Where Is Myka and James Stauffer's Adopted Son Huxley After They Rehomed Him? What They've Said About His New Life
HBO's docuseries revisits the family vloggers' adoption dissolution scandal in the three-part docuseries 'An Update on Our Family'
In An Update on Our Family, Vox Media Studios revisits the viral adoption dissolution scandal that pushed Myka and James Stauffer's family channel offline. The series premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2020 and debuted on HBO on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The three-part docuseries — which was inspired by New York Magazine's 2020 feature on the family following the fallout — includes old videos shared by the couple before they announced their decision to re-home their adopted son, Huxley, and wiped all of their content off of YouTube 2020.
The Stauffers adopted Huxley in 2017 before rehoming him two years later, citing his later-diagnosed developmental disabilities as their reason for seeking a new family to care for him. The decision turned viewers against the couple, making them the target of widespread backlash, especially considering previous statements made by the couple in videos.
In one of the deleted YouTube posts that resurfaced in the new docuseries, Myka told her viewers that she and her husband were well-equipped and willing to learn how to parent a child with special needs.
The former nurse stated, “I don’t know what his medical diagnosis is gonna look like. How much schooling will he need? Will he need a little bit more hands-on? Will he be delayed? But if anything, my child is not returnable.”
Myka and James, as well as Huxley's new family, did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment at the time of the docuseries' premiere last summer.
Here's what we know about Huxley's life now and what the Stauffer family has said since rehoming him.
Related: Why Did Myka and James Stauffer Rehome Their Adopted Son? Revisiting the YouTubers' 2020 Controversy
When did Myka and James Stauffer adopt Huxley?
The Stauffers were renowned for their family YouTube channel, where they shared videos about their lives as parents to their four biological children and their son Huxley, whom they adopted at age 2½ from China in 2017.
Myka and James documented the adoption process and showed their son in several of their posts, including when he was later diagnosed with autism.
In one since-deleted vlog featured in An Update on Our Family, Myka discussed how she used Dreft laundry detergent to "bond with" Huxley in a sponsored video.
"Dreft baby detergent has this scent just like a newborn’s, so when I’m cuddling a 3-year-old baby boy, I can still feel like I’m snuggling that brand new baby, and I get that baby scent that I never got from my son," the Ohio mom said over footage of her playing with the toddler in a video titled, "5 Things I Didn’t EXPECT About Our China ADOPTION!"
Why did Myka and James Stauffer rehome Huxley?
In 2020, the couple fell from grace when they announced that they sought adoption dissolution, claiming they were unaware of the extent of Huxley's disabilities and ill-equipped to raise him.
"For us, it's been really hard hearing from the medical professionals, a lot of their feedback, and things that have been upsetting," James said in their final video posted in 2020. "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."
"There's not an ounce of our body that doesn't love Huxley with all of our being," Myka added. "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 his medical needs, he needed more."
"Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent," Myka went on to admit. "The last couple months have been like the hardest thing I could have ever imagined ... after pouring our guts and our heart into this little boy."
Myka wrote a final Instagram post to "apologize for the uproar and take full responsibility for all the hurt that I have caused."
The former influencer continued, "This decision has caused so many people heartbreak and I'm sorry for letting down so many woman [sic] who looked up to me as a mother."
At the time, the couple's lawyers, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, told PEOPLE about the Stauffers' ultimate hope to "provide Huxley with the best possible treatment and care."
"We are privy to this case and given the facts at hand, we feel this was the best decision for Huxley," said the legal team in their exclusive statement issued in May 2020. "In coming to know our clients we know they are a loving family and are very caring parents that would do anything for their children."
Related: YouTuber Myka Stauffer Gave Final Apology and Then Disappeared — Where Is She Now?
Does Huxley Stauffer appear in An Update on Our Family?
Vox's three-part series features Huxley in a number of snippets from deleted YouTube footage, though his face is blurred to conceal his identity. In one highly criticized video, Myka showed her son and spoke to the camera about her plans to downgrade her adopted son Huxley's treatment due to high medical fees.
"We're gonna go to a different speech therapist, not the one that's $500 a month. But we're gonna go to the one that's like $70 for 30 minutes," the Ohio influencer said in her vlog. "Not $500 for 30 minutes. No, no, no."
The YouTube post came under scrutiny when viewers noticed her wearing an 18-karat gold Cartier Love bracelet, which cost over $6,000 in 2018. The bangle currently retails for $7,350, according to the luxury brand's website as of January 2025.
Where is Huxley now?
Huxley has since been rehomed and renamed by his new family. The child is no longer in the public eye. In their final YouTube post, Myka and James explained that Huxley would be living with a "new mommy" who has medical training to help with his needs.
In her 2020 Instagram post, Myka wrote that Huxley was "thriving" and "happy" with his new family, who are "a very good fit."
Read the original article on People