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Catelynn Baltierra and Tyler Baltierra revealed heartbreaking details about staying connected with their daughter Carly just hours ago. The Teen Mom couple shared they maintain contact through an email account after Carly’s adoptive parents cut communication.
🔥 Quick Facts
- Contact Method: Tyler revealed they write letters to a private email account weekly for Carly to access later
- Carly’s Age: Now 16 years old, placed for adoption in 2009 when Catelynn was just 16
- Adoption Closure: Brandon and Teresa Davis closed the open adoption in 2023 after being adoptive parents for 14 years
- Last Visit: Catelynn and Tyler haven’t seen Carly in person for over 2 years, according to previous podcast statements
The ‘Only Way’ They Stay Connected
During a Monday, April 27 appearance on the Cake for Dinner podcast, Tyler Baltierra opened up about his relationship with Carly, coming just hours after the initial People Magazine report. He stated plainly: “As far as our relationship goes, we don’t really have one.” The brutal honesty shocked listeners who have followed the couple’s adoption journey for years.
Tyler explained the creative solution he and Catelynn devised to maintain written contact. “I set up an email for her that me and Cate will write to that’s pretty much the only way we’re maintaining any kind of communication,” he shared. The couple sends letters and updates regularly, including photos of Carly’s younger siblings. Novalee, 11, Vaeda, 7, and Rya, 4 are all raised by Catelynn and Tyler directly.
Catelynn Baltierra reveals limited contact with daughter Carly through adoption agency channels
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The Heartbreaking Shift From Open Adoption
What began as an open adoption in 2009 transformed dramatically over the past three years. Brandon and Teresa Davis, Carly’s adoptive parents, closed the adoption in 2023 without explanation to the birth parents. Catelynn appeared on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter and claimed the adoptive parents told their adoption counselor they blocked her contact “for mental health reasons.” She recalled the emotional devastation of the sudden cutoff.
Catelynn also revealed that Teresa told their counselor they were “not allowed to send gifts anymore because it’s uncalled for.” Tyler expressed deep frustration during that episode, saying: “You have my kid, you can’t take my story, too.” The couple has since vowed not to discuss Carly publicly anymore, creating a boundary around their daughter’s privacy.
Timeline of Adoption and Contact Changes
| Year | Event |
| 2009 | Carly born, placed for adoption by 16-year-old Catelynn on MTV’s ’16 and Pregnant’ |
| 2009-2023 | Open adoption maintained with annual visits and regular communication (14 years) |
| 2023 | Brandon and Teresa closed adoption and blocked communication without explanation |
| 2024-Present | Email-only contact maintained as adoption agency liaison (May 2026) |
“We figured if we set up an email for her, and write to it, and one day if she ever wants it, we can give her the login and she can kind of just go through the email herself. We let her know that she’s not forgotten about.”
— Tyler Baltierra, Birth Father, Teen Mom
Tyler on Accepting Carly’s Future Choices
Tyler emphasized that Carly has complete autonomy over whether she wants a relationship with them going forward. “Me and Cate accept the fact that she may get older and want nothing to do with us. She might not even like us, which is okay,” he said with compassion for her perspective. “As her birth parent, my duty is to be there to answer the questions she has as an adoptee. I think she’s owed that.”
The Teen Mom OG star hopes his email archive will serve as a bridge someday between Carly and her birth family. He noted that Carly doesn’t currently have the login credentials to access years of heartfelt letters they’ve written. However, he remains hopeful she’ll want to read them eventually, discovering a chronicle of her family’s love and support from afar. In March 2026, their daughter Novalee appeared on the couple’s podcast and expressed deep longing for her older sister.
What’s Next for the Baltierra Family as Boundaries Shift?
Catelynn and Tyler have released a public statement saying they intend to stop discussing Carly’s adoption moving forward. The couple is protecting what little relationship remains through the adoption agency channels and private communication. Both parents continue raising their three other children and recently appeared on their podcast, Cate and Ty Break It Down, discussing broader adoption issues.
The reality of their situation highlights complex challenges facing open adoptions when receiving families decide to close communication. Catelynn struggled with the sudden severance from a child she brought into the world at 16 years old on national television. For Carly, now a teenager, the path to reconnection lies in her own hands and in a digital archive of letters waiting in an email account she may someday access. Will the family eventually find their way back to each other?
