In 2020, YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James made headlines around the world for giving up the four-year-old boy they adopted from China, almost three years after welcoming him into their family.
At the time, the Ohio-based couple faced extreme backlash after posting a tearful video saying they had decided to “rehome” Huxley, who was diagnosed with autism, citing that “there were a lot more special needs than they let on.” We weren’t aware.” ‘like his reasoning.
In a YouTube video posted before the adoption, she told viewers that “my son cannot be returned” and that they would “love” the young man, “no matter what state” he came to them in, making what What happened later was even more shocking.
Now, four years later, the viral scandal is being revisited in a new docuseries called An Update on Our Family, which explores the couple’s fall from grace and includes clips of Myka’s now-deleted YouTube videos, as well as delving deeper into the family vlogging industry. .
Here, MailOnline looks at what happened to the Stauffer family, following the series’ premiere yesterday at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2020, YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James made headlines around the world for giving up the four-year-old boy they adopted from China, almost three years after welcoming him into their family.
In a YouTube video posted before the adoption, she told viewers that “my son cannot be returned” and that they would “love” the young man, “no matter what state” he came to them in, making what What happened later was even more shocking.
After the announcement of their decision to rehome Huxley in May 2020 and the influx of hate that followed, the Stauffers quickly left YouTube and their channel was deleted.
Myka had amassed 717,000 subscribers over the years on her channel, with another 300,000 people tuning into the family’s vlogging channel, ‘The Staffer Life’.
Some of Myka’s most popular videos include: REAL Newborn Morning Routine 2019, What I Eat in a Day to Stay Healthy and Slim, and SURVIVING Quarantine Like a BOSS! PROSPER AND get your life back!
Among its sponsoring partners were renowned companies such as Big Lots, TJ Maxx and Danimals yogurt. Other brands he had worked with to promote his products included Fabletics, Suave and Playtex Baby.
While all of her YouTube videos on both channels have been deleted, Myka’s Instagram account remains, and her last post was an apology she posted in 2020, where she wrote that she “accepts full responsibility for all the harm” she caused.
Her husband James’ YouTube channel ‘Stauffer Garage’ remains active but without family content. The channel focuses on flipping, detailing and cleaning cars.
Furthermore, the Stauffer couple, who have four biological children, have completely disappeared from the Internet: Myka began creating her YouTube channel in 2014.
Between 2016 and 2020, the couple extensively chronicled Huxley’s adoption process, from his choice to raising money to the day of his arrival.
After the announcement of their decision to rehome Huxley in May 2020 and the influx of hate that followed, the Stauffers quickly left YouTube and their channel was deleted.
At the time, the Ohio-based couple faced extreme backlash after posting a tearful video saying they had decided to “rehome” Huxley, who was diagnosed with autism, citing that “there were a lot more special needs than they let on.” We weren’t aware.” ‘ like your reasoning
Myka featured Huxley on her YouTube channel and social media pages until early 2020.
While they were already popular online, this brought them a new era of success and their Huxley adoption video was viewed by over five million people.
Myka also wrote about adopting Huxley and his special needs. In an article she had written for parade In September 2020, she said they were shocked when they arrived home with their adopted son and realized his record was “inaccurate.”
“Our son ended up having a stroke in utero, he has level 3 autism and sensory processing disorder,” she wrote. “It took her a long time to process and readjust to his new diagnosis.”
She shared that Huxley received ’30 hours of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) home therapy per week and went to a ‘private preschool’ to help him with his needs.
“He’s a great kid and his condition doesn’t require a lot of general attention; all he needs is a big heart and practicing patience every day,” she said.
Myka featured Huxley on her YouTube channel and social media pages until early 2020.
Moments like his first Christmas with the family, bonding with his new siblings, and family holidays were shared online.
One of Myka’s last photos of her adopted son was posted on February 16, and in the captions, she talked about how difficult it can be to care for his special needs.
While they were already popular online, adoption brought them a new era of success, and their Huxley adoption video was viewed by over five million people.
The reaction was swift, with many critics accusing the couple of adopting Huxley as a gimmick to gain viewers.
‘We have difficult days, many of them. I wish autism and adoption trauma had a manual to guide you through it all,” she wrote.
After months of fans wondering what happened to Huxley, Myka and James shared a family ‘update’ on their YouTube channel, saying their adopted son has a new ‘forever family’ who is better equipped to take on his needs. specials.
“With international adoption, sometimes there are unknowns and things that aren’t transparent in the files,” James said. “Once Huxley came home, there were a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of and that we weren’t told about.”
Myka added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his “forever family” (they’ve now changed his name, too).
“He is thriving, he is doing very well and his new mother has medical and professional training,” he added.
The reaction was swift, with many critics accusing the couple of adopting Huxley as a gimmick to gain viewers.
After facing a barrage of criticism on social media, Myka reportedly responded in the comments by saying that Huxley “wanted this decision 100 percent”; she was eliminated shortly after.
She added: “Multiple scary things happened within the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological children, after all the help and after the behaviors we sadly witnessed, we would have no choice but to seek help and meet your needs.’
Four years later, the viral scandal is revisited in a new docuseries called An Update on Our Family, which explores the couple’s fall from grace.
In the trailer, other vloggers talk about what happened, including the events that led to the boy’s disappearance from their YouTube channel and how much money family YouTubers can make by posting about their children online.
The new documentary series, An Update on Our Family, got its name from the famous video posted by the Stauffers to announce that they had rehomed Huxley.
In the trailer, other vloggers talk about what happened, including the events that led to the boy’s disappearance from their YouTube channel and how much money family YouTubers can make by posting about their children online.
Their description reads: “Myka and James Stauffer were the image of the 21st century American dream: happy marriage, beautiful children, and a self-built YouTube vlogging empire.
‘At the center of it all was Huxley, an adorable young man they adopted from China. Huxley was more than his star: she was his son. Until one day he stopped being one.
‘A provocative three-part series, An Update On Our Family, exposes the hidden-in-plain-sight and unregulated family vlogging industry.’
An Update on Our Family premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, June 6