It was 2009. The world was a different place, and MTV was about to change the landscape of reality television forever with a show that felt like a punch to the gut. We all remember Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra. They weren’t just another couple on 16 and Pregnant; they were the ones who broke our hearts. While other girls were picking out cribs, Catelynn and Tyler were sitting in a lawyer's office, preparing to sign away their parental rights.
They chose adoption. They chose Brandon and Theresa Davis to raise their daughter, Carly.
But where is Carly from 16 and Pregnant now? It’s the question that has haunted the Teen Mom fandom for over fifteen years. If you’re looking for a simple Instagram handle to follow or a "where are they now" photo gallery, you’re going to be disappointed. And honestly, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.
The Reality of a "Semi-Open" Adoption
Most people think adoption is binary. You either never see the kid again, or you’re all one big happy "bonus" family. Reality is way messier. Catelynn and Tyler signed up for an open adoption, but "open" is a sliding scale. It isn't a legally binding visitation schedule in the way a divorce decree is. In the state of Michigan (and North Carolina, where the Davis family lives), the adoptive parents hold the cards. They have the final say on what "open" looks like.
For Carly, now a teenager, life is lived entirely off-camera.
Brandon and Theresa made a hard pivot years ago. They saw the explosion of Teen Mom OG and decided that their daughter shouldn't be a plot point in a reality TV script. They pulled back. They stopped filming. They restricted the photos Catelynn and Tyler could share on social media. It caused massive friction. You probably remember the episodes where Tyler would vent his frustrations, feeling like he was being silenced or "punished" for being his authentic self.
It’s a tough spot. You have birth parents who rose to fame by sharing their trauma, and adoptive parents who view that very fame as a threat to their child's privacy.
What We Actually Know About Carly Today
Carly was born on May 18, 2009. Do the math. She’s sixteen now. She’s a young woman navigating high school, friendships, and her own identity. While we don't see her face, Catelynn and Tyler occasionally drop crumbs of information after their yearly visits.
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The visits still happen. Usually.
There was a long stretch where things were incredibly tense. In 2019 and 2020, communication seemed to hit a wall. But more recently, the "adoption triad"—the birth parents, the adoptive parents, and the child—has found a fragile peace. Catelynn has mentioned in interviews and on Teen Mom: Next Chapter that they still see Carly about once a year. These meetings are private. No cameras. No microphones. Just a few hours in a park or a hotel room trying to bridge a gap that feels miles wide.
Catelynn has described Carly as being "tall" and "beautiful," noting how much she looks like her biological sisters, Nova, Vaeda, and Rya. It’s wild to think that Carly has three full biological sisters she barely knows. That’s a heavy weight for a teenager to carry.
The Distance Between Two Worlds
The contrast is staggering. Catelynn and Tyler live a very public, somewhat chaotic life in Michigan. They’ve dealt with mental health struggles, tax liens, and the relentless pressure of being reality stars for their entire adult lives. On the flip side, Carly is being raised in a stable, private, upper-middle-class environment in North Carolina.
Brandon and Theresa aren't the villains. They're parents.
Think about it from their perspective. They adopted a baby, not a reality show. When the show became a global phenomenon, they had to build a fortress around Carly. They wanted her to have a "normal" life where she isn't "the girl from MTV." Because of that choice, Carly from 16 and Pregnant now is a person, not a character. She’s someone who gets to decide for herself when she’s 18 whether she wants to step into the spotlight or stay in the shadows.
The Struggle for Boundaries
Tyler has always been the one to push the envelope. He’s an artist, he’s vocal, and he’s fiercely protective of his "right" to his daughter. But the law doesn't care about his feelings. This is the nuance most viewers miss. When you sign those papers, you relinquish the right to demand anything.
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Everything Catelynn and Tyler get—every photo, every text, every 4-hour visit—is a gift from Brandon and Theresa.
