On a recent episode of her podcast, Kailyn Lowry spoke to her eldest son about his identity. The Teen Mom 2 alum, who is mom to seven children, got emotional as she explained that she wants her son “to live his truth and live authentically and be proud of who he is because we’re all proud of him.” During the June 6, episode of the Barely Famous podcast, Kailyn’s 15-year-old son, born Isaac Elliot Rivera, opened up about his identity and revealed that he’s going by the name Elliott now.
The teen explained why he’s going by Elliott.
On the podcast, Elliott explained that he “wasn’t happy with my first name,” Isaac, “at some point.” He added, “It just doesn’t feel like me.” Kailyn recalled how she started to notice Elliott’s name change before they had talked about it because the paperwork he brought home from his new high school all said “Elliott.”
“Like the teachers were writing Elliott, and it was like, ‘Comments about Elliott,’” Kailyn recalled. “And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, are we going by Elliott now?’”
Kailyn admitted that it can be hard to get used to calling someone by a different name, but she was supportive of her son’s decision. “I can appreciate the separation between who you were and who you are today,” she told Elliott. “I think that that is cool for you to recognize. It’s cool for you to sort of decide what makes you comfortable.”
Even though he likes his middle name better, he still goes by his first name at his dad’s house.
@killrnetwork Part 1 of Elliott’s episode of #BarelyFamous is out now—listen wherever you get your podcasts! Can’t wait for Part 2? It’s already live at Patreon.com/kailowry 🎙️ #kaillowry #barelyfamous #teenmom #killrnetwork #pride ♬ original sound – KILLR Network
Kailyn shares her son Elliott with ex Jo Rivera. On the podcast, Kailyn asked her son if he goes by Elliott when he goes to his dad’s house. He said he’s still called Isaac there.
“I don’t expect that from them,” he explained to his mom. “I didn’t expect it from you either. I would have been fine if you kept calling me Isaac because I know that transition would have been hard and it was a bit because you called me by my first name my whole life. I think the separation from my personal and private life or who I was on TV versus who I am now, that was the main reason, but at some point, I just realized I liked my middle name better.”
He also opened up about identifying as queer.
In addition to discussing his new name, Kailyn and Elliott spoke about his sexuality and his decision to speak about it publicly. To Elliott, the decision to come out as gay is a personal one. He doesn’t believe that coming out is necessary, and emphasized that he decided to come out publicly for himself. “I’m doing it for me, so you can do what he want,” the teen explained. “If you feel it’s necessary to come out, then do it. But if you don’t, then just be yourself. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, so just be who you are and be true to yourself.”
Kailyn explained that she ‘never gave a f—‘ about her son’s sexuality.
By that, she meant that she would love and support him no matter what. “If you came home and told me that you wanted to marry a woman, cool,” she told her son. “You tell me you want to marry a man? Cool. I don’t give a f— because at the end of the day, that part does not affect me or my life.”
She added: “At the end of the day, I’m not going to sever a relationship with my child based off of who he love or doesn’t love.”
