Catelynn Lowell is kicking 2026 off with some very heavy feelings regarding Carly, the daughter she and husband Tyler Baltierra placed for adoption after her birth in 2009.
As Teen Mom fans know, Catelynn and Tyler placed Carly for adoption during their episode of 16 & Pregnant. In 2024, Carly’s parents, Brandon and Teresa Davis cut off communication with Cate and Ty, and haven’t allowed them to talk to Carly, who is now 16. Although Tyler recently stated that he’s “at peace” with the Carly situation, it does not appear that Catelynn feels the same way.
In the caption of a video posted to TikTok showing photos of her with Carly, Catelynn revealed that she is only able to function because she’s holding out hope that she will be to speak to Carly again once she becomes an adult.
“Somedays I’m okay for the most part…” Catelynn wrote. “Then others I am flooded with emotions, what’s ifs and guilt… I don’t think people understand that this pain and sorrow never goes away. The missing and wanting to know never fades…
“I wouldn’t wish this type of sadness and grief on my worst enemies,” she added.
@catebaltierra Somedays I’m okay for the most part… Then others I am flooded with emotions, what’s ifs and guilt… I don’t think people understand that this pain and sorrow never goes away. The missing and wanting to know never fades… I wouldn’t wish this type of sadness and grief on my worst enemies. I guess I just hold onto the hope. The hope that maybe one day, we will all be able to have a conversation when she’s grown… the hope is the only thing that gets me through right now. #relinquishment #ptsd #grief ♬ I Am Not Okay – Jelly Roll
Catelynn— who, along with Tyler— was very outspoken against adoption in 2025, then stated that she is waiting until Carly is an adult to see if they can reconnect.
“I guess I just hold onto the hope. The hope that maybe one day, we will all be able to have a conversation when she’s grown… the hope is the only thing that gets me through right now,” she wrote, hashtagging the post #relinquishment #ptsd #grief.
In addition to speaking out against the concept of adoption Catelynn (who, at one point last year, called adoption “buying babies”) and Tyler have also spoken out against Brandon and Teresa, whom they claim agreed to whatever they had to in order to be able to adopt Carly, even though they didn’t intend to follow through with the agreements.
In the comment section of her post, someone pointed out that Brandon and Teresa love Carly and have seemingly given her a good life.
“If she chooses to reach out to you someday then that’s a bonus and, if not, you have to know that the decision you made for her at birth was the right one for all involved,” the person wrote.
Catelynn didn’t deny that Brandon and Teresa have given Carly a good life, but did, however, point out that the birth parents’ trauma over giving up their child doesn’t go away because their child is doing well.
“Agree with what you say,” Cate wrote. “But I don’t think people know the full impact it has on the birth parents for their lives… it will all be up to her and I’m okay with that.”
Back in November, Tyler told fans that he’s made peace with the fact that he doesn’t currently have a relationship with Carly, and that he may never have a chance for reconciliation if Carly doesn’t want it.
“I have so much peace & faith in her own spiritual wisdom & autonomy, that one day…we’ll either all sit around a bonfire together talking about how wild of a ride life is or we won’t,” he wrote. “It’s all about where her journey leads her & if not, that’s also okay, it’s simply divinity’s orchestra at work.”
Tyler claimed that he’s leaving the situation with Carly up to fate, but said he’ll always be “applauding from the sidelines for her strength and courage to follow her intuition. Her spirit is strong, I feel it & that strength gives me immense peace.”
Brandon and Teresa have never released a public statement regarding cutting off Cate and Tyler.
RELATED STORY: Tyler Baltierra Says He’s “At Peace” Over Current Situation with Bio Daughter Carly: “I’ll Always Be Applauding On the Sidelines”
21 Responses
This couple is a perfect example of why adoptions should be closed, until the child turns 18. At 18, if they chose, they can go looking foe their birth parents.
The problem as I see it, is T&C had too many additional bonding hours with their visits. Of course a connection for them was made, that unbreakable bonding happened and now they are suffering for it.
for f*cking out loud ~ can these two EVER shut the f*ck up about carly?
as i’ve said many (many!) times, it’s (obvi) creepy, obsessive and 💯 insulting to their 3️⃣ daughters.
Well I feel for them because I remember that episode and they were promised that they would have access to her. They could write her. They could see her and that’s not what’s happened.
However on the other side of the coin when they were making efforts to go see them. They were routinely an hour or more late to visit their own daughter!! How rude can you be to her and her adoptive parents?
Who stepped in adopted your daughter have done a wonderful job with her.
The adoptive parents were less than thrilled that these two were actively smoking pot and engaging in some other activities that they don’t agree with.
As you all have stated they do nothing but say that they’re not going to talk about her and then they turn around and talk about her.
And I agree with everyone else who said that they need to go get some counseling You’re absolutely right. Warms my heart to see so many smart people in the comment section!
They need to go get some counseling as a family It’s completely unfair to their other daughters even the way they talk about Carly in comparison to them.
I swear…I know we’re all so tired of hearing about Carly from these two. They are absolutely delusional to think that she will ever want to talk to them again and if by chance she does, it probably won’t be a happy one. They cannot fathom the hurt they’ve caused her. The amount they’ve used her for storylines and the constant badmouthing of her parents will never make Carly come to them and “hear them out.” If I was Carly, I’d wait until the oldest daughter is 18 and reach out to her and develop a relationship with her sisters from that point if she wants to. Without cate and Tyler being involved at all. Cate and tyler… we know you read these, go to family therapy with your 3 daughters and actually invest in loving them instead of making their whole lives being the “not Carlys.” That’s the only way you’ll heal and stop generational trauma you always applaud yourselves for overcoming.
