Why Natalia Speaks Isn’t the Final Word in the Natalia Grace Saga

The wait finally ended. Natalia Speaks, the much-anticipated follow-up docuseries to ID’s 2023 bombshell docuseries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, premiered at the start of this year. (Originally, ID said it’d be released in late summer of 2023.)

One key player, Natalia herself, wasn’t among those interviewed in the first season. There was plenty of footage of her during her time with her adoptive family, the Barnetts. There was even a little after they left her to live on her own in two different apartments. After, that is, they legally changed her birthdate and had her re-aged from nine to 22.

That was probably season 1’s biggest unanswered question: how old was Natalia really? Was she a homicidal con woman like in the movie Orphan? Or was she actually a child and, therefore, a victim of abusive, neglectful adoptive parents?

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace told the Barnetts’ side of the story, especially Michael Barnett’s. Natalia Speaks let us hear her side of the story. And oh, what a story she had to tell. As did the evidence, which revealed Natalia’s true age.

But then season 2’s bombshell ending made it clear Natalia won’t get the final word. The case is nowhere near being closed.

And Natalia’s Real Age Is…

Natalia Speaks wasted no time answering the burning question everyone who watched season 1 was asking. Episode 1 of the six-part docuseries revealed the results of DNA testing, which confirmed Natalia’s age was around 20 years old. That means she was only nine when the Barnetts essentially abandoned her to live in an apartment by herself. (NINE! Can you imagine?)

Due to her disabilities, she shouldn’t have been abandoned at all. She needed physical assistance. But at least mentally she would’ve been old enough to understand what was happening.

However, it’s even worse since she was totally a minor. That was nothing but complete and utter neglect on the Barnetts’ part, not to mention abuse.

Natalia Speaks was poised to end on a happy note. In fact, that’s how episode 6 was wrapping up.

“I just want to stay focused on now ’cause I have a lot of big plans for my life,” Natalia said at the end of the season as inspirational music plays.

“I’m gonna get my age changed back to the way it’s supposed to be. Go to school, get my high school diploma. This is a new chapter in the story with just endless possibilities. Book two is about to be written by me and that book is gonna be an amazing book. I already know,” she giggled.

Cue the record scratch sound effect and the change in music from upbeat to ominous.

The Shocking Natalia Speaks Phone Call

“Two weeks ago, and six months after Natalia’s adoption, the producers got a shocking phone call,” a written statement informed viewers at the end of the last episode of Natalia Speaks.

But let’s back up a smidge. Episode 6 was about a reconciliation of sorts between Natalia and her former adoptive parent, Michael Barnett. Then cameras followed Natalia and her new parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans, into a courtroom to witness the couple formerly adopt her.

But then after the written statement, the episode ended with audio of a phone call from Antwon Mans.

“Something ain’t right with Natalia,” he said. “This girl is tweakin’. I feel like she’s the enemy in the house. And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we’re the enemy.”

“Natalia is stabbing her family in the back, over a complete lie,”  Cynthia Mans added.

“She’s done other things too,” Antwon said. “But this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We’re done. We’re done with her.”

Uh oh. What is all that about? What did Natalia do? Why are the Manses done with her?

Don’t worry. “Natalia’s story will continue,” Natalia Speaks promised before credits rolled.

Season 3 Speculations: Will Kristine Barnett speak too?

There’s a lot wrong with the case of Natalia Grace. First and foremost, what the Barnetts did by re-aging her, only to abandon her in an apartment to fend for herself. Especially the second apartment they stuck her in, which was on the second-floor in a dangerous neighborhood. (Natalia suffers from spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which Johns Hopkins Medicine explains “is a rare genetic disorder that involves spinal and epiphyseal enlargement (enlargement of the area at the end of the long bones.”) Adult or not, she had no business being in such a situation.

Slate wrote a scathing assessment of Natalia Speaks, blasting it for being a “true-crime fiasco” that employed “dirty tricks” meant “to confuse viewers—and stir up outrage.”

Harsh as it may seem, it’s also a fair assessment. Season 2 felt even more exploitative than the first season, maybe because we get to see so much of the now-grown woman who was mistreated as a child. And Michael and Kristine have basically gotten away with it—as far as criminal charges go. Natalia is bringing civil charges against them.

Natalia deserves a happy ending, one that includes people who love her. It seemed like she had found a family with the Manses, but apparently not.

Did something go terribly wrong after the adoption? Or did they like the spotlight and are now trying to cash in on Natalia’s story too?

Perhaps Slate is on to something with their accusation that the producers of the docuseries are contriving storylines to perpetuate the soap opera. (Which only further exploits and traumatizes Natalia.)

One thing’s clear when it comes to Natalia Speaks. It did something season 1 couldn’t do: provoke a response from Kristine Barnett. E! was among the outlets that reported Kristine’s social media response to the documentary, which definitely painted her in a poor light.

Will she finally agree to speak with producers and have her side told in the next (or subsequent) chapter of the curious case of Natalia Grace? Or will it only be the Manses?

Time will tell.