LINCOLNTON, NC (WSVN) — A North Carolina couple is being accused of kicking five of their adopted children out of their house after they won a home remodel on the popular reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
James and Devonda Friday appeared on the show in 2012, asking producers for the makeover to help them better care for their adopted children, who are biological siblings. The couple also had two children of their own. The show surprised the family with a 3,900-square-foot home in the Charlotte area.
Now, WSOC-TV reports that two of the children claim the couple kicked all of them out of the home shortly after they got the remodeled house.
“I felt like they were my mom and dad,” Chris Friday told the station. “I loved them like they were my real parents. What they did to us was just wrong, threw us all out.”
He said the couple sent him to a group home a few months after the show wrapped, saying he had a “bad attitude.” But he claimed he was told it would be temporary.
“It made me feel not wanted, you know?” he said.
His sister Kamaya said she was also sent to a group home soon after. Within a year, Chris claimed none of the five adopted children remained in the house.
“My brother and sisters were five years old. How can they get in that much trouble where they have to kick them out?” he said.
Both Chris and Kamaya believe the Fridays were financially motivated.
“From the first day, it was all about the money,” Chris said.
James Friday denied the children’s claims, saying the two older siblings were not kicked out of the home, but would not comment on the three younger children. “That’s a DSS and social service matter,” he said.
Chris and Kamaya said they are moving on with their lives and will not be keeping their last name.
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