Tyler Baltierra and his wife Catelynn Lowell were once the cover kids for choosing adoption, but in the last few years, the Teen Mom stars have been very outspoken against not only the way the adoption of their own bio daughter Carly went down, but of the adoption industry in general— often resulting in him and Cate being heavily criticized for changing their opinion on the topic.
During a new interview for The Southern Tea Podcast, Tyler discussed the harsh criticism he and Catelynn have received for speaking out against adoption. He also talked about why he feels MTV and those behind ‘Teen Mom’ exploited him and Cate during a very vulnerable period of their lives.
“They did exploit kids. That’s what happened,” he told host Lindsie Chrisley. “How else do you explain following 16-year-old kids after making this crazy decision and then following the aftermath of that decision? It also was a huge blessing to our lives and gave us opportunities but there’s a cost to it.”
As fans know, Tyler and Catelynn first appeared on 16 and Pregnant in 2009 in an episode that centered around Carly’s birth and Cate and Ty’s decision to place Carly with Brandon and Teresa Davis after her birth. In 2024, Catelynn revealed that Brandon and Teresa had cut her and Tyler off and closed Carly’s adoption. Since then, he and Cate have slammed the concept of adoption.
“[My feelings about adoption] have changed so much,” Tyler said. “Being that young you are just kind of trusting all of the adults around you and back then we didn’t do any research about anything. We just trusted what this agency was telling us. I think my opinion on adoption completely changed. Only because you get older and you get wiser. You kind of start understanding the industry in this country and how it works.
“…commodifying children or any life is just not good…. I can’t stand there and say it’s this amazing thing that I thought it was when we were kids,” he added.
Speaking out against adoption (both Carly’s and in general) has garnered him and Catelynn a lot of hate, something Tyler talked about on the podcast.
“I feel like a lot of cast members get a lot of grace for certain stuff but when it comes to us a lot of people are like, ‘Well you did it– get over it. You signed your papers. You gave her away,'” Tyler said. “We were children. We were literally kids making this decision. I think it’s
unfair to just tell someone to get over it.
“How do you ever get over it? How do you ever stop grieving a child that’s still living?”
Tyler slammed fans who hate on him and Catelynn.
“I did not sign up to be ridiculed, judged, or criticized with such visceral cruelty,” he said. “That is not what I signed up for. I signed up to be transparent with my life. I think people need to humanize more reality TV stars.”
Tyler reminded fans that what the saw on the show isn’t always exactly how things went down in real life.
“Reality TV stars get the most critique and the most bulls**t and the most s**t talked about them,” he said. “Your story is not in fact up to you. It’s up to whoever is in the editing room. You’re watching my true story but you’re watching it through their lens.”
He stated that one of the worst examples of hate he and Catelynn got because of the show was in 2016 and 2017, when Catelynn checked into an inpatient treatment facility on two different occasions to deal with her postpartum depression and mental health issues.
“The backlash Cate had to have; she had postpartum and went to treatment and people were just so cruel and mean about it,” Tyler said. “They ripped her apart… [the hate] never affected me in a negative way with my mental health like it did Cate, because I tried to look at it like ‘I’m gonna use this as a self-reflection tool to figure out what I’m gonna work on.’ Growing up on TV, it creates a natural inevitable accountability.”
Tyler stated that Catelynn felt that the amount she was making on ‘Teen Mom’ was not worth the ridicule she received from fans during that time.
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“When she was in the middle of treatment, she was like, one, ‘I didn’t sign up for this’ and, two, this wasn’t worth it. I would never trade my mental health for this amount of money.’ You can’t put a price on it because once it hits you, it hits you and it’s over with.
He added that he felt those involved in the show should have done more.
“If you’re going to be on a reality TV show or even have a production network, you should have a moral responsibility to help these people [on your show],” he said.
Click here to listen to Tyler’s full interview with The Southern Tea Podcast.
9 Responses
If it was so horrible, why didn’t you quit the show years ago?
Y’all need more therapy. Leave this poor child alone for the first time in her life and stop exploiting her for clicks to stay relevant. You all keep cashing checks on a person who wants you to keep her name out of your mouths.
My issue with both of them has nothing to do with their changing stance on adoption. They have a right to change their mind just like anyone else does. My issue is the fact that they exploit Carly for clicks and views showing no regard for the fact that Carly didn’t sign up for a bullshit reality show. Carly is the only one that had no choice about anything.
My other issue is this public bashing they do of Brandon and Teresa. The only thing that Brandon and Teresa asked is that Carly not be publicly discussed especially on a national TV show. Catelyn and Tyler chose to ignore that for years as ADULTS. They made an ADULT decision that they would ignore Brandon and Teresa’s wishes for their daughter to have privacy knowing they were risking never seeing Carly again.
If I were Brandon and Teresa I would have hit them with a cease and desist letter. When Cate and Ty decided to escalate things and start trying to elicit information about Carly from Carly’s minor friends I would have hit them with a restraining order. I’d still do both of those things. Brandon and Teresa are too nice which is both why Cate and Ty chose them to adopt Carly and the reason they thought they could run over them with no retaliation.
This is frustrating on so many levels! First of all, nobody cares that he and Cate changed their feelings about adoption; it’s the way they go about it that gets them negative attention. Second, continuing to bash Carly’s actual parents is disgraceful; not only does she love them, but they have given her a life she never would have had with Cate and Ty. Third, Tyler and his mahm were the biggest bashers of Catelynn’s stints in therapy! They dragged her, on camera! That doesn’t even address the teenager stalking and other creepy behavior, such as the “sisters forever” blanket….
I will never pretend I know how hard it is to give my baby to another family. As a mom of 4, I can’t fathom having an extension of me out there and it not being raised in my home. I imagine that leaves a huge hole in one’s heart that can only be filled by having that child back.
In a way, I can understand where he’s coming from and why their thoughts on adoption have changed, however, does he forget the shit-show that was their life back then? They saved Carly from a lifetime of repeating patterns simply by allowing her to be loved and raised by two people capable and willing to give her a better life. That’s the life she deserves. Regardless of how they felt then or how they feel now, they did right by her by allowing her to be raised in a stable family. I feel like he keeps forgetting that.
I think he means to say, he regrets his decision for baby Carly and is now grasping at straws to stay relevant.
Ty-Ty’s feelings about adoption have dropped….
Also, when you put yourself in the public eye, you ARE signing yourself up for judgement and ridicule?
And stop reading it. Put your phone down, get a job and ignore it
You know what’s really unfair, Tyler? The way you and Cate treat Brandon and Theresa’s daughter? How about the way you two brag about “breaking the cycle” all while raising your daughters around weed and onlyfans? You guys are losers. Grow up.
Peoplesre tired of the bitching and sense of entitlement when it comes to a child you didn’t raise. Nor are appreciative of what brandon and theresa have done for them