"Carly Deserves the Truth" — Tyler Baltierra Talks Relationship With Carly's Adoptive Parents

Back when MTV aired its first season of 16 & Pregnant in 2009, Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baliterra's moving story captivated audiences. Cate and Tyler, who were both only 17, gave birth to a daughter named Carly. But, knowing they couldn't possibly provide a stable life for her — especially given their respective fractured home situations — the Michigan teens made the extraordinarily tough decision to place Carly up for adoption.

Carly was adopted by a couple named Brandon and Teresa, who lived in another state. It was an open adoption, which kept communication open between adoptive parents and birth parents. After Cate and Ty joined Teen Mom, viewers saw as the young couple sometimes even got to have visits with Carly. But in recent years, Cate and Ty have said that, against their will, they haven't gotten to see or hear much from Carly.

Tyler and Cate have actually commented more than once in recent years about how their relationship with Brandon and Teresa has changed, much to their disappointment.

In September 2024, Cate took to Instagram to claim that Brandon and Teresa had blocked her. She even posted a screen recording showing several text message that she'd sent to the adoptive parents, which had apparently been ignored. "Literally ignored for months then just blocked," Cate wrote in a text overlay.

Soon after Cate posted this, Tyler took to Instagram to not only defend his wife's actions but also to explain why he and Cate are determined to share the full truth of their story. In a series of posts on his Instagram stories, Tyler explained that if and when Carly decides one day in the future that she wants to know why she wasn't hearing from her birthparents, they want to make sure that the whole "unbiased" story is out there for her to see.

Tyler said that he's not looking for "sympathy" or trying to be a "victim" by speaking out, but rather to have the "truth to be told and the facts to be known."

"There is a lot of unexplained truths behind closed doors regarding Teresa and Brandon's decisions about us having a relationship with Carly, especially when it comes to MTV, the publicity of our story, their compensation for it, etc.," he wrote.

"Since they have chosen to finally cut us off (which I believe they have every right to do so), now we have no way of getting this information to Carly when/if she seeks it out," he continued. "So that's why we will continue to use our platform as a way to get it to her in case it's needed, regardless of anyone's opinions about it."

Tyler said that the recent posts from Cate showing the ignored text messages are "only the last few months' worth, once we realized they were refusing to answer us and refusing to talk about why they're upset. It's hard to fix, mend, or apologize if you refuse to communicate your issues with the other person."

"We have been advised multiple times (for years) from people to send updates frequently and as often as possible (ranging from adoption specialists, adoptive parents, adoptees, and birthparents who all have more experience than us), so that's what we've been doing," he said. "So it's ironic to me that people get upset thinking we don't send enough updates, but yet then get upset thinking that we are sending too much updates!"

Tyler said that every time they've tried to share their feelings about Teresa and Brandon, they've been accused by the public of "bashing" the adoptive parents — something Tyler noted is "a very common reaction from people regarding birth parents sharing their adoption experience."

He also said that he and Cate have "spent many years researching the effects that adoption has on adoptees," and that they've "come to understand just how important and vital it is for the adoptee to have access to their birth parents and what it does for their self-worth and identity as they develop." He said he's tried to share this information with Brandon and Teresa "to no avail."

At the end of the day, for Tyler and Cate, all of this "is about believing that Carly deserves that truth."

Here's hoping that one day, all parties will come to a solution that works well for everyone involved.