Catelynn Lowell Confesses She Feels Guilty Over Adoption Of Her First Daughter

Catelynn Lowell is the only mom on the Teen Mom franchise to have given up her daughter for adoption, which creates an entirely separate journey for her and her husband, Tyler Baltierra when it comes to the narrative of the show. The pair spent the first several seasons of the show without a child to focus on, and instead got married and started to pursue an education and passion projects.

Catelynn and Tyler agreed to adopt out their oldest daughter, Carly, to a couple named Brandon and Teresa in an open adoption situation. Originally, the couple appeared on Catelynn Lowell’s episode of 16 & Pregnant, in addition to appearing now and again on episodes of Teen Mom OG. However, in recent years, the couple has stopped being as open about their daughter, Carly, and has asked that she no longer appear on the show in order to protect her identity.

Carly used to appear on Teen Mom OG during the yearly visit between the parents and Catelynn and Tyler, but they have taken to blurring her face and now not showing her at all. Brandon and Teresa have also asked that Catelynn and Tyler do not mention her during the filming of the show, which has angered Tyler especially.

Although Carly is not in their everyday lives, they keep her with them in everything they do, and they make sure that their younger daughter, Novalee Reign, is aware that she does have an older sister that doesn’t live with them. The pair has also spoken to other teenagers who are pregnant and are interested in placing their child up for adoption.

Originally, Catelynn Lowell’s family pushed back against her decision to adopt, but Catelynn says that her mother’s addiction issues and revolving door relationships were partially the reason why she ultimately decided to give Carly up for adoption.

During the next episode of Teen Mom OG,Tyler Baltierra tells co-star Maci Bookout that Catelynn Lowell still has a lot of feelings about Carly’s adoption she hasn’t dealt with yet.

“She gets bothered by Carly. She tries to be happy, but it bothers her bad. She’s got a lot of guilt,” he tells her.

Catelynn then elaborates on some of her feelings.

“When you’re 16 and you’re so scared and you place a child, then when you’re 24 and you actually have one, you’re like, ‘Wow, I could have, like, a 7-year-old, 8-year-old running around — this could be something. It just makes you question everything, you know?”

The couple has expressed their desire to have more children, but Catelynn Lowell suffered from very severe postpartum depression after the birth of Novalee Reign. While Tyler has expressed his desire to have a son, Catelynn has stated that the depression she faced makes her very hesitant to have another child. She recently tweeted that she was upset that “postpartum scared her away from everything.”

According to Catelynn, the depression she faced made her paralytic at times, and although fans often accused her of being lazy after watching her on the show, she was actually just suffering badly.

The postpartum depression put a huge strain on her relationship with Tyler, and at several points, he felt like leaving her. However, he has persisted with their relationship and has stated that he isn’t going anywhere and wants to support her on her journey.

Maci Bookout, who is good friends with Catelynn Lowell and her husband, has expressed interest in wanting to adopt sometime in the future, but she may do it down the line when Jayde and Maverick are a little bit older.

[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Stringer/Getty Images]