docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace — she said she has confidence they will pull through.
“It’s rough but with God, we gonna make it. I am in prayer,” Cynthia concluded.
Cynthia’s update comes days after the finale of ID network’s The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks on January 3, in which Natalia proved her real age and disputed claims made by her former adoptive parents, Kristine and Michael Barnett, who believed she was an adult posing as a child and trying to kill them. The final moments of the season showed Natalia getting officially adopted by Antwon and Cynthia, who became her guardians in 2013 after Michael and Kristine left the Ukraine native behind.
Though it seemed like a happy ending, a note from producers then revealed that they received a “shocking phone call” from Cynthia and Antwon two weeks before Natalia Speaks aired. Antwon said that something wasn’t “right” with Natalia and claimed that she was “tweakin.’”
“I feel like she’s the enemy in the house. And she said to us [that] we have held her hostage. Made us look like we’re the enemy,” he added.
Cynthia chimed in to say that Natalia was “stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie.”
Antwon concluded, “Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We’re done. We’re done with her.”
Natalia broke her silence after the call on January 5, sharing an update to her personal Instagram account.
“I am okay and doing well and thank you all for your support and prayers,” she wrote alongside a selfie. “I wish I could tell you more [about] the show but I signed an agreement with the show to keep things confidential for now. I will let you guys know when I can for sure, but just know I am okay. Love y’all.”
Natalia also seemingly created a GoFundMe to ask for help raising funds for her own home and a surgery to correct her spine and legs, which have had problems as a result of her diastrophic dysplasia.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which first premiered in May 2023, brought nationwide attention to Natalia’s story. Kristine and Michael adopted her in 2010, believing she was 6 years old at the time. However, mature features on her body led the former couple to suspect she was actually an adult using her rare form of dwarfism to pose as a child. They claimed that she threatened and attempted to kill them multiple times.
After two years of living with Natalia, Michael and Kristine had her birth year legally changed from 2003 to 1989, which would have made her 23 years old in 2012. They rented her an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana — where she met Antwon and Cynthia — and moved to Canada with their three biological sons. Michael and Kristine later faced charges for neglect of a dependent, but all charges were dropped by March 2023. Natalia claimed in Natalia Speaks that Kristine forced her to lie about her age and severely abused her.
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