14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, a husband’s home-made video went viral for a very obvious reason: he was the one to break the news to his wife that they were pregnant with their third child, after taking pee from the toilet bowl and using it for a pregnancy test. A few days later, they announced she had miscarried.
Nia and Sam Rader became overnight YouTube stars, with the pregnancy announcement video now sitting at over 13 million views. As impressive as that sounds, this wasn’t their first brush with Internet fame.
In fact, Sam tells BuzzFeed, he always wanted to be famous and, somehow, he knew the pregnancy announcement would go viral. So what are the odds he and Nia faked the whole thing just for attention?
Doctors believe something is rotten about the story
Just like many of the millions who saw the video, doctors point out that the method used to conduct the pregnancy test is by no means an ideal one. As a matter of fact, experts tell the aforementioned e-zine, taking a sample of urine out of the toilet, diluted as it is and possibly contaminated with chemicals, and using it for a pregnancy test is the least sure way to find out whether you’re with child or not.
Then there’s this: though in the follow-up video, announcing the miscarriage, Sam and Nia claim she was about 6 weeks along and carrying a girl, they didn’t even go to see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy and get more details on it.
They say that they conducted another home pregnancy test off-camera, this time using a sample of urine as instructed on the box. But they didn’t think to schedule an appointment with a doctor.
There are other aspects that don’t stick with the story of the surprise pregnancy and abortion, but the one that’s getting a lot of attention right now is the fact that, the next day after Nia miscarried, she and Sam went to the amusement park and posted a very cheery video of the experience online.
In it, he also claims he quit his job as a nurse at a local Texas hospital, so that he can focus on vlogging. The Texas Regional Medical Center tells BuzzFeed that Rader is still with them and has not filed any papers that might lead to the termination of his contract.
A shameless ploy for attention, probably
“I was definitely hoping for [the pregnancy video to go viral],” Sam tells the e-zine. “I’ve always had a dream to be famous.”
Add to this statement the overall impression that both videos, of the pregnancy and of the miscarriage announcement, are staged, and you understand the increasing buzz about how this Internet-famous couple is shamelessly lying their way to the top.
Word online has it that they’re hoping to land their own reality show or that they’re thinking of setting up a funding page or something, asking for donations. If so, they came up with the most cynical and disgusting means to manipulate and exploit their audience: the news of the arrival of a new life, and the painful experience of miscarriage.
