Where Is Natalia Grace Now? Inside Her Life 12 Years After She Was Abandoned by Former Adoptive Parents By Lynsey Eidell and Emily Blackwood

It’s been six years since the world first learned about the curious case of Natalia Grace.

In September 2019, her adoptive parents, Michael Barnett and Kristine Barnett, were charged with multiple counts of neglecting an independent. The Indiana couple had moved a then-9-year-old Natalia in July 2013, three years after adopting her from Ukraine.

The Barnetts then moved to Canada with their three other children, leaving Natalia, who had a rare form of dwarfism, behind.

Following the charges, the Barnetts shared their side of the story: The couple alleged that Natalia was an adult masquerading as a child. In 2012, they had Natalia’s birth year legally changed from 2003 to 1989, which would have made her 22 years old — but the Barnetts believed she may have been as old as 33, Michael revealed on Good Morning America in 2019.

The Barnetts also claimed that Natalia — who they called a “con artist” and a “sociopath” — was determined to harm their family. Over the two years that she spent with the Barnetts, the couple alleged that she had tried to poison Kristine’s coffee, attempted to drag her toward an electric fence and would place clear thumbtacks face-up on the stairs so that they could step on them.

Michael detailed more of the threats he and his ex-wife (the couple split in 2014) allegedly faced from Natalia in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, a three-part docuseries that premiered on ID in May 2023.

“She threatened to stab my sons, drag their bodies outside and bury them underneath the deck,” Michael said in the documentary.

He added, “I promise you within five years someone is dead.”

But Natalia, who has consistently denied all of the Barnetts’ accusations, spoke out in her own documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, which debuted on ID in January 2024.

“In every lie is a hidden truth, but you’ve gotta dig enough to be able to see it,” Natalia said in the docuseries. “They’re not going to get away with this. This is my side of the story.”

She continued, “Do I look like a monster to you?”

So, where is Natalia Grace now? Here’s everything to know about Natalia Grace and what her life looks like today.

Who is Natalia Grace?

Natalia Grace is a Ukrainian orphan who arrived in the United States in 2008. Natalia, who has a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, lived with several different foster families before being adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2010.

At the time, the Indiana couple believed they were adopting a 6-year-old girl — but the Barnetts soon became suspicious of her age, with the couple alleging that Natalia had pubic hair, adult teeth and was menstruating, ID reported. In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned Marion County Probate Court to legally change Natalia’s age from 8 to 22, changing her birth year from 2003 to 1989. The following year, the family moved Natalia into an apartment in Lafayette, Ind. — before moving with their three sons to Canada and cutting off contact with Natalia.

Natalia’s story grabbed the attention of the public in 2019 when Indiana prosecutors leveled charges against the Barnetts for allegedly neglecting a dependent. Michael and Kristine subsequently revealed to multiple news outlets that they believed Natalia to be an adult posing as a child — and that she had intended to bring harm against their family.

“It’s obvious that her records were falsified. This is an adult masquerading as a child,” Michael said in a November 2019 appearance on Dr. Oz’s True Crime show. “We took her to the stress center to have her evaluated that she is having thoughts of harming others, and she is stating out loud that she is attempting to kill Kristine.”

Natalia, however, has denied their claims and maintained that she was a child when the Barnetts adopted her.

Where is Natalia Grace now?

Natalia had been living with another Indiana couple, Cynthia and Antwon Mans, and their children, since 2013, according to the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Natalia reportedly met Cynthia after the Barnetts moved her into an apartment in Lafayette. Cynthia invited Natalia to move in with them just days after their first meeting.

In 2016, the Mans petitioned to become Natalia’s legal guardians; however, a hearing was required to determine whether Natalia was a minor or a legal adult. After a judge maintained that Natalia was legally an adult, the Mans dropped the guardianship petition — but Natalia has continued to live with the family in the years since.

