Natalia Grace’s high profile and controversial adoption tale took an awestriking turn, as The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks docuseries unveiled a final plot twist Wednesday night (January 3).
Despite a seemingly happy ending for the Ukrainian orphan, who had been adopted and accepted by Antwon and Cynthia Mans, the closing minute of the investigation Discovery show revealed her new parents were growing to mistrust Natalia.
Antwon claimed to show producers in a voiceover: "Something ain't right with Natalia. This girl is tweaking."
Natalia Grace's adoption saga took a surprising turn as her new parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans, expressed growing mistrust
Image credits: Entertainment Tonight
"I feel like she's the enemy in the house. And she said to us we have held her hostage. Made us look like we're the enemy," People reported.
Cynthia also spoke out, as she said: "Natalia is stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie," before Antwon continued: "She's done other things too, but this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We're done. We're done with her."
A title card appearing on the episode concluded: Natalia's story will continue."
Image credits: Entertainment Tonight
In 2010, Kristine and Michael Barnett seemingly saw their entire life flipped upside down when their beloved six-year-old adopted daughter was believed to have an entirely secret identity, baffling psychologists, doctors, and lawyers all over the world.
Kristine and Michael had adopted who they thought was little Natalia Grace from Ukraine before allegedly noticing that their daughter had some strange behavior.
The couple believed that not only did Natalia have a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, but she also had “periods, adult teeth, and pubic hair.”
Antwon and Cynthia revealed concerns about Natalia, with Antwon stating, "Something ain't right with Natalia. This girl is tweaking"
Image credits: themansfamily11
The Barnetts alleged that the straw that broke the camel’s back for them was the time Natalia allegedly threatened them with a knife and said she was “gonna kill everybody.”
But after years of claims against Natalia, which were further unveiled in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, a follow-up segment completely debunked the allegations that she was a 22-year-old woman in 2012.
In the follow-up to the original docuseries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, Natalia was seen visiting Dr. Halland Chen, an age specialist from TruDiagnostics, for answers.
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
In a clip, Natalia was filmed tearing up as Halland tells her: “Based off all the studies and everything being analyzed, you’re closer to 22. Which is pretty close to what you think, [that] you’re almost 20 – that’s within 2 years.”
Provided that Halland’s conclusions are accurate, that would mean that Natalia was four when she came to the USA from Ukraine before being adopted by the Barnetts.
The couple accused Natalia of stabbing her family in the back with false claims
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
She would have subsequently been adopted when she was seven and then eight when her first adoptive parents filed an age change petition against her.
In more recent news, it was suggested that Natalia had been living in Indiana, USA, under the care of Antwon and Cynthia since 2014.
You can watch the trailer for Natalia Grace: The Story Continues below:
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
In 2019, the Mans family appeared on Dr. Phil, where they explained that they hadn’t experienced any troubling behavior from Natalia.
As Antwon and Cynthia had continuously stood by her, Natalia simultaneously denied the allegations made against her, admitting on Dr. Phil that her first adoptive mother, Kristine, had “said that I hid knives on top of the fridge, under the fridge, in the cabinets, even on her office desk,” even though she would have been physically unable to reach many of those places.
"She's suffered a great deal of trauma," a reader defended Natalia
