Disney’s Good American Family portrays the chilling story of orphan Natalia Grace, adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett who later claimed she was an adult posing as a child
Drama series Good American Family has launched on Disney, portraying the story of a couple who adopt an orphan with a rare form of dwarfism, only to become suspicious of her actual age. The first five episodes of the series are ready to stream, with three more episodes scheduled to air every Wednesday.
The storyline is based on the chilling true story of Ukrainian-born Natalia Grace (played by Imogen Faith Reid), who was adopted by Midwestern couple Kristine and Michael Barnett (portrayed by Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass). Natalia had previously been adopted two years prior, but it didn’t work out with the parents, who cited her “disruptive” behaviour.
In what was thought to be a fresh start, Natalia was taken in by the Barnett’s in 2010 when she was around seven years old. Natalia, who has a rare form of dwarfism called Diastrophic Dysplasia, also gained three brothers who were the couple’s biological sons. The family resided in New Hampshire, US, but the dynamic broke down just a year later when the couple alleged their adoptive daughter was a “sociopath masquerading as a child”.
READ MORE: Natalia Grace’s boyfriend who helped her escape from ‘terrifying’ adoptive family
Kristine claimed to be shocked when she discovered that the seven year old had pubic hair and was allegedly concealing the fact that she had already started menstruating. The Barnetts also levelled disturbing accusations against Natalia, including claims that she threatened them with knives and tried to poison Kristine’s coffee.
In 2012, after leaving Natalia alone in an Indiana flat while they escaped to Canada, the Barnetts successfully petitioned an Indiana court to change their adoptive daughter’s birth year from 2003 to 1989, effectively declaring her an adult. Natalia always denied these allegations, and genetic assessments carried out in Natalia’s early 20s ultimately confirmed that she was indeed a minor at the time of her adoption. Her birth year was subsequently legally reverted back to 2003.
Natalia, who is now 21, was adopted by guardians Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans after being abandoned. However, In a chat with People magazine, Natalia claimed that her religious parents, who had 10 other children, kept her under strict control and isolated her from the outside world.
After spending a decade with the Manses in Indiana and then Tennessee, Natalia decided to “escape” with the help of her boyfriend Neil, a man from the UK who she met on Facebook. With Neil’s assistance, Natalia reached out to Nicole DePaul and her husband Vince, who had been turned down when they tried to adopt Natalia back in 2009. Over a period of many months, they then carefully devised an escape plan.
It was in December 2023 that Natalia’s plan got underway, but in the documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, Natalia admitted her mistake at “fleeing” her adoptive parents.
She confessed: “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t me. My mom told me, ‘This is not you; this is not my baby.’ I never once thought about wanting to move out or anything like that until I started talking to [Neil].” Natalia further acknowledged: “I will admit my mistakes. I thought I was in love, and it wasn’t right. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Today, Natalia lives with the DePaul family, who are little people like herself. The DePauls have helped Natalia pursue therapy to address her past traumas and say she “wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
Despite the challenges over the past two years, such as discovering Natalia had secretly been recording them, Nicole believes these actions are somewhat understandable due to Natalia’s diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which is not uncommon among children who have spent time in orphanages.
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