Parker lied to Griffin for months, claiming she was pregnant with his child.

Where is Wade Griffin now? What happened to the boyfriend of Maternal Instinct killer Taylor Parker

Parker lied to Griffin for months, claiming she was pregnant with his child.

By Brianna Zigler

June 15, 2026 12:11 p.m. ET

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Wade Griffin in Netflix's 'Maternal Instinct'. Credit:

- The 2020 murder of Reagan Simmons-Hancock has received renewed interest following the Netflix documentary *Maternal Instinct.*

- Taylor Parker lied to ex-boyfriend Wade Griffin for months about a fake pregnancy before killing Simmons-Hancock and taking her unborn child.

- Griffin was not involved in the murder, but has been served a civil suit by Simmons-Hancock's widower.

The new Netflix documentary *Maternal Instinct* details the chilling 2020 murder of Reagan Simmons-Hancock at the hands of Taylor Parker, who faked a pregnancy for 10 months before attempting to steal Simmons-Hancock’s unborn child.

The documentary explores the lingering impact of Parker's actions on Simmons-Hancock's family. It also checks in with the family and friends of Wade Griffin, Parker's former boyfriend and the man she claimed was the father of her child. Little did Griffin know, Parker was incapable of having children at the time.

In 2022, Parker was convicted of capital murder and kidnapping and sentenced to death. While she awaits execution on death row, we take a look at what happened to Griffin in the years since his ex-girlfriend’s ghastly crime.

Who is Wade Griffin?

Archival photo of Wade Griffin and Taylor Parker, via 'Maternal Instinct'.

Courtesy of Netflix

Texas native Wade Griffin is a roofer, welder, hog-trapper, and livestock manager.

Griffin met Parker at a rodeo in the summer of 2019, and the pair quickly entered into a relationship. During Parker's 2022 trial, he described their time together as "an emotional rollercoaster," according to KSLA. He also testified that she had been pregnant earlier in their relationship but had suffered a miscarriage.

By the fall of 2019, Parker had moved into Griffin's home and become part of his family. She began claiming that she was going to purchase a large piece of land for the two of them using a family inheritance she was supposedly owed. Then, in January 2020, she claimed she was pregnant. While Parker had two children from a previous marriage, a 2015 hysterectomy had left her unable to conceive.

Though Griffin was unaware of this at the time, his mother, Connie Griffin, began to suspect that much of what Parker told them was a lie. As Connie explains in the documentary, her suspicions were raised after a car Parker had gifted her was repossessed because it had never actually been purchased. There were other red flags as well.

“She seemed to want a close relationship,” Connie testified in court. “I could not tell if he wanted that or was standing back. There were some red flags. One was that she didn’t have custody of her son.”

Though Connie tried to discuss the idea that Parker might not be pregnant, Griffin chose to believe his girlfriend.

“He didn’t want to listen,” she said.

Part of the reason why Griffin was attracted to Parker was because of her homemaking abilities. “She was cooking. She was a good cook, pretty much the best I ever had. So I was excited,” Griffin explained during the trial, as reported by KTAL.

While he acknowledged he thought the pregnancy might be a trap to make him stay with Parker, he genuinely believed she was with child.

Where was Wade Griffin during Reagan Simmons-Hancock’s murder?

Wade Griffin in 'Maternal Instinct'.

Courtesy of Netflix

On Oct. 9, 2020, Taylor Parker drove to Reagan Simmons-Hancock’s home and killed her, strangling her and inflicting over 100 sharp force injuries. After Simmons-Hancock was dead, Parker performed a crude C-section on her body to remove the unborn child to pass off as her own.

Parker had met Simmons-Hancock after photographing the latter’s wedding in 2019. She later befriended Simmons-Hancock, who was pregnant with a baby girl, Braxlynn. During the trial, Simmons-Hancock’s mother, Jessica Brookes, said that she didn’t think her daughter and Parker had much contact before the pregnancy.

After killing Simmons-Hancock, Parker was pulled over by state troopers for driving erratically. Parker claimed she had just given birth on the side of the road. She then called Griffin to meet her at the hospital.

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Meanwhile, Griffin was four hours away, attempting to make a hog sale that Parker had orchestrated. (As we see in the documentary, the sale turned out to be fake.) When Parker arrived at the hospital, it was quickly deduced that she had not given birth, and that the baby was not hers. Braxlynn died at the hospital.

After Griffin arrived at the hospital to meet Parker, he was handcuffed and questioned by authorities. “They told me to turn around and put my hands on the wall, and I said, ‘What’s going on?’” he testified. He thought he was being arrested for attempting illegal hog transport, believing that Parker's mother must've "called the law."

What happened to Taylor Parker?

Taylor Parker in the hospital after claiming to have given birth, via 'Maternal Instinct'.

In October 2022, Parker was found guilty of capital murder and kidnapping. One month later, she was sentenced to death after less than two hours of jury deliberation.

Witnesses testified that she had a lengthy history of lying to get what she wanted, stretching back to childhood. She allegedly faked numerous illnesses, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and a stroke.

Parker remains on death row at the maximum-security Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas. She is notable for being only the seventh woman in the state's history to receive a death sentence.

Parker continues to appeal her conviction while awaiting an execution date. Recently, she appealed her kidnapping conviction in November 2025, but was denied. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear her plea in May.

Per the documentary, Parker is currently the youngest woman on death row in Texas.

Where is Wade Griffin now?

Wade Griffin in 'Maternal Instinct'.

Aside from his appearance in *Maternal Instinct*, Griffin has remained largely out of the public eye.

Griffin testified in court about the experience, saying, "[It] pretty much ruined my whole reputation. Slandered my name, my brothers, my mom. I lost my job over it. Still trying to figure out stuff today. Worst thing I’ve ever had to live through, for sure.”

Griffin maintains that he had no involvement with or knowledge of Parker’s schemes. During the trial, investigators portrayed him as one of Parker’s many victims.

At one point during the trial, First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said to Griffin plainly, “Probably no shock to you that they’re trying to make you look like an idiot, but she manipulated you. You understand that, right?”

“Yes ma’am,” Griffin replied.

When asked if he ever thought something like this could happen, he replied, “Not in a million years.”

Shortly after Parker’s conviction, Homer Hancock, the widower of Simmons-Hancock, filed a negligence and wrongful death suit against Parker *and* Griffin, according to WJTV. The suit alleged that Griffin bore some responsibility for Parker’s erratic driving, which contributed to the death of Braxlynn. At the time, the car was registered to Griffin.

The outcome of the lawsuit, or whether one has been reached, has not been shared publicly.

Where can I watch Maternal Instinct?

*Maternal Instinct* is currently streaming on Netflix.

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