When Taylor Parker spent ten months faking a pregnancy, she did it for one man. That man was her boyfriend, Wade Griffin, a local hog trapper from Texas. As the Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct is set to release on June 12, 2026, Griffin is one of the key figures revisiting the case on camera.
The documentary follows the story of Taylor Parker, a young woman claiming to come from a wealthy family. She fell for Griffin, a local hog trapper in a small east Texas town. Within months, she was pregnant, proudly showing off her baby bump all over social media.
A relationship built entirely on deception
Wade Griffin described his relationship with Taylor Parker as an “emotional rollercoaster”. He told the court that Parker had indicated she was pregnant early in their relationship, but that it ended in a miscarriage. In January 2020, she told him she was pregnant again.
Griffin testified that he was not entirely convinced. He told the court, “I’ve got my mom telling me one thing, Taylor telling me another. But I’ve been with Taylor this whole time, so I’m going with her.”
Parker had undergone a tubal ligation in 2014 and a medically necessary hysterectomy in 2015, making pregnancy impossible. This was information she had never shared with Griffin. She also led him to believe her family had millions of dollars and that wire transfers were on their way.
Early in the relationship, there was talk about Taylor’s family wealth, but he claimed that because the relationship was so fresh, he didn’t ask many questions. Even when he discovered that he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said that he did not do any research because he trusted her assurances that the money would arrive.
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Griffin testified, “She always had an excuse”, and added “I am merely a boyfriend.”
“She was preparing food. She was the best cook I’ve ever had. I was therefore thrilled,” he also said. He had asked her if she had visited the doctor recently after noticing baby supplies on the counter. She reportedly also claimed to having twins.
Griffin was named in a wrongful death lawsuit
Griffin was not charged in connection with the kidnapping of Reagan Simmons-Hancock. He testified at trial that he did not know Parker was faking her pregnancy.
However, his connection to the case did not end with the verdict. Reagan’s widower, Homer Hancock, filed a civil wrongful death suit against both Parker and Griffin. The suit alleged gross negligence, noting that the vehicle Parker drove on the day of the murder was registered in Griffin’s name.
Griffin appears in the Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct, which premieres globally on June 12, 2026. Photos released by Netflix show him speaking on camera as part of the film directed by Jessica Dimmock.
As per reports, he currently resides in East Texas, where he works as a roofer, welder, and hog trapper.