Tyler Baltierra and Catelynn Lowell are opening up about the scandal they found themselves in earlier this year after it was revealed that they had been communicating with someone they believed was a teenage friend of their bio daughter Carly.
The Teen Mom stars— who were cut off from contact from 16-year-old Carly last year after her parents Brandon and Teresa Davis closed her adoption— spoke about the reasons they initially began to text and message someone who claimed to be a friend of Carly. Some of the messages were leaked online in May and June, showing that Cate and Ty had been trying to get information about Carly from the person, who was supposedly a minor. During the latest episode of their Cate & Ty Break It Down! podcast, Tyler and Catelynn admitted they were wrong to engage in the conversations— even though they now believe they were being catfished by an adult pretending to be a teenager.
“Full accountability for being wrong,” Tyler said.
“Should the conversation have happened that long as they did? Absolutely not,” he admitted. “But I’ve said this multiple times…it was just the desperation. That’s what happened. And I think desperation, it has a root cause. Why was I so desperate to make sure that these things [we were hearing about] were not happening?
“If we had access to information [about Carly], none of this would have happened,” he added.
Tyler and Catelynn claimed that they had been hearing things about Carly’s life and church that concerned them, prompting them to communicate with those they believed were close to Carly.
“I still, to this day, [believe] it’s somebody who knows her, it’s somebody who’s involved in the community,” Catelynn said of the person they were texting who claimed to be a school friend of Carly’s. “Nobody else would know these things [about Carly] that this person knew. So when she was telling us these scary things [about Carly’s life] that we were nervous about, part of you is like, ‘I need to know more information to see if this is fully true.'”
“I would feel like any natural parent would immediately go into action mode,” Tyler added. “When you don’t have access to do ‘action mode,’ you go to the next best thing, which is, ‘OK, I’m going to try to get as much information as possible.'”
Tyler admitted, though, that he and Catelynn were wrong for going about it the way they did.
“Should we have? It’s kind of hard because I couldn’t get a hold of [Carly’s parents],” he said. “If I could have talked to her parents, this would have never happened!”
Catelynn stated that, even while texting the supposed teenage friend of Carly’s, she was skeptical that the person she was talking to was, indeed, a kid.
“We’re thinking, ‘There’s no way this is a kid.’ So we’re thinking, ‘If we keep them plugging along, we know it’s somebody who’s close [to Carly], because there’s just things that you don’t know [if you aren’t close],” she said, adding that the situation seemed worse than it was to people who have not placed a child for adoption.
“You don’t understand that PTSD of relinquishment,” she said. “You don’t understand the PTSD of your adoption getting closed and all these other promises not kept to you. You’re not going to understand what your mind will do to you to want to know.
“…So for the normal person who is not involved in the dynamic of adoption, yeah, [what we did] is going to look f**king crazy,” Catelynn added.
Tyler went on to say that he had been hearing scary facts about the evangelical Christian community that Carly’s being raised in, prompting him to take the actions that he did in order to find out if what he was hearing was true.
“You can’t fight your parental instincts to protect,” he stated. “…in the end it just comes down to that fear, that desperation to make sure that everything [with Carly] was safe and good.”
Still, Ty and Cate say they made a mistake when they engaged in the texting conversation.
“We’ve never said that texting this fake minor was not weird,” Tyler said. “All of it’s weird, very weird, never should have happened. Could we have handled it better? I think we could, of course. Were we wrong? Absolutely.”
Tyler still argues, though, that their actions were warranted.
“Based off of the intensity of where she’s raised and the culture, I think it was warranted. Not to keep texting a minor, but to keep trying to see if the safety was in place and everything was happening…” he said.
Earlier this month, a TikTok creator claimed that, following the texting scandal, Tyler and Catelynn were “silenced” legally from speaking about Brandon and Teresa or Carly publicly. The ‘Teen Mom’ stars have repeatedly denied those claims.
They addressed the claims again on Wednesday’s podcast episode, stating that the reason they believe the person they were texting was not actually a minor is because they received no legal consequences from it.
“If this was true and real and everything was happening the way it happened, we would have charges against us or something would have happened,” Tyler said. “…If there was any minor involved, or any minor in danger, I’m still waiting for the charges. Where are they?”
“For people now to be saying we have a cease and desist [order from Carly’s parents against us], or that there’s been charges pressed on us and cops are involved, all lies,” Catelynn added. “Nothing, and it’s because— I’m telling you right now— I think it’s an adult in [Carly’s] community.”
