UPDATE — 4/13/26, 12:40 p.m. ET
Cory Wharton and Taylor Selfridge’s 3-year-old daughter, