Did Natalia Grace's Parents Go To Jail? ‘Good American Family's' Ending Explained
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the Good American Family finale.
In the final episode of Hulu's miniseries Good American Family, Natalia Grace and the Barnetts are building cases against each other in court. Each side has very different account of what happened during and after Natalia lived with the family. But how closely does the show's final episode follow what happened in real life, especially the ending?
Midway through the season, the series shifts the perspective from Kristine and Michael to Natalia, after the now-divorced Indiana couple changed the Ukrainian orphan's legal age to 22 and moved her into two apartments by herself. Natalia, who has a rare form of dwarfism, struggled to live independently due to her medical condition (and because she was a child, which a DNA test later confirmed).
Meanwhile, the Barnetts – fearing that Natalia was a con artist set out to hurt their family – wanted nothing to do with Natalia. They remained her legal guardian and told Natalia to tell people she was an adult who 'looks young for her age.' One day, she met a woman named Cynthia Mans, who befriended her and insisted Natalia move in with her, her husband Antwon Mans, and their kids.
Natalia visited a doctor with the Mans, who had their own suspicions about her situation. The physician called in a detective to look into Natalia's health and her relationship with her new family, which ultimately led Natalia to tell him about the alleged abuse by the Barnetts, kickstarting the child neglect charges.
GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY – 'Blood on Her Hands' – With the world watching, Natalia and the Barnetts face ... More off in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
In the final episode of Good American Family Season 1, episode 8, Natalia Grace is on Dr. Phil to defend herself against allegations by the Barnetts, including disproving claims that she poisoned Kristine's coffee and pushed her into an electric fence.
Both sides are also rigorously preparing for the Barnetts' trial. Michael and Kristine review witness depositions, which prove to be unhelpful to their case. After a tip from Natalia, the prosecution gains a breakthrough after they subpoena damaging Facebook Messenger chats between Kristine and Michael, in which Michael states (in writing) that Kristine beat Natalia.
Michael decides to try to negotiate an immunity deal to avoid jail time after his lawyers inform him that the prosecution is more interested in nailing Kristine. However, just before the trial, an article is published in which Natalia's birth mom reveals that she gave birth to Natalia in 2003, not 1989, as the Barnetts claimed.
GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY – 'Blood on Her Hands' – With the world watching, Natalia and the Barnetts face ... More off in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
During Michael's trial, the case against the Barnetts falls apart when the judge rules that no mention of Natalia's age can be made in court. This decision follows the judge's discovery that the state chose not to appeal the 2017 ruling regarding Natalia's age, a decision the court had upheld multiple times.
As a result, the judge dismisses the four charges that depended on Natalia being on child. During the trial for the remaining charges, Natalia cannot be referred to as a child or an adult, and the topic of her re-aging is also off-limits. Additionally, given Natalia's legal age, the statute of limitations prevents litigation of any offenses before 2014. The state also can't use the Facebook messages, as they are protected under spousal privilege now that Natalia is being treated as an adult.
GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY – 'Blood on Her Hands' – With the world watching, Natalia and the Barnetts face ... More off in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
No, in Good American Family and in real life, Kristine and Michael Barnett do not go to jail for the allegations against Natalia. At his 2022 trial, Michael Barnett was acquitted of the child neglect charges, while Kristine's charges were also later dismissed.
In January 2024, Kristine responded to the abuse allegations made in Natalia Grace's Investigation Discovery docuseries. "Natalia was a very much loved and cared for member of my family. She was not abused by anyone in my family. Let's get straight to these allegations," Kristine wrote in a Facebook post.
'Nobody ever took a belt to Natalia and the allegations that she was 'beaten' are just plain false. Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting. If anything it was overly permissive as we all felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Natalia and loved her while she lived with us,' she said at the time.
GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY – 'Blood on Her Hands' – With the world watching, Natalia and the Barnetts face ... More off in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
In Episode 8, as the Barnetts revisit the past, Michael starts to regret how he and his ex-wife treated Natalia, especially since there is evidence that he knew Natalia was a child. At the end of the episode, Natalia shows up at Michael's house looking for answers.
Natalia asks Michael if he knew she was a kid and if he was aware that Kristine was hurting her. He responds by saying he was a victim and that Kristine controlled him, too. He concludes that both faced the same monster. "You we're supposed to be my dad," she says to him. Michael tells Natalia he will do anything to help her, but she wants him to admit what he did. Kristine and Jacob show up, and Jacob apologizes to Natalia for not helping her when they were kids.
In real life, it's unknown whether the conversation between Natalia, Michael, Kristine, and Jacob took place. However, Michael and Natalia did have an actual conversation after the trial, as seen on the ID docuseries, where Natalia confronted him. Like in Good American Family, Michael said he was manipulated and mistreated by Kristine.
'I had the same monster you did. I was exceptionally controlled and put down and threatened, was minimalized, anything that was who I was was ripped from me and I was guided and instructed to be exactly what she wanted me to be," he said on the show.
Natalia Grace in 'The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter" on ID.
Natalia Grace is no longer living with Cynthia Mans and her family. The Manses officially adopted Natalia in 2023, but their relationship went downhill shortly after they found her communicating with her boyfriend in the U.K., according to Investigation Discovery's docuseries.
In the docuseries, several neighbors and friends claim they witnessed the Manses physically abusing Natalia, per People. They alleged that she was whipped with a belt, slapped in the face, locked in a room, and assaulted.
Natalia declined to confirm or deny those allegations to the publication. She also refused to comment on the abuse on the show, telling the producers, 'I don't want to talk about that.' When a producer asked her if she was ever hit, she responded, 'Not anything crazy. Maybe a little pop on the butt or something.'
One thing that Good American Family doesn't highlight are the allegations against Cynthia and Antwon. Instead, the series includes a disclaimer at the end that acknowledges the allegations, which the show says surfaced after filming wrapped.
'Since this series was completed, abuse allegations against Antwon and Cynthia Mans have come to light,' the statement in the end-credits read. 'They maintain their innocence, and to this day, so does Kristine Barnett.'
Since 2023, Natalia has been living with Nicole and Vincent DePaul, a couple with dwarfism who tried to adopt her in 2009 but were unable to do so. The DePauls said that Natalia has never exhibited violent behavior toward them, but noted one incident in which she secretly recorded the family in their home.
The DePauls explained to People that such disruptions are expected given Natalia's diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder (RAD), a behavioral condition commonly seen in children who have spent time in an orphanage.
'Did she probably do weird things in the past? Yeah,' Nicole told the site. '[But] when you take in a child, you take that child as your own. You don't just get rid of them when they don't fit into your puzzle."
Natalia is currently studying for her GED and wants to be a teacher. She's also learning to drive, loves listening to Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, and is getting ready for upcoming surgeries related to her disabilities, according to People. She's also happily in a relationship with her boyfriend, Neil.
Good American Family is streaming on Hulu.
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Amanda Knox returns to the U.S. Amanda Knox, left, follows her attorney Michael Nifong as they attend a news conference held at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport near Seattle, Washington on October 4, 2011. After spending four years in an Italian prison Knox arrived in the United States after departing Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. Knox's life turned around dramatically Monday when an Italian appeals court threw out her conviction in the sexual assault and fatal stabbing of her British roommate. UPI/Jim Bryant | License Photo
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