YouTube stars Myka Stauffer, 32, and her husband, James Stauffer, 34, are under fire for a May 26 video in which they confessed that they “rehomed” their adopted son Huxley. The four-year-old, whom the Stauffers adopted from China in 2017, has autism. The YouTubers, who have four other biological children, explained to fans that they didn’t understand what it would be like to raise a child with “special needs.” The shocking announcement came via an emotional video on Myka’s popular YouTube channel, which you can watch HERE. Here’s what else you need to know about the controversy, and Myka herself.
1. She and her husband claim that they’re trying to help Huxley by placing him with a “new mommy.” “Once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of, and that we were not told,” James said in the video. He and Myka were reportedly told before the adoption that Huxley had a brain cyst and a brain tumor. They allegedly later discovered that their (now former) son actually had a stroke in utero, and has autism and a sensory processing disorder. “For us, it’s been really hard hearing from the medical professionals, a lot of their feedback, and things that have been upsetting,” James continued. “We’ve never wanted to be in this position. And we’ve been trying to get his needs met and help him out as much as possible… We truly love him.”
Nyka then defended herself and James, saying, “There’s not an ounce of our body that doesn’t love Huxley with all of our being. There wasn’t a minute that I didn’t try our hardest and I think what Jim is trying to say is that after multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit and that [with] his medical needs he needed more… Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent,” she said, revealing that Huxley was living with a “new mommy,” who has “professional training,” in a “forever home.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pTQEngqhE/?utm_source=ig_embed
2. She said previously that she would never give up on Huxley. In a now unlisted video on Myka’s YouTube channel from October 2018, titled Huxley’s Emotional First Year Home Post China Adoption, Myka discussed her family’s adoption journey, as well as Huxley’s progress. “Welcome to your forever family, a family that will never give up on you,” she said. In a September 2019 YouTube update, Myka celebrated Huxley’s two-year adoption anniversary. But in February 2020, she told her Instagram followers that,
“The last couple days have been hard. I don’t want to sugar coat anything. We have had a lot of meltdowns, and lots of behaviors that have had us on our knees begging god for guidance! On social medial and Youtube we rarely show the behaviors or the hard stuff, because we try our best to respect our sons privacy and dignity. We have hard days, lots of them. I wish autism and adoption trauma had a manual to direct you through it all.” You can see the post above.
3. She runs four YouTube channels. Along with her self-titled YouTube channel, Myka also runs a parenting vlog called The Stauffer Life, a toy channel for her kids called Stauffer Pony Palace, and a coking show channel with her husband called Meals With Myka & James. Her personal YouTube has over 700,000 subscribers.
4. She has four other children. Myka and James are the parents to four biological children: Kova, 8, Jaka, 6, Radley, 4, and Onyx, 11 months. They day after posting their YouTube confession, Myka changed her Twitter bio to say, “Subscribe and follow my life with 4 kids through motherhood.”
5. She’s sponsored by big name brands. Those include Big Lots, TJ Maxx, and Danimals yogurt. Now former fans have called for the sponsors to drop the Stauffers in light of the controversy. “She adopted a child for views and then got rid of him and treated him like a brand deal,” one critic posted on Twitter.