It was the "rehoming" heard 'round the world. Back in 2020, the internet didn't just break; it erupted. If you were anywhere near YouTube at the time, you probably remember the tearful thumbnail of Myka and James Stauffer. They were the "perfect" vlogging family, the ones who had documented every second of their international adoption journey from China.
Then, they dropped the bomb. Huxley, the little boy the world had watched grow for over two years, was gone.
He wasn’t just "away at school." He had been placed with another family. Permanently. The backlash was swift, brutal, and changed the face of family vlogging forever. But now that we're in 2026, the dust has settled, a major HBO documentary has aired, and we finally have a clearer picture of what happened to Myka Stauffer and the child caught in the middle.
The Viral Scandal That Ended an Empire
For years, Myka Stauffer was the queen of "mommy vlogging." She had the aesthetic, the brand deals with Fabletics and Mattel, and a massive following that tuned in to see her life with James and their four children. But the heart of their channel became the adoption of Huxley.
They didn't just adopt him; they monetized him.
From "Adoption GoFundMe" campaigns to sponsored videos featuring Huxley, the Stauffers built a brand around being the "brave" parents of a child with special needs. Myka famously said in her videos that she was "prepared for 99 out of 100" medical conditions. She even called Huxley "not returnable" in a vlog that aged like milk.
Then came May 2020. The video was titled "An Update on Our Family." James and Myka sat on their couch, looking haggard, and explained that due to Huxley's "unseen" medical needs—later identified as Level 3 Autism and sensory processing issues—they had decided to dissolve the adoption.
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The internet's reaction? Pure, unadulterated rage.
People felt scammed. They felt like a child had been used for views and then discarded like a faulty product. Within weeks, the Stauffers lost almost every brand deal. They nuked their YouTube channels. They disappeared.
Where is Huxley Now? (The Good News)
Honestly, this is the part people care about the most. Is the kid okay?
According to the 2024/2025 HBO docuseries An Update on Our Family, Huxley—who has since been renamed Yue Lin by his new family—is actually thriving. This isn't just PR spin. Investigation reports from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office back in late 2020 already suggested things were looking up.
A detective who visited the new family described seeing the boy sitting on his new mother's lap while she sang to him. He was smiling. He was happy.
His new mother reportedly has professional medical training, which was the big "missing piece" the Stauffers claimed they couldn't provide. Most importantly? He is finally off the internet. No more cameras in his face during meltdowns. No more sponsored diaper changes. He’s living a private life, which is exactly what a child with his needs deserved from the start.
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What Happened to Myka Stauffer Personally?
If you're looking for Myka on Instagram today, you won't find much. Her last post remains that "Notes app" apology from June 2020. She basically vanished from the public eye, which, considering the level of vitriol directed at her, isn't surprising.
Here’s the breakdown of where the family stands now:
- The YouTube Empire: It’s dead. The "Stauffer Life" channel was deleted. Myka's personal channel is gone. Thousands of hours of footage—much of it featuring Huxley—were scrubbed.
- James Stauffer: He’s the only one still "active" in a way. He still runs Stauffer Garage, a car detailing and restoration channel. He doesn't mention the controversy. He doesn't show his kids. He just cleans cars. It’s a complete 180 from the oversharing days of 2018.
- The Marriage: Despite rumors of a split, evidence from legal filings and local sightings suggest Myka and James are still together in Ohio. They are raising their four biological children (Kova, Jaka, Radley, and Onyx) in relative obscurity.
- Legal Consequences: There were none. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office investigated for potential human trafficking or neglect, but the case was closed without charges. The "rehoming" was technically a legal adoption dissolution handled through private channels.
The Ethics of Family Vlogging in 2026
The Stauffer scandal was a turning point. Before what happened to Myka Stauffer, family vlogging was the Wild West. Parents were sharing everything from bathroom training to medical diagnoses without a second thought.
Today, the landscape is different. We’ve seen states like Illinois pass laws to ensure child influencers get a cut of the profits. We’ve seen a massive shift in public opinion against "sharenting." The Stauffers became the cautionary tale that every aspiring influencer now fears.
The nuance that often gets lost is that adoption dissolution does happen. It’s a tragic, complex reality for some families. But the reason the world turned on Myka wasn't just the dissolution; it was the deception. They portrayed a "hero" narrative for profit, then asked for privacy the second things got real.
Actionable Insights and Reality Checks
If you're following this story or thinking about the ethics of social media today, here are a few things to keep in mind:
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1. Digital Footprints are Permanent
Even though the Stauffers deleted their videos, the HBO documentary was able to pull hundreds of hours of archived footage. If you put a child online, that footage belongs to the internet forever.
2. Support "Offline" Privacy
The best thing that happened to Huxley/Yue Lin was becoming a private citizen. If you enjoy family content, consider supporting creators who keep their children’s faces or private medical struggles off-camera.
3. Understand International Adoption Realities
If you're considering adoption, the Stauffer case highlights the desperate need for specialized training. Many agencies have since tightened their requirements for "special needs" placements to ensure parents aren't just "willing" but actually capable.
4. Check Your Sources
A lot of "where are they now" TikToks use old footage or AI-generated voices to spread rumors that Myka has a "secret" new channel. She doesn't. As of 2026, she remains completely de-platformed.
The story of Myka Stauffer isn't just a gossip piece. It’s a landmark case in how we treat children as commodities in the digital age. While the Stauffers have moved on in silence, the legacy of their "Update" video continues to shape how we view the ethics of the "Subscribe" button.
Next Steps for Information:
- You can research the Illinois Child Influencer Law to see how states are preventing financial exploitation in vlogging.
- Look up the Delaware County Sheriff's Office public statements from 2020 for the official legal closing of the case.
- Watch the HBO/Max docuseries "An Update on Our Family" for the most recent interviews with people close to the situation.