Natalia Grace Barnett Plans to Get Adopted by Antwon and Cynthia Mans: ‘I Am Not a Barnett’

Natalia Grace Barnett is ready to formally become a Mans after she suffered years of alleged abuse and neglect from her former adoptive parents, Kristine and Michael Barnett. She revealed during The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks on Tuesday, January 2, that she plans to get adopted by her guardians, Antwon and Cynthia Mans.

“[The Barnetts] never acted like my parents. Even though I’m still legally theirs right now, they are not my parents. Antwon and Cynthia Mans are my parents,” Natalia, 22, said. “So, the only thing that’s left connecting me to the Barnetts is my last name. And that’s about to change as well.”

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Natalia and Antwon met with an adoption attorney, Peter Kenny, to discuss the next steps toward adoption. The Ukraine native told Kenny that the Mans have “actually been a family” to her and have “shown [her] love.”

Additionally, Natalia said this will be the final step in losing her connection to Michael and Kristine.

“If I have to sign something, I have to sign it Barnett, and I don’t want that to be my identity. Because with everything that happened, it’s all connected to the Barnetts,” she continued. “And I don’t want that to be connected to me anymore. I just wanna start new and not have to look back. … If someone asks me my name, I don’t want to say Natalia Barnett, I want to say Natalia Mans because that’s who I am. I am not a Barmett, I’m a Mans.”

Finally, Natalia said that her adoption into the Mans family will “protect” her when she files civil lawsuits against Michael and Kristine.

Natalia, who has a severe form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDc), became part of the Barnett family when Michael and Kristine adopted her in 2010. At the time, they thought she was 6 years old. However, Kristine began to suspect Natalia was much older than they were told when she allegedly found pubic hair on her adoptive daughter’s body. Michael and Kristine went on to accuse Natalia of being an adult con artist. Additionally, they alleged that she threatened and attempted to kill them multiple times.

After two years of living with Natalia, Michael and Kristine petitioned to change her birth year from 2003 to 1989, which would have made her 23 years old in 2012. Once Natalia was a legal adult, they rented her an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, and moved to Canada with their three sons.

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During her time in Lafayette, Natalia met Antwon and Cynthia, who believed she was a child living on her own. They also recognized that her disability made it difficult to live in that apartment, which had several flights of stairs and high cabinets. They took Natalia in and became her new guardians. Antwon and Cynthia have maintained that Natalia is a child and that she has never been violent toward them.

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In September 2019, Michael and Kristine faced charges of neglect of a dependent. However, Michael’s charges were completely dropped by October 2022. Kristine’s were later dropped in March 2023.

In Natalia Speaks, Natalia disputed the claims that Michael and Kristine made about her. She alleged that Kristine severely abused her by hitting her with a belt, pepper spraying her in the eyes and more. Additionally, Natalia took a DNA test that proved she was 22 years old as of 2023, meaning that she was around 9 years old when the Barnetts abandoned her.