Teen Mom OG’s Tyler Baltierra was humbled after he received a compliment from a fan who praised his parenting skills.
The original tweet read: “POINTS @TylerBaltierra!!! Your daughter cant even comprehend a father not being present. THAT’S how amazing you’re doing. If you’re even questioning that, you’re killing it bruh.”
Tyler replied, “Damn…thank you so much, seriously. I never thought about it like that!”
The fan’s tweet was in reference to this week’s episode of Teen Mom OG.
After Tyler’s mom revealed that his sister Amber had relapsed, he dealt with some strong emotions about his father’s addiction. During Tyler’s childhood, his father Butch was an addict and was in and out of jail.
The trauma of having an absent father with addiction issues has caused Tyler to have long-lasting emotional effects and he’s held on to “bitterness and anger.”
Nova asked Tyler and Catelynn some tough questions
Nova overheard Tyler and Catelynn talking and had a lot of questions for her parents as she tried to process their conversation.
Tyler explained that although Butch was a nice person, he just had a lot of problems. He told Nova that her grandfather was sick.
He said, “He just was sick. He had an illness that caused him to make bad decisions.”
Nova pressed on with her questions, and Tyler and Catelynn were resilient in answering them.
When Nova heard Tyler say to Catelynn that he couldn’t understand why Amber didn’t learn from her own father’s absence, she asked Tyler why he “didn’t have a dad.”
She couldn’t comprehend what it meant for a parent to be absent from their child’s life.
Tyler told her it was because he decided to break the law and was in prison a lot. Tyler did his best to explain to Nova what breaking the law meant, and why her Papa Butch went to jail.
When Tyler and Catelynn told Nova that making bad choices that are illegal means going to prison, she replied, “Oh, well, that’s stupid.”
Tyler’s follower pointed out that Nova wasn’t grasping the concept that some children grow up without a father present in their life. The fact that Nova didn’t even consider that, proved the fan’s point that Tyler was doing a good job.
Other fans stopped by to show their support
One follower told Tyler, “I think you are such [an] amazing Dad in so many ways!!!! I never really had my father in my life he was out so much more [than] in my life I absolutely love watching you be a Dad!!!! You are such an inspiration in so many ways I don’t have enough room to write,”
Another fan commented, “I was so impressed with your daughter’s line of questioning and trying to comprehend why your father is not in your life. Kudos!”
By being a constant, present father for his kids, Tyler proved he was being an amazing parent by setting the example. Tyler later revealed that he questioned his parenting because he did not have someone to look up to.
Catelynn, who he’s been with Tyler for 15 years, offered emotional support when he doubted himself.
Following the episode, Tyler called Catelynn his “rock” and “best friend” in a thoughtful tweet.
Teen Mom OG airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on MTV.