Tyler Baltierra’s Sister, Amber, Claims Dad Butch Is Smoking and Drinking Again

Butch has gotten clean before.

On November 14, the 56-year-old celebrated being clean for a full year. “I had 365 days clean yesterday,” he wrote on the 15th. “I didn’t post anything because I was pretty busy, but I just want to tell you it’s not all that easy, and it ain’t all that hard.”

He was proud of his hard work.

“Am I struggling? Yeah. I struggle. I struggle every day,” she said. “I struggle every day that I don’t work a program or I keep in communication with my sponsor or follow direction. I struggle.”

It’s no easy feat.

“Yes, I think about smoking marijuana, I think about drinking every now and then,” he admitted at the time. “I’m not a big drinker, but I been thinking about it. But it’s not all that easy, but I know it’s easy when you work a program … That’s all I wanted to say.”

Tyler celebrated his successes on Instagram.

In January 2019, he gave an update about how both his father and his sister, who has also struggled with addiction issues, are doing. “After seeing these two at their lowest & now seeing them sober & steadily climbing, I just can’t say enough how proud I am of both of them!” he wrote.

They’d both come a long way.

“I am a firm believer that the power of unconditional love in a family can truly transform the dynamic & I’m just so happy to call these two my family … I love you both SO MUCH & I’m SO PROUD OF YOU!!!” Tyler gushed. “Words can’t express the amount of peace & joy I feel in my heart.”

But Butch may not be out of the woods just yet.

Recently, his daughter, Amber, 31, has cast doubt on his current sobriety. On March 31, she shared an album of photos on Facebook that she alleged show texts between herself and her dad’s new on-and-off girlfriend where things get seriously nasty.

In the comments, things heated up.

While talking with friends, she confirmed that her dad is still with this woman, despite the awful things she’s sent in her text messages. When one commented if that meant that Butch is no longer sober, that’s when Amber claimed he’d fallen off the wagon.

“Is Butch using again?” asked a friend.

“He’s smoking weed,” claimed Amber. “He [will] drink a couple beers here and there as well. He thinks he can manage all this, but it will progress into something big again. That’s what this disease does.”

She’s worried for her dad.

The Ashley’s Reality Roundup claims that Butch is still actively posting on Facebook about a 12-step program he works, and on his Instagram account he has posted about going to church, but he has yet to confirm or deny Amber’s claims.

Amber is an addict herself.

In May 2018, her father and ex-husband confirmed to Radar Online that she had entered a rehabilitation program. Amber seemed to hint at the news herself in an Instagram post she shared at the time. “I’m gonna miss you these 90 days,” she told her kids in a photo caption. “You both deserve nothing but the best, and I will give that to you.”

She’s now several months sober.

In February 2018, she posted an eight and nine-month chip, crediting everyone who’s supported her for making it this far. “So surreal and just admiring staying in the present and [doing] the next right thing,” she wrote, hashtagging her brother’s name.

She couldn’t have done it alone.

“Your support makes me feel so good,” she told her fans and friends in the comments. “You really have no idea. Thank you all so much. Recovery isn’t all sparkles and rainbows with unicorns. It definitely is a way better life style.”

But addiction isn’t easy.

Tyler knows that simply from watching his family members struggle with it over the years. In October 2018, Teen Mom OG showed Butch making amends with his kids. “I remember this was an emotional week for me,” Tyler wrote on Twitter. “Anyone who has experienced addiction or the recovery process knows that this part of the 12 steps is intense … but I would do it as many times as needed for my family & the people I love!”

Amber speaks from experience, too.

In a long Facebook update also shared March 31, she reflected on what it’s like living as an addict. “You don’t know me, but I am an addict,” she posted in an essay that she’d copied and pasted from other addiction survivors. “I am one of the ‘junkies’ you love to bash whenever someone mentions addiction on social media or hear it in conversation. I know it’s hard to forgive the things we sometimes do because of our addiction, but I have a question for you. What is the worst thing you have ever done? Obviously, I won’t get an answer to this question but think about it. The thing that you hate that you did. You know, that one thing that not too many people even know about. Well, what if everyone knew about it? What if for the rest of your life you were labeled by that one act that you would erase in a second if you had the chance? That is what being an addict is like, kind of.”

The post got deep.

“Now, I don’t feel like being an addict is the worst thing a person can be or do,” it continued. “You, however, feel like it’s a terrible thing. Don’t get me wrong: If I could erase it from my life, I would. In an instant, it would be gone, but I don’t have that option. I can’t even do what you do and pretend that this thing I did didn’t happen. In order for me to ensure it never happens again, I have to work hard on making sure it doesn’t. If I don’t, my disease will tell me I can have a drink or do a line and not fall back into full-blown addiction, but I will.”

She encouraged everyone to have empathy, family and friends included.

“Before you write another post bashing people who are suffering, think about it,” the post pleaded. “Not only are you hurting the people who have the disease, you could be hurting everyone that loves them. You have people on your friends list or people that may overhear you at work who have children who are suffering right this moment from addiction. What did they do to deserve the awful things you put out into the universe that do nothing but perpetuate hate and judgment?”

That means having empathy for all the Baltierras.

Those struggling with addiction and those hurt by it. Hopefully they can all support each other and come out the other side of this even stronger.

Tyler and Butch Baltierra have not yet responded to In Touch‘s request for comment.