Current:Home > MyNatalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster" -VitalEdge Finance Pro
Natalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster"
View
Date:2025-04-18 03:06:36
Natalia Grace is speaking out about her time with the Barnetts.
After the mysterious case of the Ukrainian native—who was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2010 when she was 6 years old—was previously explored in harrowing detail, she's ready to share her side of the story.
Though the former couple have alleged that Natalia—who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare genetic disorder—was not a child, but rather a dangerous adult who subsequently attempted to kill them, Natalia has maintained that she was a young girl looking forward to her future when the Barnetts took her in.
But instead, she believes there was ulterior motives behind her adoption from the beginning.
"Kristine said that adopting me was this mission of love and never once did I see any love," Natalia says in an exclusive look at the ID docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks. "I feel like it was a mission of boosting her ego type of thing. I feel like she just wanted people to be like, ‘Oh my goodness, like she's this amazing person.'"
As Natalia further explained, "'She just adopted a little girl from the Ukraine who has dwarfism and has all these different medical issues and everything like that. You know, she's a great mom for wanting to help somebody, right?'"
However, she maintains that her adoptive mom's persona was really a "mask."
"Have this really nice smile, 'I'm a great mom,'" she continues. "But and then it's like, pull that mask off—this is who she really is, like your true colors. Kristine was a monster. I didn't know what she was going to do next."
E! News has reached out to reps for Michael and Kristine Barnett for comment and has not heard back.
In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned a court to change Natalia's birth year from 2003 to 1989, making her 20 years old when they adopted her and accused her of attempting to harm them on several different occasions.
Michael and Kristine subsequently moved with their three sons to Canada, leaving Natalia to live by herself in an apartment in Lafayette, Ind., the following year.
Six years later, Michael and Kristine—who finalized their divorce in 2018—were brought up on charges in connection to their move. Michael was found not guilty on his charges in 2022, while prosecutors dropped their case against his ex-wife this past March.
The latest installment of Natalia's twisted adoption story will take a closer look at the "saga and the Barnetts' allegations from Natalia's perspective," according to a press release from ID, "offering insight into what really went on behind closed doors in the Barnetts' home."
The three-night docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks kicks off Jan. 1 at 9/8c on ID.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (5578)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- NASA astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up 6-month station mission
- Rewriting colonial history: DNA from Delaware graves tells unexpected story of pioneer life
- Racism in online gaming is rampant. The toll on youth mental health is adding up
- Bet365 ordered to refund $519K to customers who it paid less than they were entitled on sports bets
- Biden says he went to his house in Rehoboth Beach, Del., because he can’t go ‘home home’
- UAW’s clash with Big 3 automakers shows off a more confrontational union as strike deadline looms
- Vice President Kamala Harris to face doubts and dysfunction at Southeast Asia summit
- US auto safety agency seeks information from Tesla on fatal Cybertruck crash and fire in Texas
- Joey King Marries Steven Piet in Spain Wedding
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Some businesses in Vermont's flood-wracked capital city reopen
- USA advances to FIBA World Cup quarterfinals despite loss to Lithuania
- St. Jude's arm is going on tour: Catholic church announces relic's first-ever tour of US
- The Daily Money: Disney+ wants your dollars
- Takeaways from AP’s reporting on efforts to restore endangered red wolves to the wild
- Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville singer, dies at 76
- Coach Steve: Lessons to learn after suffering a concussion
Recommendation
Olympic men's basketball bracket: Results of the 5x5 tournament
Remains of British climber who went missing 52 years ago found in the Swiss Alps
Horoscopes Today, September 2, 2023
Jimmy Buffett died after a four-year fight with a rare form of skin cancer, his website says
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Aerosmith Peace Out: See the setlist for the iconic band's farewell tour
No. 8 Florida State dominant in second half, routs No. 5 LSU
Jimmy Buffett's cause of death was Merkel cell skin cancer, which he battled for 4 years