Current:Home > StocksNatalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster" -Quantum Finance Bridge
Natalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster"
View
Date:2025-04-18 22:46:29
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! (144)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' reaches 1 billion Spotify streams in five days
- Jennifer Love Hewitt Shares What’s “Strange” About Being a Mom
- Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Man falls 300 feet to his death while hiking with wife along Oregon coast
- Biden grants clemency to 16 nonviolent drug offenders
- No one is above the law. Supreme Court will decide if that includes Trump while he was president
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a solid economy
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt among 2024 NFL draft prospects with football family ties
- Watch 'The Office' stars Steve Carell and John Krasinski reunite in behind-the-scenes clip
- Fifth arrest made in connection to deaths of 2 Kansas women
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Jill Duggar Shares Emotional Message Following Memorial for Stillborn Baby Girl
- FTC sends $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers as part of video privacy settlement
- Looking for cheaper Eras Tour tickets? See Taylor Swift at these 10 international cities.
Recommendation
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Charles Barkley, Shaq weigh in on NBA refereeing controversy, 'dumb' two-minute report
Magnet fisher uncovers rifle, cellphone linked to a couple's 2015 deaths in Georgia
Oklahoma prosecutors charge fifth member of anti-government group in Kansas women’s killings
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Bears unveil plan for lakefront stadium and seek public funding to make it happen
Trump will be in NY for the hush money trial while the Supreme Court hears his immunity case in DC
Why Taylor Swift's 'all the racists' lyric on 'I Hate It Here' is dividing fans, listeners