Teen Mom OG's Catelynn Lowell Baltierra's Highs and Lows, from a Baby on the Way to PPD
Catelynn Lowell, then 16, welcomed her firstborn daughter Carly on 16 and Pregnant alongside then-boyfriend Tyler Baltierra. The pair opted for an adoption plan to provide their child with a stable home. Holding her for the first time, the couple cried as they said their goodbyes. “We can do this ... this is all for her,” Tyler told Catelynn.
Tyler poured his heart out to Catelynn in season 1 of Teen Mom, describing how much she meant to him and eventually asking her to marry him. "I want you to be mine forever — I want you to grow old with me," he said, to which Catelynn responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!"
Tyler and Catelynn reunited with their biological daughter and her parents, Teresa and Brandon, during season 2 of Teen Mom. The moment lives on in MTV history — and in Catelynn’s heart — as the picnic they shared was filled with smiles and joy.
Catelynn's insecurities about her physical appearance and her relationship with Tyler came to the forefront during season 3. Speaking to a counselor in a joint therapy session, Catelynn expressed her fears that Tyler might leave her for another girl. "We’re at totally different stages in our life,” she said. "There’s like so many different women. I’m totally not Tyler’s type at all. I guess that’s what freaks me out. I’m not good enough for him. I’m not tiny. I guess I always wish I could be better. I feel like I have to change in order to keep him around."
After almost 10 years together (they started dating in middle school!), Tyler and Catelynn finally tied the knot in an intimate ceremony with family and friends in August 2015, a few months after the birth of Nova. Their wedding was attended by their Teen Mom costars, including Amber Portwood and Maci Bookout.
Catelynn and Tyler expressed their concern about being shut out of Carly’s life to their adoption counselor, Dawn, in season 6. The duo hadn’t seen Carly in about a year and struggled with the lack of recent contact with Carly's parents. "They need to just let me know, are… are we done having visits forever?" Catelynn asked, breaking down. "Until she’s 18 I’ll hear nothing from her? It’s just hard because I was f------ 16 years old when I made this decision."
Taking place away from the cameras, Carly and Nova's first meeting was commemorated by both Catelynn and Tyler on Instagram. Catelynn told PEOPLE seeing the two meet helped manage her anxiety. "We went to the beach so we were feeding ducks with bread," Catelynn said of the easygoing afternoon. "Carly just wanted to hold Nova immediately and be like, 'Can I feed her? Can I hold her?' "
In season six, Catelynn was forced to face her fears that Tyler would leave her for another woman, which he addressed during a getaway to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. "Do you wholeheartedly in your soul believe that I’m not going to leave you?" Tyler asked her. While the question lingered, the two discussed how to be better spouses for each other.
Tyler announced Catelynn would be leaving treatment for suicidal thoughts in early December, expressing his excitement in a tweet, “Cate gets out of treatment this Friday & we can’t wait!” Catelynn also tweeted about her joy, writing, “So excited for the future and seeing my family!! Six weeks of treatment and I feel good! Gotta work it when I get home thanks for all your support #KeepTalkingMH.”
Catelynn discussed the possibility of having another baby with Tyler after he expressed his desire to expand their family in a December episode of Teen Mom OG. She considered taking out her IUD but said her fear might be too great. “It’s a daily fight in my mind to not be afraid of postpartum [depression],” she told Tyler, adding, “I can’t let my mind stop me from one of the most amazing things ever.”
The couple’s concerns about being kept away from Carly mounted in season 7. Catelynn broke down while the two were talking to Dawn after they had made plans to meet Carly’s adoptive parents. “I try not to make it difficult,” she said, tearing up. "I’m willing and trying and offering. And then I get ignored for months and I try. I feel like I get punished because my kid asks questions about me, or she wants to know where she comes from. What [did they] think adoption is? She’s going to do that."
Tyler worried about his father Butch’s health during an episode in early January. Speaking to Catelynn, he wondered if Butch should enter rehab once again. Admitting that he was “always going to feel angry” about his father’s substance abuse issues, Tyler set out to convince his father to seek treatment again. Butch seemed receptive, saying, “Yeah, yeah, I’m ready. I can’t be doing what I’ve been doing. I slow down a lot.”
Catelynn revealed she was headed back to rehab in mid-January, tweeting, “Well they say third times a charm… I’m going back to treatment people for 6 weeks to work on my trauma and getting on different meds. THANK YOU @TylerBaltierra I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! You are my light!! And nova you are my sunshine #KeepTalkingMH.” During 16 and Pregnant, Catelynn struggled with her mother’s substance abuse issues and constantly argued with her.
Tyler announced in a video shared on Twitter that he was going to a therapy appointment, just five days after Catelynn revealed she would be returning to rehab. "I made it. I made it to my therapist appointment," Tyler said in the video. "Putting in a little self care today, know what I mean? Sometimes you have to put yourself ahead of some other people sometimes in life. Doesn’t mean you don’t love ’em or care about ’em. It just means you love ’em enough to put yourself first so you can be the best ‘you’ you can be."
Catelynn Baltierra Teases That She's Pregnant Again on Teen Mom
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Ups and Downs
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