IN News about our familyVox Media Studios is investigating the viral adoption scandal that pushed Myka and James Stauffer’s family channel offline. The series premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2020 and debuted on HBO on Wednesday, January 15.
Three-part documentaries — that are inspired New York Magazine2020 post-disaster family feature — includes old videos the couple shared before they announced their decision to bring back their adopted son Huxley and delete all their content from YouTube in 2020.
The Stauffers adopted Huxley in 2017 before rehoming him two years later, citing his later-diagnosed developmental disabilities as the reason for their search for a new family to care for him. The decision turned viewers against the couple, making them the target of widespread backlash, especially given previous statements the couple had made in videos.
In one of the deleted YouTube posts that resurfaced in the new documentaries, Myka told her viewers that she and her husband were well equipped and willing to learn how to parent a child with special needs.
The former nurse said: “I don’t know what his medical diagnosis will look like. How much education will he need? Will he need a little more hands-on work? Will it be delayed? But if nothing else, my child cannot come back.”
Myka and James, as well as Huxley’s new family, did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment at the time of the documentary’s premiere last summer.
Here’s what we know now about Huxley’s life and what the Stauffer family has said since rehoming him.
Why did Myka and James Stauffer rehome their adopted son? YouTuber Controversy Revisited 2020
When did Myka and James Stauffer adopt Huxley?
James and Myka Stauffer.
Myka Stauffer/Instagram
The Stauffers were known for their family YouTube channel, where they shared videos about their lives as parents to their four biological children and son Huxley, who they adopted at age 2 1/2 from China in 2017.
Myka and James documented the adoption process and featured their son in several of their posts, including when he was later diagnosed with autism.
In one deleted vlog presented in News about our familyMyka discussed how she used Dreft laundry detergent to “bond” with Huxley in a sponsored video.
“Dreft Baby Detergent smells just like a newborn, so when I’m cuddling a 3-year-old boy, I still feel like I’m cuddling a brand new baby and I get that baby smell that I never got from my son,” she said. mom from Ohio after filming her playing with her toddler in a video titled: “5 Things I DIDN’T EXPECT about our ADOPTION in China!”
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Myka and James Stauffer with their children.
Myka Stauffer/Instagram
The biggest bombs from News about our familyshocking documentary series about Myka and James Stauffer
Why did Myka and James Stauffer rehome Huxley?
In 2020, the couple fell out of favor when they announced they were seeking to terminate the adoption, claiming they were unaware of the extent of Huxley’s disability and were not equipped to raise him.
“It was very difficult for us to hear the medical professionals, a lot of their feedback and things that were upsetting,” James said in their latest video released in 2020. “We never wanted to be in this position. We were trying to meet his needs and help him as much as possible… we truly love him.”
“There isn’t an ounce of our body that doesn’t love Huxley with all its being,” Myka added. “There wasn’t a minute that I didn’t do my best and I think what Jim is trying to say is that after multiple evaluations, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals felt that he needed a different form and that his medical needs, he needed more.”
“Do I feel like a failure as a mom? About 500 percent,” Myka admitted. “The last few months have been the hardest thing I could have imagined… after putting our courage and heart into this little boy.”
Myka wrote a final Instagram post to “apologize for the rebellion and take full responsibility for all the pain I’ve caused.”
The former influencer continued: “This decision has left so many people heartbroken and I’m sorry for letting so many women down [sic] who looked at me like a mother.”
At the time, the couple’s attorneys, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, told PEOPLE the Stauffers’ ultimate hope is to “provide Huxley with the best possible treatment and care.”
“We are familiar with this case and given the facts we have, we believe this was the best decision for Huxley,” the legal team said in an exclusive statement released in May 2020. “Getting to know our clients, we know they are a beloved family and are very caring parents who would do anything for their children.”
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Myka and James Stauffer.
Myka Stauffer/Instagram
YouTuber Myka Stauffer finally apologized and then disappeared — where is she now?
Does Huxley Stauffer appear in the News about our family?
Vox’s three-part series features Huxley in a series of clips from deleted YouTube clips, though his face has been blurred to hide his identity. In one highly criticized video, Myka showed off her son and spoke to the camera about her plans to cut back on her adopted son Huxley’s treatment due to high medical bills.
“We will go to another speech therapist, not the one that costs $500 a month. But we will go to the one that costs $70 for 30 minutes,” said the influencer from Ohio in her vlog. “Not $500 in 30 minutes. No, no, no.”
The YouTube post came under scrutiny when viewers noticed she was wearing an 18-carat gold Cartier Love bracelet, which cost more than $6,000 in 2018. The bracelet currently retails for $7,350, according to the luxury brand’s website as of January 2025.
Where is Huxley now?
Huxley has since been rehomed and renamed by his new family. The child is no longer in public. In their latest YouTube post, Myka and James explained that Huxley will be living with a “new mom” who has medical training to help with his needs.
In her Instagram post in 2020, Myka wrote that Huxley is “thriving” and “happy” with his new family, who is “fitting in very well.”
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Source: HIS Education