YouTuber Myka Stauffer breaks silence on ‘rehoming’ her five-year-old son with autism and admits she was ‘naive, foolish, and arrogant’ to adopt a child with special needs
- Last month, Myka and her husband James posted a tearful video in which they revealed that they had sent their son Huxley to live with another family
- The couple, who have four biological children, adopted Huxley from China in 2017
- Myka admitted she was not ‘fully equipped’ to deal with the stress of adoption in her lengthy Instagram statement
- ‘I wanted to help so bad I was willing to bring home any child that needed me. For this, I was naive, foolish, and arrogant,’ she explained
- She went on to ‘debunk’ rumors she adopted Huxley ‘to gain wealth’
- Last month’s rehousing admission prompted multiple brands, including Playtex Baby, Barbie, and Suave to drop Myka as a partner
- She also said her family was not under any investigation regarding the adoption
- Ohio’s Delaware County authorities investigated the family after receiving ‘several inquiries regarding the welfare’ of the little boy
- They later determined he was ‘not missing’ and the ‘proper adoption process’ was taking place
Controversial YouTuber Myka Stauffer is finally addressing the ‘uproar’ over her decision to ‘rehome’ her five-year-old adopted son Huxley.
Stauffer apologized for the ‘confusion and pain’ she caused after she and husband James revealed they were placing the son they adopted from China in 2017 in the care of another family.
‘This decision has caused so many people heart break and I’m sorry for letting down so many women that looked up to me as a mother,’ the now mother-of-four wrote in a lengthy statement posted to Instagram Wednesday.
Apologizing: Controversial YouTuber Myka Stauffer is finally addressing the ‘uproar’ over her decision to ‘rehome’ her five-year-old adopted son Huxley
Stauffer – who had over 715k YouTube subscribers before the scandal – started off saying she takes ‘full responsibility’ for ‘all of the hurt’ her actions caused.
‘I’m sorry for the confusion, and pain I have caused, and I am sorry for not being able to tell more of my story from the beginning,’ she wrote.
‘I could have never anticipated the incidents which occurred on a private level to ever have happened, and I was trying my best to navigate the hardest thing I have ever been through.’
The Ohio-based vlogger admitted she was in over her head when she adopted Huxley, calling herself ‘naive’ about adopting and not ‘fully equipped’ to deal with the challenge.
‘I apologize for being so naive when I started the adoption process, I was not selective or fully equipped or prepared. I received one day of watching at home online video training and gained my Hague adoption certification which was required by my accredited adoption agency. For me, I needed more training.’
‘I can’t say I wish this never happened because I’m still so glad Huxley is here and getting all of the help he needs,’ Myka continued.
‘I also know that even though he is happier in his new home and doing better that he still experienced trauma and I’m sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma.’
Unequipped: She apologized for the ‘confusion and pain’ she caused after she and husband James revealed they were placing the son they adopted from China in 2017 in the care of another family after learning about the severity of his ‘special needs.’ Myka previously disclosed Huxley is autistic and has suffered brain trauma
In over her head: The Ohio-based vlogger admitted she was in over her head when she adopted Huxley, calling herself ‘naive’ about adopting and not ‘fully equipped’ to deal with the challenge
Myka said her desire to help a child made her act rashly, admitting: ‘I wanted to help so bad I was willing to bring home any child that needed me. For this, I was naive, foolish, and arrogant.’
‘I wish so bad I would have been more prepared and done more. I wish the decision to disrupt never had to be made. Adoption and all special needs are amazing and I have a ton of respect for every adoptee, adoption parent, and special needs parent. I look up to you in a million ways. And I’m sorry for hurting the community in any way.’
Myka also ‘debunked’ rumors she adopted Huxley ‘to gain wealth,’ explaining: ‘While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care.
‘Getting Huxley the care and services he needed was very expensive and we made sure he got every service, and resource we could possibly find.’
She also told followers that she and her husband ‘are not under any type of investigation.’
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office were reportedly looking into Huxley’s whereabouts earlier this month after receiving ‘several inquiries.’ They later said the boy was ‘not missing’ and the ‘proper adoption process’ was taking place.
Myka went on: ‘I’m hoping to share more from my side of the story soon. And lastly I’m so sorry for letting you down. I also want to mention that moms need a safe place to ask for help when they are struggling. No questions asked.’
Big family: Myka and husband James have four biological children
Good intentions: Myka also ‘debunked’ rumors she adopted Huxley ‘to gain wealth,’ explaining: ‘While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care’
She finished, calling rehoming Huxley ‘the right decision.’
‘We love Huxley and know that this was the right decision for him and his future. Praying that Huxley only has the best future in the entire world.’
Myka and James – the parents of four biological children – first incited outrage in late May when she and James shared a tearful video saying they’ve decided to ‘rehome’ their adopted son.
Shortly after that Myka scrubbed all images of Huxley from her Instagram account.
James explained that three years after adopting the boy, he and his wife had discovered ‘there were a lot more special needs that we were not aware of.’
Myka had previously stated that the toddler has autism and brain trauma, and required a lot of specialized care.
She added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his ‘forever family’.
‘He’s thriving, he’s doing really well, and his new mommy has medical, professional training,’ she added.
Uproar: Myka and James first incited outrage in late May when she and James shared a tearful video saying they’ve decided to ‘rehome’ their adopted son after determining they were incapable of taking care of his special needs
Short on details: The parents did not elaborate on where Huxley had gone, nor did they explain the process by which the child was matched with, and handed over to his new family
The parents did not elaborate on where Huxley had gone, nor did they explain the process by which the child was matched with, and handed over to his new family.
In a since-deleted comment posted under the clip, Myka went on to claim that ‘multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children’, suggesting that this was one of the key reasons behind their decision to give up Huxley.
Myka and James have four other children: Kova, eight, Jaka, six, Radley, four, and Onyx, 11 months.
‘We would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter to Hux it had nothing to do with he just had Autism,’ she wrote.
‘Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviors we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met.’
Response: After coming under fire for her announcement, Myka allegedly responded in the comments. The message appears to have been deleted but is now circulating online
End of the road: Several brands dropped Myka as a partner, including Kate Hudson’s fitness brand Fabletics, Barbie, Playtex Baby and Suave
The mom went on to insist that rehoming Huxley was what was best for him and something he wanted.
‘Huxley wanted this descion [sic] 100% we saw that in family time with other poeple [sic], he constantly chose them and signed with and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this,’ she explained. ‘Huxley never had a say in his adoption, and he needed more help and also wanted this and we know that 100%.’
The couple’s lawyers, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, told People that Myka and James ‘are very caring parents that would do anything for their children,’ but ‘this was the best decision for Huxley.’
They explained that the couple had consulted multiple healthcare and education professionals since his adoption and were advised ‘it might be best for Huxley to be placed with another family.’
Myka and James’ bombshell admission cost her a partnership with Kate Hudson’s sportswear company Fabletics as well as partnerships with Playtex Baby, Barbie, and Suave.
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