For a decade, Natalia lived with the uber-religious Mans family, who fostered countless other children. In those 10 years, Natalia relayed to her former almost-adoptive mom, Nicole DePaul, that the Manses were controlling her life. She also revealed that she lived with chronic pain that the Manses ignored. She even shared with Nicole that when she told the Mans, “I wanted to go,” they called her “mental.”
Unable to live under Antwon and Cynthia’s control, Natalia asked the DePauls to help her escape from their firm grasp. Natalia and Nicole communicated through Natalia’s overseas boyfriend, Neil, to set up the elaborate escape.
The DePaul family, originally from upstate New York, traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to secretly pick up Natalia at Antwon and Cynthia’s church. Then Natalia and the DePauls drove 16 hours to New York. Finally, Natalia would be free.
Despite the escape, Antwon and Cynthia’s hold on Natalia was tight and she immediately contacted her mom to explain why she left them.
“Once I got in [Nicole’s] car, I had to text my mom to let her know I wasn’t kidnapped or dead,” she says. “It was an emotional time. I had to spread my wings.”