Brandon and Teresa have never spoken publicly about the texting scandal.
54 Responses
Oh my gosh, these two are beyond loco.
If I were Carly’s parents, I’d be taking legal action.
This is getting out of hand. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET A LIFE! You have three wonderful daughters (one has recently been discovered to be autistic so I don’t know…help her understand the world better) and you are STILL obsessed with the one who isn’t even legally yours! Like why can’t they just leave poor Carly alone, she won’t be running to you at 18 like you think she will, you are basically strangers to her and will continue to do so. (And I can’t imagine how her life would have been living with those bozos anyway, prob already knocked up by now while her real family is making sure she will get an education and go on the right path in life)
Why do I have a feeling they won’t stop and the day she gets into university and/or gets any sort of job, they will harass her employer or even show up at work?! Get therapy, ffs.
Sure can tell they have a lot of spare time on their hands! Remember when they said they weren’t going to talk about the Carly stuff anymore??? They have zero shame and it’s embarrassing. They want to connect with Carly for a storyline and a paycheck… that’s it.
If I was in Brandon & Teresa’s shoes I would move as far away from my last known address as humanly possible, change Carly’s name and mine and keep our new whereabouts a closely guarded secret. Tyler & Caitlin are frighteningly obsessed perpetrators and are absolutely deranged enough to try to kidnap or otherwise harm Carly. I’m actually surprised they haven’t tried. In my 20 years as a trauma therapist I’ve encountered very few people who are as profoundly emotionally abusive and manipulative as C & T. They’re damn dangerous.
I only read the headline because I couldn’t bring myself to read the story. Three words, permanent restraining order, so this child can have some peace until she’s of legal age and decides what she wants to do or not do. The two have no boundaries and have consistently demonstrated their inability to respect others. Shameful.
Low IQ and zero emotional intelligence.
Yeah but. ….
They are still acting like they only talked to one person who everyone pretty much agreed was likely an adult and catfish. It’s the second person, who very likely was Carlys minor friend that they will not address and only talk about the one catfish. They should be thanking their lucky stars that Carlys parents are good people and didn’t press charges on them. I hope they change their minds and knock this smug couple down a few pegs. Seeing Cate gloat in the comments on tik tok about not getting any cease and desist letters was gross.
So much to unpick.
“I’m sorry but it’s your fault I did this” – is not any type of accountability but the usual professional victim spiel from these two.
Why would there be charges for texting a minor, if it wasn’t sexual or violent in nature??
You not agreeing with how she’s being raised is irrelevant. She’s not your child. It’s none of your business.
You’re spoilt brats who can’t take being told no. Get a grip and leave them all alone.
These two loser degenerates should have all their children removed.
I understand the pain and regret, but what’s done is done. Carly is B&T’s daughter, not theirs. Cate and Ty’s daughters are Nova, Vaeda, and Rya. What they’re doing essentially amounts to stalking someone else’s child. Most parents, myself included, would have already sought a protective order and filed some form of police documentation at the very least. Cate and Ty’s behavior in this situation is unacceptable on every level. They need to leave Carly and her parents alone. If they cared anything about Carly’s mental health and stability they would leave them alone.
The reason B&T decided to close the adoption was because Cate and Ty repeatedly failed to respect the boundaries Carly’s parents had set. Any rational parent would have made the same decision to protect their child. This situation is entirely their own doing. Instead of obsessing over Carly, they should focus on creating stability for their own children and giving them the love and attention they deserve.
Here’s a hypothetical.
Cate and Ty….how would you feel if one of YOUR daughters was being texted by an adult asking for sensitive information regarding their life/family?
We all know Tyler would go ballistic. Since it was for Carly though, it’s 100% kosher….not. They are extremely lucky they haven’t been charged with a slew of crimes. What would happen to the Not Carly’s if y’all got sent to the slammer?
These two need a good therapist. Not a pony or a pushover who validates them. One who will call them on their BS and explain in very simple words why alllllll of this is inappropriate as hell and injurious to their actual kids, Carly, and themselves.
Well Amber is going to become a therapist 🙃
yah, she went to PURDUE! Gel and Purdue for Bew Bew 🤌🏼
I’m sorry, but that thought made me SNORT 😂😂
These two need to get jobs and focus on the three kids they have. Buyers remorse or just attention seeking?
