ADULTS Adopting Adults was known as a reality TV show that featured grown adults pursuing adult adoption.
The show first premiered in January 2022 but after a few weeks was abruptly canceled and fans want to know why.
Why did A&E cancel Adults Adopting Adults?
A&E’s Adults Adopting Adults was scheduled to release a new episode on February 21, 2022, but after it didn’t air, fans grew suspicious about the show’s future.
The following day, the show had been wiped from the network’s official website and The Daily Beast was able to confirm that the show had been pulled off the air.
At this time, an exact reason for the show’s cancellation remains unclear but the shocking end comes after fans raised concerns about one of the stars.
Along with new episodes not airing, they are also no longer available to purchase on Apple TV or available to play on YouTube, the media outlet reports.
What star did fans have concerns about?
Earlier this season, fans began to question Danny Huff and his wife Christy after they planned to adopt 20-year-old Ileana from Austria.
Ileana and Danny originally met online, but after it was revealed that he had previously tried to adopt an 18-year-old girl that he developed feelings for, fans were creeped out.
“Danny’s untoward motivations for bringing Ileana into the household are obvious, and yet with a big smile, he routinely professes his excitement about being a dad, and performatively calls Ileana his daughter while Christy looks on in abject misery,” The Daily Beasts’ Nick Schager wrote in a review last month.
“He situates Ileana in a trailer right outside his front door, buys her tons of baby clothes and pays for her medical appointments, and says things like, ‘At the end of the day, Ileana, I want you to stay right here, ‘cause I like hugging on you and you’re awful sweet.’”
Danny later told the media outlet that the allegations of misconduct were “absolutely false,” and that he never “had any inappropriate actions, words, comments, anything to [Ileana].”
Is adopting adults legal?
When most people hear the word adoption, they often associate it with the adoption of a child from the foster care system, not someone over the age of 18.
However, in some states, it is legal to adopt an adult.
For example, in the state of Florida, it is legal to adopt a person over the age of 18 as long as both parties mutually agree to do so.
Other states where you can legally adopt adults include Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and more, according to Anderson Hunter Law.
While it is legal to adopt adults in some of these states, there are sometimes restrictions like in Massachusetts where the adult must be younger than the adoptive parent, and in Utah where the age gap must be at least 10 years.
Ohio also lets you legally adopt adults but they must have either established a relationship while a minor, be the child of the adoptive parent’s spouse, or be totally and permanently disabled.
