Natalia Grace’s Life With the Mans Family Wasn’t the Happy Ending She Wanted

Since the world met Natalia Grace's made-for-TV story, the television industry has made sure her story is told in many iterations. Natalia, a Ukrainian-born American with dwarfism, has shared her story of being mistreated by her adopted family on many platforms, including The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, which released its finale in January 2025.

In the finale, Natalia navigated being abandoned by the Barnett family, whose neglect became the catalyst for her fame. After the Barnetts abandoned her to live on her own after being convinced she was pretending to be a child, Natalia thought she had finally found a home with the Mans family. However, she and the Manses fell out during Natalia Speaks, forcing her to move to another, familiar family. So, what happened between Natalia and the Mans family? Here's the scoop.

In 2013, Natalia was taken in by Cynthia and Antwon Mans, who officially adopted her in 2023. At the time, she was living on her own after her adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, left her to live in an apartment while they and their sons moved to Canada. Initially, Natalia embraced the Mans family's religious lifestyle and helped care for their other children. However, tensions escalated over time, leading to her departure.

During the Season 2 finale of Natalia Speaks, Antwon and Cynthia were heard in a voiceover of a video of Natalia sitting on a porch as they discuss why she isn't staying with them, per Forbes.

"Natalia is stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie," Cynthia said, while 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. We're done with her.”

In the third season of the docuseries, Natalia confirmed she was no longer living with the Manses She revealed that the fallout began when the Manses tried to restrict her internet access after discovering she had been communicating with a boyfriend in the U.K. She also maintained that she considered Antwon and Cynthia her parents and that her siblings were her family. However, Natalia and the Manses' neighbors raised more sinister concerns about her departure with People.

The neighbors told the outlet Natalia was legally adopted, she embraced the Mans family’s religious lifestyle and helped care for their 10 children while living with them in Indiana and later in Tennessee. However, neighbors and friends alleged they saw the Mans physically abuse Natalia, claiming she was whipped with a belt, slapped in the face, locked in a room, and assaulted. Natalia has denied any of People's

After her disagreement with the Manses over her boyfriend, Natalia and her beau reached out to another family from her past, the DePauls. As explained in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace docuseries, the DePauls were supposed to adopt Natalia before the Barnetts but couldn't due to financial restrictions. The series showed them.having a few disagreements, though nothing as severe as what she allegedly experienced with the Barnetts or the Manses.

"At first it was bumpy because the Mans were still involved," Nicole DePaul told People of Natalia living with her and her husband, Vince. They were calling Natalia constantly and trying to wheel her back in," Nicole explained to the publication. “It was just this constant thing where we were walking a fine line of not doing too much. See, she just came from this house that basically was ruled by a dictator, so I didn’t want to tell her what to do.”

Since moving in with the DePauls, Natalia has been working toward her GED and aspires to become a teacher. She has expressed feelings of freedom and growth in her new environment. Her adoptive parents, Kristine and Michael, faced neglect charges but were ultimately acquitted.