Carley dodged a bullet with these mental morons and their families.
Their podcast is their job.
They are incapable of getting a job. They are emotionally stunted and stuck at the maturity level of a low-IQ 16-year-old. All around failures. Carly had a lucky escape, so sad for the Not-Carlys.
Carly’s NOT your child hope that helps!! Also Ashley why did you do nothing to report on this while these creeps were actively at this?! Predators 😡
Huh? The Ashley has absolutely covered this on-going saga (for years!). And that’s all The Ashley can do.
I saw an article here awhile back
I doubt these two have any concept of religion. They should probable look into it. It can help! She’s way better off than being raised in your dysfunctional, drug addled, victim mentality environment.
Also, STOP. TALKING. ABOUT. SOMEONE. ELSE’S. CHILD!!! Creeps.
Being brainwashed in to believing some of the religious funds shit is not better
Not brainwashing. Faith. Not looking to debate a person’s personal right to religion.
Dude I have spent more time with my neighbor’s kids than these two psychos ever have with that little girl. The fact that they act like they any connection to her at all is total fantasy.
STFU already!! Seriously!!
You have no right to her life AT ALL. Seriously Carly’s parents should send them a restraining order and force them no never talk about them again. This is lunacy.
Worry about the 3 kids you have at home, they have enough issues to keep you worried.
If you ask me, the fact that they have not taken legal action shows how nice of people they actually are. They definitely have grounds for it for stalking/harassment at the very least. It shows that they really are not the monsters C&T make them out to be.
It was not a desperation to help Carly. It was a desperation to get information to make Teresa & Brandon look like bad parents (major fail). Catelynn & Tyler cannot be honest with themselves and they have always fueled each other’s lack of self-awareness.
Do they ever talk about their other children? Do they every think ahead to the future when all of these kids are grown and have to deal with their obsession of one and neglect of the others? B & T should sue these two once and for all. Imagine being an adoptive parent with birth parents like this, slandering you and using your adopted child (your child!) for monetary gain. They sure are better people than me, because the gloves would have come off years ago if I was them. This is not just unhealthy, unhinged behavior, this is borderline stalking.
Their other children were on the show and yes I saw them talked about.
I have always felt for these two and their very real struggles. But Carly is not, and never has been, their daughter. By blood, yes. But they have never been her parents and haven’t cared for this child not one day of her existence. It was so selfless to give her a better life but that was so long ago and they just have a disease at this point. All hell would break loose if anyone dared to act this way toward their daughters. They have issues with control is how it seems to me. They don’t get to be in control of the situation and that’s driving their narcissistic side bonkers.
Many with trauma do have a want to be control because they felt they never had it growing up.
Oh waa waa waa. These two are trash, and are two of the least appealing human beings that have graced reality television.
Still taking zero accountability. You don’t illicit information from a minor to satisfy your curiosity and then blame the adoptive parents (that YOU chose) for not communicating with you when you were being a fucking psycho. They asked C & T to stop publicly discussing Carly. C & T continued. They asked that communication between the 4 adults (by age anyway) be done privately and not on a public forum. C & T decided “living in their truth” was more important. They need to thank their lucky stars that I wasn’t the adoptive parent of Carly because I would have taken legal action against them a long ass time ago. Especially when it has now been seen that C & T will resort to anything to get information about Brandon & Teresa’s daughter, Carly. Maybe focus ALL that energy on the 3 daughters you have at home that are probably as sick of hearing about Carly as we are. Can they not just shut up & let Carly live her life privately?
You are SO right, 100%. When B&T signed up for the 16 and Pregnant episode, they did not sign on for their lives to be part of an entire series. And when it started affecting Carly (kids at school noticing her on TV, etc.) they simply asked for their agreement to be continued IN PRIVATE. Of course, doing that would affect the big MTV money from coming in, and since neither C or T have any skills and can’t hold a job, they NEEDED that money. So they put themselves first, screw B&T, screw Carly. And now they want to play victim, they want to bash the entire adoption industry, anything to stay relevant.
Its ridiculous and they need to go away.
catelynn and tyler are NOT carly’s parents and have no right to “find out more” about what’s going on with carly. they may be taking accountability but they’re still making excuses for something so creepy. they act like they’re coparenting with brandon and teresa but would get just as pissed as they are if someone tried parenting or getting access to their replacement daughters
Yup, they act like they have some right to coparent Carly and have a right to know anything about her life. They are not her parents and she is not their child. Their behavior got them cut off and now they’re acting as if they’re the actual parents being kept from their actual child. And if they were, texting a minor to get information STILL wouldn’t be ok.
