The Curious Case of Natalia Grace continues to unravel one of the most bizarre stories ever told. In a clip from the docuseries, Natalia sits down to confront her former adoptive father, Michael Barnett, who adopted her along with his now ex-wife, Kristen Barnett, in 2010.
The story has gained major traction in headlines over the years, as the Barnetts claimed they adopted a child who actually turned out to be an adult. But now, Natalia is sharing her version of the story — and everything wasn't quite as it seemed to be.
"Why did you adopt me in the first place? Why?" Natalia asked Michael. At the time of her adoption, her former adoptive parents believed she was a 6-year-old girl from Ukraine.
Once they discovered that Natalia had a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal, the former couple grew suspicious that she was an adult who wanted to harm them and their other children. They soon petitioned to have her legal age changed to 22 before moving to Canada and leaving her behind in an Indiana apartment.
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"Many of these questions there's not going to be a single answer to," Michael replied. "Look, I've learned recently you and I have the same monster. Kristine. We are here because we both were incredible victims of an otherworldly type of abuse."
This seems to be news to Natalia, who questioned how Michael could think of himself as a victim. "I had the same monster you did," he said. "I was exceptionally controlled and put down and threatened, was minimalized. Anything that was who I was was ripped from me and I was guided and instructed to be exactly what she wanted me to be."
He went on to say that Kristine would threaten to take his sons away and never allow him to see them again. The two share three biological sons: Jacob, Wesley, and Ethan.
When asked why he never left her, Michael claimed that he tried to leave "no less than 10 times" but ended up in the hospital. The couple eventually divorced in 2018.
The interview ended with one of the crew members calling Michael out on cussing. A few people off camera started bickering, and Michael got up and walked out.
"Is it just me or does it feel like there are WAY too many Chefs in the kitchen?" one person commented. "This whole interview feels like a hot mess."
Another person chimed in: "He’s a coward and he wasn’t a victim he was an active participant!!! He’s sickening at this point!!!"
