Teen Mom’s Tyler Baltierra is defending biological daughter Carly’s adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa Davis, after an Instagram follower claimed they “exploited” him and wife Catelynn Lowell.
Baltierra and Lowell, both 34, placed their firstborn up for adoption back in 2009, a process they documented on season 1 of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. Since then, the childhood sweethearts have gone on to get married and welcomed three more daughters: Novalee, 11, Vaeda, 7, and Rya, 5.
Earlier this week, the reality star shared a screenshot of a comment he received via Instagram, as well as his response, about Carly’s adoption process, per The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.
“Tyler, you and Cate were completely exploited throughout this horrible situation. They had no right!” a follower wrote to Baltierra. “You guys didn’t have any support whatsoever! And Teresa and Brandon look like a bunch of condescending vultures preying on an extremely vulnerable young mom and dad.”
“You deserve and deserved better! You were taken advantage of, lied to, and betrayed,” the follower alleged.
In response, Baltierra defended the Davises and asked his followers not to disparage them.
“As much as I appreciate your support & ability to see the situation for what it is, I also believe that her parents love her dearly & she loves them just as much,” the podcaster and author wrote. “So regardless of the ‘how’ or ‘why,’ they indeed are her parents. So please try & refrain from calling them unnecessary names like ‘condescending vultures.’”
Baltierra continued, “I know & recognize there is a lot of pain & anger in the adoption community, no doubt about it & those feelings deserve a space. But I also don’t want to add to any of that pain & anger by [Carly] possibly reading comments about the parents she loves.”
“Again, I truly appreciate your support & unapologetic stance, I hope you understand where I’m coming from, because it only comes from the place of love!” he concluded.
In another Instagram Story, also documented by The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, Baltierra dispelled the idea that he forced Lowell to give Carly up for adoption and made her choose between him and the baby.
“This is completely false & just one of the many conspiracy theories out there about me & my wife & our relinquishing experience,” he wrote. “We’ve addressed this so many times already, but I still think it’s important to do so. Because not only is this rumor NOT true, but it’s INCREDIBLY cruel to minimize my wife’s decision down to some sort of self-preservation choice. Because the primal love & pain that’s required to relinquish your own baby is the complete opposite of self-preservation.”
He went on, “We both had adolescent fears & worries the whole pregnancy. We both flip-flopped many times, where I wanted to parent & she did not & vice versa. But one fact remains…we BOTH wanted to take her home that day.”
“So all this rumor/conspiracy theory does is take away my wife’s sacrificial love & power to do what she felt was right for her baby, out of pure desperation,” Baltierra continued. “I really wish, moving forward, that people would show her more respect & grace for that decision, rather than unjustifiable & unnecessary opinions that only minimize her experience & spread false information. She deserves better!”
He concluded, “There are lots of rumors/conspiracy theories about me & my wife & most of them we simply laugh at. But this is one I really wish would stop. It’s a disservice to my wife’s experience as a birthmother. Please do better!”