Also.. enough with the ptsd trauma nonsense. We all have traumas of some sort. Every person EVER deals with negative, upsetting things at some point in their lives. It is the adult choice to deal with these things in a good or bad way.
Do you.. A. glue yourself to your phone and obsess over a child you haven’t met more than 3 times in your LIFE and let it overtake your entire being, affecting your own children?
Or B. See a therapist, practice self help, calm your body and mind, and process your trauma in a healthy way….?
Everyone has the choice, cate and Tyler!!!
It just gets creepier and weirder all the time. I agree. They cannot comprehend that they are not her parents. What are they going to do? Call DHS and try to have her removed for the extremely legal freedom of religion. They don’t have anything else to worry about?? Three kids, homework, after school activities? They absolutely need to get off their asses and get jobs. Go volunteer somewhere if you are so against employment… just get off your asses and apply yourselves to things that are actually valid in your lives.
Right!!! I only have 1 child and I have 0 time to get done what needs to get done. Can’t imagine being cate and ty with 3 kids at home AND spare time to engage in this nonsense online!
“And I think desperation, it has a root cause. Why was I so desperate to make sure that these things [we were hearing about] were not happening?”
Tyler.. let us just think for a moment. Suppose we use this reasoning when robbing a bank? Or kidnapping a child? Is desperation an acceptable excuse for such crimes??? NO, it’s not! An adult handles their desperation, for any reason, in a mature, responsible way. You talk about therapy non stopppppp so perhaps run this one by your therapist?? Invest in some self help resources that don’t involve texting minor children.
I am so alarmed that an adult father is turning his desperation into an excuse for engaging with a minor. I literally can’t believe such a thing.
Taking accountability is, “that shouldn’t have happened.”…there is no but, my or z” those sre called excuses. And it still comes down to the fact that it was inappropriate. PERIOD
Well that’s one way to end up in prison. Nutters.
What the actual fuck…
I have felt for the 2 of them and their story, but this is unhinged. They are not remorseful of their behavior, they’re trying to justify it! Sneaking around and trying to get information on a child that you have no legal standing to be involved with is scary, and crossing the line to text with someone who you even *think* could be a minor is red flag behavior. They need to get actual help, a hobby or a job, and move their lives forward. They have been living in suspended grief for years, hoping for a reconciliation that will probably never happen.
It’s like they think that B&T have just been babysitting Carly all these years until she can come running back to them. The fact that they are not her parents has never really sunk in, and they are stuck at 16 mentally, they don’t really act like adults. No kid raised in a loving family would swap that for these two, she ain’t coming back, even when she turns 18.
How is it “full accountability” if you’re saying it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t closed the adoption?
B&T would never have closed the adoption if C&T would have respected their wishes to continue with their agreement in private, excluding MTV from being a part of their daughter’s life and putting her in the public eye, especially now that she is older. C&T can’s survive without MTV money. They screwed themselves.
These two sound crazier every time they open their mouths. They gave their baby to a conservative, Christian, Southern couple that they picked and now they’re suddenly concerned about the culture she’s been raised in? I guarantee it’s better than the toxic drug culture Cate and Ty were raised in or the craziness they’re raising the Not-Carlys is.
The not Carly’s 🤣
these two trolls ALWAYS have an excuse for their ahole 🍑🕳️ behavior, don’t they? 🙄
Weird way to take accountability. Where is the accountability for the actions that led Brandon and Theresa to cut contact after 16 years?
Also, Carly is not their child. There would be literally not one thing they could do if they don’t like her parents’ religious beliefs. They have no rights to her or to know anything about her. They have this dream that they can save her and create these delusional scenarios where she needs them to rescue her. It’s unhinged.
Say it with me now Catelynn and Tyler, you are NOTTTTTTTTT her parents!!! Talking about NEEDING to know this information about Carly and her life and your “parental instincts” kicked in is BS because YOU ARE NOT HER FUCKING PARENTS!
The parental instincts thing is straight crazy and a sign that they have never dealt with this situation. The reality is is that she is not your responsibility nor do you possess some sort of claim to her. It’s sad.