'Teen Mom' Couple Catelynn and Tyler Baltierra Are Fed up With Daughter's Adoptive Parents
"Carly is almost 15 years old," Tyler said. "Throughout those 15 years, her parents have chosen not to have our (mutually agreed upon) annual visits."
Published May 16 2024, 4:39 p.m. ET
In 2009, the world was introduced to Catelynn Lowell Baltierra and Tyler Baltierra through MTV's reality show 16 & Pregnant. Their episode follows the then-teenage parents as they make the difficult decision to place their daughter, Carly, up for adoption.
Since then, the popular Teen Mom franchise has captured the ups and downs of Catelynn and Tyler's relationship with Carly's adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa.
However, on May 9, 2024, Catelynn took to her Instagram Story to express her frustration regarding the couple's decision to seemingly keep Carly away from her. But hold on, didn't Catelynn and Tyler have an open adoption? Let's delve into the details.
So, did 'Teen Mom' stars Catelynn and Tyler have an open adoption?
In case you forgot, yes, Catelynn and Tyler opted for an open adoption when they placed Carly, their daughter, for adoption. This pivotal decision unfolded in their episode of 16 & Pregnant.
For those unfamiliar, an open adoption often involves maintaining some level of contact and communication between the birth parents, adoptive parents, and the child. This can include exchanging personally identifiable information, such as names and addresses, and having direct conversations via phone calls, emails, or in-person meetings.
Now, despite having a relationship with her biological daughter, Catelynn recently took to Instagram to discuss a challenging situation involving Carly's adoptive parents.
"Adoption is wild ... Being at the mercy of someone that can say no..." she wrote, noting, "I know I chose this, there's no need to tell me!"
Catelynn continued, "I will just never understand how you say that you 'love' us and will always be 'blessed' for us ... BUT you can't take TWO days out of your entire year to just meet up for dinner and do a park or something small? Especially when we said we would travel to YALL?!"
"I know for me ... people I LOVE and are blessed to have, I MAKE time for!" the reality TV personality added. "So now we most likely won't see her until she's 16 ... And who knows if that will even happen ..."
Tyler came to Catelynn's defense against the backlash.
The following day, Tyler defended his wife after she received backlash from fans regarding her criticism of Carly's adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa.
"Carly is almost 15 years old," Tyler disclosed. "Throughout those 15 years, her parents have chosen not to have our (mutually agreed upon) annual visit, MULTIPLE times!"
The reality star continued, "We can waste our time asking questions, dissecting responses, and begging for an answer... but we are NOT entitled to it (regardless of how much we may believe/wish otherwise). All we can do is accept the decision without the requirement of an answer."
Tyler also pointed out how difficult this situation is for Catelynn: "Most will never know the pain of what it takes to fight against the most powerful, biological, and instinctual nature that's required to make that choice."
"There's no guessing. There's no false hope, and there's nothing you can do to bring them back or change it," Tyler explained. "But grieving your child while they still live is truly an unexplainable pain in so many ways, I won't even attempt to put it into words."
Tyler said, "With that pain, inevitable, comes emotional reactions and expressions. My wife fights this pain every day. Some days are a victory and some days are not. But her expressing that pain on those particular days when she is vulnerable, sad, and at a loss, should not be used as an attack against her character."
"But her expressing that pain on those particular days when she is vulnerable, sad, and at a loss, should not be used as an attack against her character," he remarked before asking the Teen Mom fandom to "please be kind" to his wife.
Tyler added, "I know the assumptions, criticism, and judgments are all part of the territory when it comes to living your life in the 'spotlight,' but we're still human beings at the end of the day. This whole thing is hard for everyone involved. We're only human after all and I believe we all could use some more grace and understanding toward one another!"
