YouTube Couple Says Pregnancy, Miscarriage Was 'Staged' by God

The video-blogging couple whose pregnancy announcement went viral and then three days later announced their miscarriage, have taken a moment to address their skeptics and say that yes, the incident was staged … by God.

Sam and Nia Rader, the couple who achieved online fame after Sam snuck Nia’s urine sample out of the toilet and surprised her with the news that she was pregnant, announced on August 8th that Nia had suffered a miscarriage. The video, in which the two tearfully express their desire to share their heartbreak with other families going through similar experiences, has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. (The original announcement video has nearly 14 million views.) The two received an outpouring of support from fans, but also faced skepticism from those who wondered if the whole stunt was fake.

STORY: YouTube Couple Announces Miscarriage Following Viral Pregnancy News

On Friday, Sam addressed those “haters,” quoted scripture and explained that “it was staged. It was all orchestrated by God above and nothing less.”

Toward the end of the 13-minute video, which starts with the couple opening fan mail, including a book about surviving miscarriage, Sam says he’s excited by all the critics out there, because it proves that his family was chosen by God. “It makes me think of the verse John 15:19:,” he says. “‘If you are of the world, the world will love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you from the world, the world hates you.’ I just think that’s so amazing. ‘Because I chose you, the world hates you.’ God told us we’re going to be hated, so what we’re seeing right now is God’s will being played out for our lives as Christians.”

STORY: The ‘Other Mother’ Speaks Out on Her Viral Pregnancy Announcement

Sam goes on to explain that anyone who feels deceived by the video is choosing that for themselves, and affirms that the pregnancy and miscarriage were not fake. “So this is 2 Timothy 3:12: ‘Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from the bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived,’” he says. “So the world is choosing to be deceived, and there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s why I’m not trying to defend myself to anybody. Anybody who asks me, ‘Was it fake?’ — I don’t even feel like responding to it, but no, it wasn’t fake. That’s pretty much all I’ll say.”

Three days after announcing their pregnancy, Sam and Nia spoke of their grief surrounding Nia’s miscarriage. (Photo: YouTube/SamandNia)

But for those who suspect the ordeal was manufactured, Sam isn’t arguing. “A lot of people think it was staged. I’m like, you know what? It was staged. It was all orchestrated by God above and nothing less. I’ll say stuff like that just to kind of throw them off, but it doesn’t make me happy that people are deceived, but it does make me happy that God chose our family out of the world.” Sam and Nia didn’t respond to Yahoo Parenting’s request for comment

The online reaction to the couple’s latest video has been mixed. On the Sam and Nia YouTube Channel and Facebook page, their fans have been supportive of the couple’s ongoing journey. Wrote one Facebook user, “It’s refreshing and comforting to … be reminded there are people who are trusting wholeheartedly in how God is using them and [embrace] it. Love you all [and] will continue the prayers.” Added another, “If people have nothing nice to say, then they shouldn’t open their mouths to allow their hate and ignorance [to] be heard. You have so many people who love and care about you, love and friendship is always stronger than hate.”

But others have had vastly different reactions. In response to an article about Sam and Nia’s most recent post on Gawker, one user wrote: “My heart goes out to all the people who shared their real pain over losing a child with these charlatans! Will he still feel as chosen when his YouTube bubble burst[s]?” Another commenter stated that the negativity had to do with greed and exploitation, not with religious faith: “Nobody’s hating on you because you’re Christian. People are hating on you because you’re shamelessly exploiting your family for money. Because you are a fake. It doesn’t matter if the pregnancy was real or not, because your real motivation is transparent to anyone with eyes connected to a brain. Peppering greed with denial and delusion just makes it reek that much worse.”

Whatever happened, and for however long the couple’s pregnancy and miscarriage announcements will create backlash, Sam says users should keep the negative comments coming. As he says toward the end of the most recent video, “Hit us with your best shot.”

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