Kailyn Lowry Doesn’t ‘Love’ Being Attached to ‘Teen Mom’ Identity Amid ‘Fatherless Behavior’ Tour

Kailyn Lowry is hitting the road, but one thing from her past still follows her.

As the former reality star, 34, prepares to launch her Fatherless Behavior Podcast Tour, Lowry is opening up about building a career beyond Teen Mom and why she still struggles to shake the label that made her famous.

“I’m most likely never gonna be able to do that,” Lowry exclusively tells In Touch of distancing herself from the MTV franchise that helped launch her career. “I’ll never be Kail from Killr Network or Kail from Barely Famous podcast, and I understand that.”

The mom of seven — who exited Teen Mom 2 in May 2022 — admits she spent years trying to separate herself from MTV after feeling boxed in by the perception of being a reality TV personality.

“For a long time, I was like, ‘I need to step away.’ Take as many steps away from the Teen Mom franchise as I possibly can,” she says. “Because I don’t love that being attached to me…I wanted to remove myself from that for so long.”

Still, Lowry says she’s learned to accept that Teen Mom may always be part of her story, despite her successes in other ventures. In the years since her Teen Mom 2 departure, the Chapter 7 Book Club founder has expanded her podcast network, grown her media business and is preparing to take her on the road once again.

“I understand that, and I think I’m starting to accept that now,” she explains, though she admits “it sucks” when people overlook how much she’s built outside of reality television.

Lowry adds that she believes stars from the franchise have struggled to get the same opportunities as cast members from other reality shows.

“We were never asked to go to events because people wanted us there. We were asked to be seat fillers,” she recalls, adding that other reality personalities are often invited to compete on shows like The Masked Singer or Special Forces, which Teen Mom alumni rarely receive.

“I’m more than a Teen Mom, right?” Lowry says. “I got my bachelor’s degree, I run a podcast network, I have three shows … we are developing podcasts. We’re doing other things, but we’ll never get the credit for growing up.”

The conversation comes as Lowry gears up for her upcoming Fatherless Behavior Podcast Tour, which she described as less of a traditional podcast taping and more of a live, interactive comedy-style experience for fans.

The 20-date tour kicks off June 17 in Indianapolis and will feature special guests including some of Lowry’s former Teen Mom costars.

“I’ve been joking that it’s gonna be more of a comedy show than actual podcasting, because we just want to give the fans an experience,” she reveals. “Obviously sort of like a podcast but it won’t air. It’ll just be like the experience of watching us in person, and I just hope that in a dark time…it’s just a little bit of comedic relief.”