Why Kailyn Lowry Felt “Villainized” for Years Amid Co-Parenting Drama

Elliott

Kailyn Lowry was just 17 when she and high school boyfriend Jo Rivera welcomed their eldest son, Isaac Elliott Rivera, on Jan. 18, 2010.

And though they split a year later, the exes have settled into a comfortable co-parenting arrangement. "We’ve come a long way since we were 18," Kailyn wrote on X after attending Jo and now-wife Vee Rivera's 2018 wedding. "I couldn’t ask for a better stepmom." 

As for her oldest son, "We have literally grown up together, but in some ways he’s even more grown than I am," she wrote in an Instagram tribute on his 13th birthday. Describing the devoted Olivia Rodrigo fan, musician and basketball player as "thoughtful, brilliant, funny and at times a smartass," the Delaware State grad praised his caring heart. 

"I think what really inspires me about him is the way he challenges social norms," she wrote. "Because he is curious and open-minded, he can form his own thoughts and opinions." 

Elliott, who announced his intentions to go by his middle name on his mom's Barely Famous podcast in June 2025, while also coming out as gay, "accepts people for who they are and never how they’re 'supposed' to be," Kailyn wrote. "More people should be like him."

Lincoln

Lincoln Marshall Marroquin joined the squad on Nov. 16, 2013, roughly a year after the then-star of Teen Mom 2 wed his father Javi Marroquin. 

"Very much into sports," as Kailyn described the tween in a 2022 episode of her Barely Famous podcast, he spends a significant portion of his time bouncing between basketball and football games. He even had an NBA-themed bash for his 10th birthday, with a nod to his favorite player, Allen Iverson.

No surprise, then, that he provided an assist when it came time to think up a name for his youngest brother. "Verse came from Iverson, which is the name that Lincoln recommended," Kailyn revealed in a February 2024 TikTok. "Obviously, it would be on his list because he's a huge basketball fan."

And an all-star sibling. "To know Lincoln is to love him," she wrote in a 2022 birthday tribute. "Dedicated, smart, handsome and the best brother out there."

Lux

Football, wrestling, Rubik's Cubes and Michael Jackson—these are a few of Lux Russell Lowry's favorite things. 

Kailyn's first child with ex-boyfriend Chris Lopez, Lux was born on Aug. 5, 2017. Though she and Chris would continue their on-and-off romance for several years, "Right now, we don't communicate at all," she revealed to E! News in 2020. "I'm hoping that it will get better with time but I don't have a big vision. I don't have anything negative to say. I hope for our kids that everything works itself out in whatever direction that may be." 

And whichever way Lux heads, he's getting there fast. "Lux came into this world at lightning speed & has kept us on our toes every single day since," Kailyn wrote while celebrating his sixth birthday with a WWE-themed bash. "I love this little leo baby so much!"

Creed

Ahead of Creed Romello Lowry-Lopez's July 30, 2020 arrival, Kailyn admitted to wrestling with a huge decision. "I hid the pregnancy for so long just because I didn't know what I was going to do—if I was going to keep the baby or not," she explained to E! News shortly after his birth. "That was really heavy for me and I really, really was struggling during that time."

Though her relationship with Creed's dad Chris was notably rocky, one glance at his ultrasound sealed her decision.

Much like his older siblings—"All three of them have asked to hold the baby and they're super loving on him," Kailyn told E!—the podcaster was smitten from day one. 

"CREED. Romello. Mello. Romey. Rome. Biggie. Bigs," she wrote on his third birthday, a joint WWE fete with Lux. "No words could accurately describe my love for this little firecracker so I’ll save the sap for real life!"

Rio

"I wanted to be able to tell my own story on my own terms," Kailyn explained to People of keeping news of her fifth son Rio private until well after his November 2022 birth. 

Though she acknowledged he "had a little bit of a traumatic entrance into this world where he went to the NICU," due to breathing issues and fluid in his lungs, he's been "the best baby ever." 

First-time dad Elijah Scott deserves some props as well. "It's been very different from my other partners and my kids' other dads," she said of her ex-fiancé. "He pours concrete, he gets down and dirty at work. But he's also just a real family man. He's very, very much connected with his own family, with our family, and so he's been a really good partner to me, and I feel like it's a really good match."

Which is perhaps why her first few months with Rio inspired her to keep the party going. "Honestly, being a mom to four was harder than five, but I think that was because my number four is so spicy,” Kailyn revealed. “Number five is fantastic. He's the world's greatest baby like, if all my babies were like this, I'd have 10 more.”

Cut to...

Verse and Valley

Kailyn finally entered her girl mom era in late October 2023 with the arrival of Verse and Valley, her second and third children with Elijah. 

Valley (named for Kailyn's childhood growing up in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley), endured a longer NICU stay than her brother as she worked through some feeding issues. 

"I had never seen a baby in my life not wake up to eat or show signs of hunger," Kailyn explained on a January 2024 episode of Barely Famous. "She would just sleep through feedings. She never had any feeding cues and when I tried to feed her, she wouldn't take a bottle." 

And though Kailyn continues to worry about the twins' bond after their extended separation ("I'm trying to re-magnetize them to get them back to where they were") she's thrilled that her family is finally whole. 

"I feel grateful, thankful, fulfilled, happy, complete," she noted. "We're putting an addition on our house because of this. I feel so blessed. They are good babies."