Teen Mom stars and Catelynn (Lowell) and Tyler Baltierra have been incredibly open about placing their first daughter, Carly, for adoption. At the time, they were only high school students and wanted a better life for their child. Recently, however, Tyler made a vulnerable confession about what “scared” him into the decision.
In 2009, Catelynn and Tyler’s teen pregnancy was featured on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. They have continued to star in Teen Mom, welcoming three more children after they were adults. Their daughter Novalee arrived in 2015 (the same year they said “I do”), followed by another little girl, Vaeda, in 2019, and her little sister, Rya, in 2021.
More from CafeMom: Tyler & Catelynn Baltierra Speak Out About Carly’s Parents Not Allowing Them To See Her
On ‘Teen Mom,’ Tyler decided to reconnect with his dad, Butch.
The February 20 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter found Tyler wanting to reconnect with his father, Butch – who was in and out of his life as a child because of jail – after not seeing him for five years.
“The older I get, the more love I actually have for my dad,” he said, per E! News. “Because I have my own kids and I just know that, like, he was younger than me and he didn’t have half the resources that I had, so you can’t hold too much against him.”
Tyler Baltierra also shared what ‘scared’ him into placing Carly for adoption.
After dropping Rya off for her first day of school, Tyler got emotional during a confessional with producers.
“If I could pause life right now and just stay here for as long as I can, I would do it,” he said, via People. “Not having my dad around has a lot to do with why I even placed Carly in the first place.”
Tyler continued, “I was just so scared to screw it up and I think that was a catalyst for me and Cate wanting to heal our stuff before we brought more kids into the world.”
Catelynn recently opened up about Carly’s adoptive parents cutting contact with them.
In January, Catelynn spoke with E! News about the fact that Brandon and Teresa “have 100 percent closed the adoption,” effectively cutting off communication with Carly.
“I’m still blocked,” she shared. “And they recently told me to quit sending gifts because it was inappropriate and uncalled for, just a whole bunch of things.”
More from CafeMom: Catelynn Baltierra Sets the Record Straight About Tyler’s Rumored ‘Ultimatum’ in New Video
She also suggested it might not have been Carly’s decision.
“If it’s Carly not wanting contact, it would hurt, but we would understand and say, ‘Hey, if you ever want to have it, we’re here and we totally understand that all of this could be hard for you,’” Catelynn told the news outlet.
She added, “If it’s just her parents acting out of fear, it’s my duty as a birth mom to show this child that I’m continuously fighting for communication, because that’s what’s ultimately the best for her, if that’s what she wants.”
Meanwhile, Tyler acknowledged that Carly might not want a relationship with them as an adult.
In a few years, Carly will turn 18 and be able to make decisions about her relationship with Catelynn and Tyler. But that doesn’t mean they will automatically be close.
“Of course I’d LOVE for her to be in our lives more & her sisters lives,” Tyler admitted in the comments of a 2024 Instagram post. “But the truth is, she might turn 18 & want nothing to do with us.”
