Myka Stauffer Speaks Out & Addresses Rumors After Placing Adopted Son With New Family

After a long hiatus from social media, YouTube personality Myka Stauffer has addressed the "uproar" that followed her announcement that she and her husband James had placed their adopted son with a new family in a lengthy Instagram post. The popular mom blogger saw intense backlash after she shared the news that Huxley, the son they adopted from China in October 2017, is now living in a different home.

On Wednesday evening, after nearly a month of silence on social media, Stauffer took to Instagram to apologize to her followers. "I want to first off apologize for the uproar and take full responsibility for all of the hurt that I have caused," her statement began. "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."

Stauffer's adoption journey with Huxley was well documented on her YouTube channel. And after she welcomed the little boy into her home, she wrote about the difficulties of adopting a child with autism and a brain cyst in an essay for The Bump.

In her apology, Stauffer admitted that she was not "fully prepared." "I apologize for being so naive when I started this adoption process, I was not selective or fully prepared," she wrote. "I received one day of watching at home online video training and gained my Hague adoption certification which was required by my accredited adoption agency. For me, I needed more training."

After nearly three years with Huxley, Stauffer and her husband announced that they had found a new home for their son in a since-deleted YouTube video shared on their social media platforms, a home where they said Huxley is "thriving." She said in the video, "He is really happy, doing really well. His new mommy has medical, professional training and it's a very good fit."

While Huxley might be a "good fit" in his new home, Stauffer acknowledged in her new post that "he still experienced trauma and I'm sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma."

Stauffer's apology received mixed reviews on social media. Some penned messages of support. "From this adoptive mom, I send you lots of love and hugs!" one commented on Instagram. On Twitter, the comments were not so positive. "The fact that #mykastauffer starts this ‘apology’ by apologising for the impact on their public image rather than APOLOGISING TO HUXLEY tells me all I need to know," one person tweeted. "You aren’t sorry. You’re sorry you got caught and that this is affecting your income."

At the end of her apology, Stauffer addressed "rumors" that circulated online that she and her husband were under investigation for their actions. Several news outlets had reported the couple had been under investigation by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office over the whereabouts of Huxley. The office confirmed the investigation in a statement to E! News, which read in part: "Our investigation is ongoing, and will include contact with all children to ensure their safety. All adoption cases are confidential, and must go through a thorough process, with specific requirements and safeguards. In private adoptions there are the same legal requirements that must be adhered to. These include home studies as well as background checks on the adopting parent(s). In this case we are confident that the appropriate process is occurring."

Stauffer wrote on Instagram that they are "not under any type of investigation" and that she's "hoping to share more from my side of the story soon."

Stauffer also said that they did "not adopt a child to gain wealth." The issue of earning money from their adopted son was so prevalent that a petition was started in May, demanding the couple remove all monetized content featuring the little boy. It was signed by more than 47,000 people.

"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," Stauffer wrote on Instagram.

Despite all of the backlash, both parents are still convinced that "this was the right decision for him and his future."