Current:Home > StocksNatalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster" -Visionary Wealth Guides
Natalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster"
View
Date:2025-04-14 22:56:48
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! (1214)
prev:Travis Hunter, the 2
next:Sam Taylor
Related
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Court blocks Mississippi ban on voting after some crimes, but GOP official will appeal ruling
- 3-year-old filly injured in stakes race at Saratoga is euthanized and jockey gets thrown off
- Remote volcano in Alaska spews new ash cloud, prompting aviation warnings
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Veterans see historic expansion of benefits for toxic exposure as new law nears anniversary
- Two years after Tokyo, Simone Biles is coming back from ‘the twisties.’ Not every gymnast does
- Is mining the deep sea our ticket to green energy?: 5 Things podcast
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- New York Activists Descend on the Hamptons to Protest the Super Rich Fueling the Climate Crisis
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Biggest search for Loch Ness Monster in over 50 years looks for volunteers
- New York City high school student charged with hate-motivated murder in killing of gay dancer
- Mexico recovers 2 bodies from the Rio Grande, including 1 found near floating barrier that Texas installed
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Flooding in western Kentucky and Tennessee shuts down roads and forces some evacuations
- Bumble and Bumble 2 for 1 Deal: Get Frizz-Free, Soft, Vibrant Hair for Only $34
- Court blocks Mississippi ban on voting after some crimes, but GOP official will appeal ruling
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Musk says his cage fight with Zuckerberg will be streamed on X
How two young girls turned this city into the 'Kindness Capital of the Kentucky'
Jamie Foxx Issues Apology to Jewish Community Over Controversial Post
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
2 police officers injured in traffic stop shooting; suspect fatally shot in Orlando
Couple who held impromptu reception after wedding venue caught fire return for anniversary trip
U.S. Border Patrol agents discover 7 critically endangered spider monkeys huddled inside migrant's backpack