5 days Ago By Lindsay Lowe
Played by Christina Hendricks and Jerod Haynes, Indiana couple Cynthia and Antwon Mans are introduced in the sixth episode of “Good American Family,” a Hulu miniseries inspired by the story of Natalia Grace . Natalia Grace is a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism whose time with adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett made headlines when the Barnetts accused her of being a grown woman posing as a little girl when they adopted her in 2010. Medical and DNA tests later suggested this was not true, but not before the Barnetts had legally changed Grace’s birth certificate to reflect a birth year of 1989, so that Grace would be considered an adult, according to a 2021 document from the Court of Appeals in Indiana obtained by TODAY.
com. By 2013, they had moved to Canada with their biological children and abandoned Grace in an apartment in Indiana, per the document from the Indiana Court of Appeals. While living alone in Tippecanoe County, Indiana that Grace met Cynthia and Antwon Mans, per the document from the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Read on to learn more about the Mans family, what Grace has said about them, and where their relationship with Grace stands today. How did Antwon and Cynthia Mans come into Natalia Grace’s life? Antwon Mans and Cynthia Mans are a couple who previously lived in Indiana but now live in Tennessee, according to public records seen by TODAY.com.
They met Grace in 2013 when she was living alone in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, Michael and Kristin Barnett, moved to Canada without her, per the document from the Indiana Court of Appeals. Soon after meeting the Manses, Grace moved in with them, per the document from the Indiana Court of Appeals. The Manses testified during the 2022 trial of Michael Barnett, who was along with wife Kristine Barnett was facing multiple charges involving his alleged treatment of Grace, including neglect of a dependent.
(Michael Barnett was acquitted of his charges and the charges against Kristine Barnett were dismissed.) Cynthia Mans testified that she and her husband charged Grace $250 per month in rent. She also said she taught Grace how to read, write and do math, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier .
In 2016, the Manses filed a court petition seeking guardianship of Grace. Michael Barnett filed an objection, arguing that Grace was an adult because her legal birth year had been changed from 2003 to 1989, according to a document from the Court of Appeals of Indiana viewed by TODAY.com.
The Manses fought for the court to vacate the original age change order but were unsuccessful at the time. They formally adopted Grace in June 2023. What happened between Grace and the Manses? In “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” documentary, the Mans family was initially shown as supportive of Grace.
Antwon Mans was present when Grace received the DNA test results that confirmed she had indeed been a girl when the Barnetts adopted her, not a grown woman masquerading as a child. Mans, a Christian pastor, also intervened during Natalia’s explosive confrontation between her and Michael Barnett shown in the documentary . “Let’s respect God in this place.
Let’s not use curse words,” he said. Michael Barnett walked off the set. However, not long after the Manses formally adopted Grace, the relationship between them appeared to sour.
In 2023, the Manses called the producers of “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” and told them there was a “situation” with their adoptive daughter. “Something ain’t right with Natalia,” Antwon Mans said on the call, as shown in a recorded call that was included in the docuseries. “Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself,” he also said on the call.
“We’re done. We’re done with her.” The Manses accused Natalia’s boyfriend, a man named Neil living in the U.
K. whom Grace met online, of trying to “manipulate” Grace. “This guy just completely flipped Natalia’s mind against her family,” Cynthia Mans said in the documentary.
“And he convinced Natalia that what he was saying was right and we were wrong.” Neil reached out to the DePauls, a couple with dwarfism, in New York, who had originally meant to adopted Natalia, Nicole DePaul told People . He said he felt Grace was in danger.
“It was probably a month of communicating with him daily and he was communicating with her — then I knew we had to do something,” Nicole DePaul told People. After about a decade of living with the Manses, Grace began planning to leave their household for that of Nicole and Vincent DePaul. The DePauls flew to Tennessee and met Grace outside a church where the Manses were attending a service.
As shown in the documentary, Grace pretended to step out to use the restroom, then left with Nicole DePaul. Grace now lives with the DePaul family. “This is all we’ve ever wanted for her — Natalia’s life as she wants to live it,” Nicole DePaul says in the documentary.
“Besides having my own daughter, rescuing Natalia is one of the most proudest moments of my life.” What has Natalia Grace said about the Mans family? Grace has said that during her time with the Manses, she sometimes took care of their younger children and helped her adoptive siblings with their homework. “I learned how to be a mother,” she told People in January.
“I helped raise three of them since they were babies.” In the documentary, neighbors and friends allege that the Manses abused Grace and other adoptive children in their care. Grace declined to comment on the abuse allegations when asked about them in the documentary, telling producers, “I don’t want to talk about that.
” When a producer asked Grace if she was ever hit later on in the documentary, she answered, “Not anything crazy. Maybe a little pop on the butt or something.” The Manses did not respond to requests for comment from TODAY.
com in January about the allegations raised against them in the docuseries. TODAY.com has reached back out for comment.
After moving in with the DePauls, Grace reflected on what life was like with the Manses. “I felt like I was stuck. I didn’t really know myself,” she says in a clip from “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter,” which aired in January.
“I felt like I couldn’t do what I wanted to do at home because of the guidelines and how my parents do things at home.” “It was one of the biggest and hardest decisions I ever made in my life, because I never thought I would leave home,” she added. Grace also shared some regrets about leaving the Manses abruptly in secret.
“I deeply regret how I did it,” she said. “I wish I’d told my parents because I didn’t want to hurt my mom, I didn’t want to hurt my dad. I just want to live a normal life.
” What is their relationship like now? As seen in the documentary, Grace was initially unwilling to cut ties with her former adoptive family, and said she wanted Cynthia Mans to remain the recipient of her disability funds. “At first it was bumpy because the (Manses) were still involved,” Nicole DePaul told People in January. “They were calling Natalia constantly and trying to wheel her back in.
” This led to conflict between the DePauls and the Manses. In one scene from the documentary, Nicole DePaul is seen arguing with Cynthia Mans on the phone. “That is not your daughter, that is mine!” Mans says in the recorded call.
She also tells DePaul to “shut up” and accuses her of living a “sinful life.” “Going forward, Cynthia, you listen and respect her as an adult,” DePaul says. It is unclear whether Grace and the Manses are still in contact today.
As of January, she appeared to be living peacefully with the DePauls. At that time, she was working on becoming more independent, studying for her GED and learning to drive, according to People . She was also planning to have further surgeries that would help her live with her medical condition.
“Learning everything that I have about how to live with my dwarfism — it’s been a great experience,” she told People . “I love it. I mean, of course, I still miss my siblings and everything.
But I love it. I feel free.”.
