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James Stauffer, who makes family vlogs with his wife Myka, has been working on his auto channel, "Stauffer Garage," despite the controversy he and his wife faced over their adopted son, Huxley. In May 2020, the couple was severely criticized when they announced they had rehomed Huxley because of issues with his special needs.
The couple, who also have four biological children, said they were not prepared for the level of needs Huxley had after being adopted from China. To date, James Stauffer is still active on YouTube uploading car content, while Myka has pretty much stepped out of the public eye since the incident. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and four biological children.
The docuseries An Update On Our Family aired on January 15, 2025. It is a three-part series that focuses on the issues of family vlogging, particularly the case of Myka and James Stauffer, who rehomed their adopted son Huxley and faced backlash.
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New episodes were released weekly, and the final episode aired on January 29, 2025. The series is available on HBO and can also be streamed on Max.
The Stauffer family adoption controversy
According to the Independent, in May 2020, James Stauffer and Myka Stauffer confirmed in a now-deleted video that they had adopted Huxley to a new family. According to them, Huxley has "more special needs than we knew" when they took him home, which pushed them to find a better-suited family for him.
James Stauffer said,
"We've never wanted to be in this position… we genuinely love him."
Myka said similar things, pointing out their emotional fight and concern for Huxley. According to Today, the couple had documented their journey with Huxley on social media before this revelation. However, viewers began to notice Huxley's absence from their content and started raising concerns about his well-being.
The backlash was immediate and extreme; most people accused the Stauffers of milking Huxley's story for views and money. According to Glamour, there were about 50,000 who signed a petition asking that the couple be held accountable.
According to the Independent, Ohio authorities opened an investigation into the family's case after public outrage to guarantee that all children in the home were safe. In June 2020, Myka posted a lengthy apology on Instagram, stating that she regretted all the pain her decision had caused and that they were not nearly prepared to handle the adoption properly.
According to the Independent, she stated,
"I could have never anticipated the incidents which occurred on a private level."
She then emphasized her love for Huxley while asserting that he was now thriving in a new environment.
Where is James Stauffer now?
As of February 2025, James Stauffer resides in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and four biological children, as reported by Business Insider. He still runs "Stauffer Garage," uploading car content for over 1.3 million subscribers.
His recent trend is not family vlog videos but more on car videos involving flipping and detailing. In contrast to Myka, who remains silent online after the controversy began, James Stauffer is somehow trying to rebuild his following in this niche.
Impact on family vlogging
According to Glamour, the experience of the Stauffers raises urgent ethical questions about the ethics of family blogging and the implications for the children involved. The documentary underlines the fact that family vloggers often monetize their personal lives without taking into consideration the possible consequences for the privacy and emotional well-being of their children.
According to Glamour, the docuseries quotes experts who suggest that international adoptees, like Huxley, may be more prone to specific identity-related and mental health issues. The case of the Stauffers highlights a disturbing pattern where families air intimate details of their lives for money while grappling with the complicated issues related to adoption.
Watch An Update On Our Family on YouTube and Max.