In the wake of Natalia’s legal battle with the Barnetts and the subsequent media attention, Cynthia and Antwon have stood by her. In 2019, the couple appeared alongside Natalia on Dr. Phil, reaffirming to Dr. Phil that she was a minor and had never exhibited any violent behavior towards anyone in their family. Cynthia also testified on Natalia’s behalf in 2022 at Michael’s trial.

Natalia was adopted by the Mans in 2023, but what had seemed like a happy ending was undone by a shocking plot twist at the end of the last episode of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.

The producers of the show received a troubling phone call from Antwon Mans. “Something ain’t right with Natalia,” began Antwon. “This girl is tweaking.”

“I feel like she’s the enemy in the house,” he added. “And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we’re the enemy.”

Cynthia then said on the call, “Natalia is stabbing her family in the back, over a complete lie!”

Antwon added, “She’s done other things too, but this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself.”

“We’re done,” Antwon added. “We’re done with her.” 

In January 2025, Natalia told PEOPLE she’s now preparing to live independently by studying for her GED and learning to drive. In the future, she hopes to become a teacher and have a family of her own.

“I’m a girl who loves kids and wants to get married and have children,” she said. “But one of my biggest things is not making promises I can’t keep. I’ve had too many promises that have been broken. I’m just ready to move on.”

She also now lives with the DePaul family, friends who previously tried to adopt Natalia.

What happened to Michael and Kristine Barnett?

In 2013, the Barnetts moved to Canada for their then-15-year-old son Jacob to pursue graduate studies in physics. Jacob, who has autism, was previously featured on a 2012 60 Minutes episode for being a math and science prodigy and was the subject of Kristine’s 2013 memoir The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism.

However, Michael moved back to Indianapolis from Canada in the fall of 2013, according to the Journal and Courier. He filed for divorce from Kristine in February 2014 after nearly 20 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in 2018.

In September 2019, Michael and Kristine were charged with multiple counts of neglecting a dependent for leaving Natalia in an apartment solo while they moved to Canada. Though an Indiana judge dismissed the charges alleging neglect based on Natalia’s age, prosecutors were able to bring charges against the former couple for neglect based on Natalia’s disabling dwarfism, the Journal and Courier reported.

However, Michael was found not guilty in October 2022, and Kristine’s charges were dismissed in March 2023.

What has Natalia Grace said about Michael and Kristine Barnett?

Despite the drama surrounding her adoption, Natalia has spoken positively about Michael and Kristine. The Ukrainian native revealed to Dr. Phil in 2019 that she felt loved and accepted by the Barnetts and was happy in their home.

“I actually thought I had found the right family after bouncing around … I thought I had found the right family for me,” she said.

At Michael’s trial in October 2022, Natalia also testified that she did not want to move into her own apartment and wanted to remain living with the Barnetts.

“I wanted to be with the Barnetts,” she said on the stand, according to the Journal and Courier. “I wanted to live with them.”

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But Natalia has also refuted Michael and Kristine’s claims that she lied about her age and was trying to harm them and their children. She opened up about her side of the story in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.

Natalia told PEOPLE that she believes she was “brainwashed” by the Barnetts.

“Kristine coached me to lie about my age and say I tried to murder my parents,” she said in January 2025. “Why would you do that to your child?”

How old is Natalia Grace now?

According to the Mans’ family Instagram account, Natalia celebrated her 20th birthday on Sept. 4, 2023 (going by the birth year originally listed on Natalia’s Ukrainian birth certificate), and now, she is 21. However, her updated birth date of Sept. 4, 1989, would make Natalia currently 35 years old.

A blood test conducted by the medical lab TruDiagnostic in August 2023 revealed that Natalia is approximately 22 years old, which suggests she was a child when the Barnetts adopted her. At the time of the lab work, Natalia believed she was about 20 years old.

“This one little piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts has said right into the trash with a match,” Natalia said in a January 2024 episode of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, adding, “It just proves that I was not lying about my age.”