YouTuber Myka Stauffer is taking to social media to apologize one month after news broke that her adopted son Huxley Stauffer is living with a new family.
In the spring, many fans started to question why Huxley was no longer appearing in her videos. In an emotional video that has since been made private, Stauffer and her husband, James Stauffer, explained that Huxley, who has autism and a sensory processing disorder, is living with a "new mommy" in a "forever home."
Soon after the news broke, the Stauffers began facing swift backlash, with many fans accusing the couple of being irresponsible parents and also of monetizing Huxley by selling advertising on online content about him. Playtex Baby, Danimals and other brands severed ties with the parenting and lifestyle influencers. Adoption advocates and experts spoke out as well, explaining that experiences like this can be extremely detrimental to the child's well-being.
Now, Stauffer is breaking her silence.
"I want to first off apologize for the uproar and take full responsibility for all of the hurt that I have caused," the 32-year-old mother of four said in a statement shared to her Instagram on Wednesday, June 24. "This decision has caused so many people heart break and I'm sorry for letting down so many women that looked up to me as a mother."
She continued: "I'm sorry for the confusion, and pain I have caused, and I am sorry for not being able to tell more of my story from the beginning. I could have never anticipated the incidents which occurred on a private level to ever have happened, and I was trying my best to navigate the hardest thing I have ever been through."
Stauffer also explained that she "needed more training" before welcoming Huxley into their home, and that she was "naive" throughout the process of adopting him from China.
"I was not selective or fully equipped or prepared," she said, adding, "I can't say I wish this never happened because I'm still so glad Huxley is here and getting all of the help he needs. I also know that even though he is happier in his new home and doing better that he still experienced trauma and I'm sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma. I wanted to help so bad I was willing to bring home any child that needed me."
"For this I was naïve, foolish, and arrogant. I wish so bad I would have been more prepared and done more. I wish the decision to disrupt never had to be made," she shared.
Stauffer also addressed accusations that she and her husband were exploiting Huxley by monetizing and gaining social clout from their experience adopting him.
"We did not adopt a child to gain wealth," she explained. "While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care."
And while local authorities were investigating the "well-being" of Huxley, Stauffer clarified in her post on Wednesday that she and her husband themselves were not being investigated.
"I'm hoping to share more from my side of the story soon," she concluded.
"We love Huxley and know that this was the right decision for him and his future. Praying that Huxley only has the best future in the entire world."
The Stauffers are raising four other children together: Kova, Jaka, Radley and Onyx.