Recently, Catelynn shared that Carly and her eldest sister, Nova, have a burgeoning relationship. They’ve been able to FaceTime. For fans who have been watching since the beginning, this feels like a massive win. It’s the first sign that the next generation is taking control of their own relationships. Nova knows who Carly is. She knows she has an older sister out there.
Why the Fans Won't Let Go
Why are we still talking about this? Because Catelynn and Tyler’s story is the "perfect" adoption story that turned out to be perfectly human and perfectly flawed. They didn't "give her up" because they didn't want her; they placed her for adoption because they were living in a house with addiction and poverty and didn't see a way out.
Seeing Carly from 16 and Pregnant now—or at least hearing about her—provides a sense of closure that life rarely gives us. We want to know it worked. We want to know she’s happy.
But there’s a darker side to the curiosity. The "fandom" can be toxic. People have actually tried to track down Carly’s school or find her private social media accounts. This is exactly why Brandon and Theresa went dark. The obsession with "finding" Carly is the very thing that keeps her birth parents from being allowed to share more.
The Impact on Catelynn and Tyler
It’s not all sunshine. The trauma of the adoption is the central nervous system of Catelynn’s life. She’s been open about her struggles with panic attacks and depression, much of which stems from the "what ifs" surrounding Carly.
They are the only couple from the original franchise who stayed together. That’s statistically insane. Most teenage relationships don't survive a Tuesday, let alone an adoption and sixteen years of reality TV fame. Their bond is forged in the shared loss of their first daughter.
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They’ve used their platform to advocate for adoption awareness, but they’ve also become a cautionary tale about the complexities of "open" agreements. They’ve taught a generation that adoption doesn't end when the baby goes home with the new parents. It’s a lifelong, evolving relationship that requires an immense amount of humility and sacrifice from everyone involved.
What Happens When She Turns 18?
We are less than two years away from Carly’s 18th birthday. That is the "Golden Date" for Teen Mom fans.
In the eyes of the law, at 18, Carly becomes an adult. She can choose to fly to Michigan. She can choose to go on the show. She can choose to write a tell-all book, or she can choose to change her name and never speak to the media again.
Honestly? If she’s been raised with the values Brandon and Theresa seem to hold, she’ll likely stay private.
Catelynn and Tyler are clearly bracing for that moment. They’ve spent years "walking on eggshells," as Tyler once put it, to ensure they didn't ruin the relationship before she hit adulthood. They’ve played by the rules, even when they hated the rules.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Observers
If you’ve been following this story, it’s easy to feel entitled to information. We watched her birth. We watched the first time they handed her over. But respecting the boundaries of the Davis family is actually the best way to support Catelynn and Tyler.
- Acknowledge the legal reality. Open adoption is a good-faith agreement, not a legal mandate. The power dynamic is inherently skewed toward the adoptive parents.
- Stop the search. Searching for Carly’s private information or photos is a violation of a minor’s privacy. If her parents wanted her seen, she would be seen.
- Understand the trauma. Catelynn and Tyler’s behavior—their occasional lashing out or deep bouts of sadness—is a natural byproduct of a very public, very complicated grieving process.
- Wait for her voice. The only person whose opinion on this truly matters is Carly. Until she decides to speak, everything else is just speculation from the sidelines.
The story of Carly from 16 and Pregnant now is still being written, but the pen is currently in her hands, not MTV’s. That is exactly how it should be. She isn't a "missing person." She’s a teenager living a life that she didn't ask to have televised, and the fact that we know so little about her is actually the greatest sign that Brandon and Theresa succeeded as parents.
They gave her the one thing the show couldn't: a normal life.
Next steps? If you're interested in the nuances of birth parent rights, look into the specific adoption laws in your state, as they vary wildly from Michigan's "contractual" approach to more modern statutes in other regions. Supporting organizations like On Your Feet Foundation can also provide insight into the post-placement reality for birth parents like Catelynn and Tyler.