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Catelynn Lowell is setting the tone for 2026.
And it’s sounding a lot like how the Teen Mom star spent 2025: lamenting Carly’s adoption.
This time, however, she’s not talking about the past — but about the future.
The hope of making contact with an adult Carly in just a couple of years is, at times, all that keeps her going.
Catelynn Lowell is holding on to hope
Over the first weekend of 2026, Catelynn Lowell took to her TikTok page to share that she is “not okay.”
“Some days I’m okay for the most part,” she began her caption.
“Then others I am flooded with emotions, what’s ifs, and guilt,” Catelynn wrote.
As for the video itself, it is a montage of photos featuring Carly, starting on the day of her birth.
Naturally, it is not a very long montage. Catelynn only has so many photos of her and Tyler’s firstborn. That is, from her perspective, part of the whole problem.
@catebaltierra Somedays I’m okay for the most part… Then others I am flooded with emotions, what’s ifs and guilt… I don’t think people understand that this pain and sorrow never goes away. The missing and wanting to know never fades… I wouldn’t wish this type of sadness and grief on my worst enemies. I guess I just hold onto the hope. The hope that maybe one day, we will all be able to have a conversation when she’s grown… the hope is the only thing that gets me through right now. #relinquishment #ptsd #grief ♬ I Am Not Okay – Jelly Roll
“I don’t think people understand that this pain and sorrow never goes away,” she lamented.
“The missing and wanting to know never fades,” Catelynn then expressed.
She assured: “I wouldn’t wish this type of sadness and grief on my worst enemies.”
As she continued, Catelynn suggested: “I guess I just hold onto the hope.”
She explained: “The hope that maybe one day, we will all be able to have a conversation when she’s grown.”
She hopes to one day hear from Carly, even if she has to wait for Carly to turn 18
“The hope is the only thing that gets me through right now,” Catelynn Lowell admitted.
She also included three tags: “#relinquishment #ptsd #grief.”
Her words make it clear that she is holding onto the idea that, one day, Carly will choose to reconnect with her and Tyler.
Brandon and Teresa Davis cut off communications with the couple.
Carly is 16. She was born in May of 2009. It won’t even be a year and a half before she’s a legal adult and can make her own choices.
The Davis family is very polarizing for Teen Mom fans. One of their defenders, however, took to the comments to argue with Catelynn.
“If she chooses to reach out to you someday then that’s a bonus and, if not, you have to know that the decision you made for her at birth was the right one for all involved,” the commenter suggested.
“Agree with what you say,” Catelynn began in her reply.
“But I don’t think people know the full impact it has on the birth parents for their lives,” she continued.
Catelynn then affirmed: “It will all be up to her and I’m okay with that.”
Will Carly choose to make contact?
Some adoptees feel a powerful urge in early adulthood to make contact with a birth parent. This can mean wanting answers or simply wanting to connect with more family.
Carly likely has all of the answers that she needs. She’s 16 years old — obviously much too young to be a parent.
It is possible that she will want to form a relationship with Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra when she is an adult.
That said, it is also possible that she will not. And, if so, it could be as much because of how her birth parents have conducted themselves as it is about anything that Brandon and Teresa have or haven’t said.
Carly deserves her best chance at life, and has a right to decide for herself who is and is not part of her family.
Catelynn Lowell: Hope of Reuniting with Carly is ‘Only Thing’ Keeping Me … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.