Since when did you get separated from Carly(like she wast ripped from yor arms)? You placed her for ADOPTION.
Jesus god Leah again with blah blah Carly. These two slobs are just broken records now.
Every time they open their mouths, they prove just how unhealed they are. Trauma doesn’t go away for anyone. They aren’t special. They have had nearly 20yrs and THOUSANDS of dollars that could’ve been invested into them healing themselves. They should’ve put in that work before having more kids. Now they’re parenting from a place of hurt and regret. They have 3 “other Carly’s” that will never fill that gap for them. Either go to therapy or stfu. We’re tired of hearing about it when you’re unwilling to do anything about it.
What happened to them saying they weren’t going to discuss this anymore?
It would be heart wrenching what they went through. But at least she’s not dead. Surely there’s some comfort knowing that she is lovingly adored where she is. And in the year 2026, the reality is that Carly 100% has access to make contact with C&T and has chosen not to thus far.
They need to leave her alone until/if she’s ready.
Even people that felt sorry for them can’t stand them anymore and it’s their own damn fault.
Stop harassing Carly and her parents and RAISE THE 3 DAUGHTERS YOU DIDN’T GIVE UP. That’s it.
Ffs they seriously need a restraining order at this point
“I’m not going to talk about Carly anymore publicly out of respect for her”
“We’ve made the decision not to bring up Carly on our social media”
Said by both Tyler & Cate more times in more ways than I can count. What they are showing Carly right now is that they are liars that obviously don’t respect her privacy and can’t be trusted. Not to mention that shitty things they have said about Carly’s parents. Why in any world would she ever want anything to do with them? They’ve managed to screw themselves. If they hadn’t been acting like stalking psychos that can’t keep their mouths shut Brandon and Teresa would never have cut contact with Carly but they just can’t help themselves. How about they STFU and go take care of their 3 not Carly’s that are in their house that they should be focusing on.
They just don’t understand how adoption works, or at least how theirs was supposed to work. It is probably way more upsetting knowing how their life turned out after being on this show. There was no way of knowing that they would come into money and be able to provide a life for that daughter. They are cookoo but I am sure better than a lot of parents out there who have their children. Mentally it must be hard but their actions regarding Carly have been crazy. I couldn’t imagine but they cannot get her back. I only think Carly will eventually come to them to catchup because of her blood sisters. Otherwise she is probably really embarrassed of her bio parents.
This is definitely why they have such issues with the “what if’s;” however, they are too immature and narrow-minded to realize that even WITH their money, they would not have provided Carly with the type of opportunities in life that she has had with B & T. Just keeping Carly away from the toxic family dynamics she would’ve been exposed to for the last 16 years has dramatically improved her overall existence. They should be grateful that Carly didn’t have to be around the drugs and violence like they did.
Catelynn and Tyler have achieved nothing in life and they need to stop blaming Brandon and Teresa, and start looking in the mirror. Nothing can get better until they do the actual work it will take to get to a healthy place regarding their grief. Taking ketamine and eating themselves to death aren’t doing a thing except making it worse.
I blame Carly’s step parents Brandon and Teresa almost as much as Tyler/Cate. They have not done enough to go after Tyler/Cate. They should of been throwing whatever court orders they could against Tyler/Cate. Instead, they remain passive and expect that Tyler/Cate will stop talking about Carly. They look at Carly as their next possible “meal ticket”. Thing are only going to get worse while Carly approaches her 18yr birthday. Tyler/Cate will be the last Teen Mom folks to EVER get a real job.
I think Amber will probably be last
Absolutely disgusting to call the ones who raised her, and raised her WELL, “step parents.” You don’t have to birth a child to be their parent. B&T didn’t birth Carly but they are her ONLY parents. C&T did and they have NEVER been her parents. It’s very easy to comprehend. They stepped in and saved an innocent little girl from what was sure to be a rough life. They did an amazing thing, they loved and raised a child they didn’t birth, and they gave her a good life. Anyone who sees Carly’s REAL PARENTS as the bad people in this storyline have serious issues and should seek professional help. C&T are just as broken today as they were the day Carly rode off with her parents.
C&T obviously project their trauma and their anger onto B&T. Their true anger and pain stems from the parents they had, who gave them 16 years of trauma and an unstable life leading up to their teen pregnancy. B&T saved their baby an instead of being grateful and letting Carly be happy, they use their infamy to project an entire lifetime of their own trauma and pain, caused by their own parents, onto a nice couple who did exactly what they asked them to do, which was give Carly a better future.
@stan ~ um, brandon and teresa aren’t carly’s step parents. 🙄🙄
they are her PARENTS, period.
I completely understand that it’s hard and you can’t just forget about your first born child and they were so young, I get it. But I cannot even begin to imagine how unwanted the rest of thee daughters must feel if all they ever do is pour over Carly. It’s rough, but you have thee other beautiful blessings to focus on. Give them the love and attention. It’s sad.
This. This right here.
But not talking about it anymore wouldn’t get them paid 🙁
Shut the hell up already!
C and T are their own worst enemies. No ONE wants to hear this shit anymore, especially Carly. !!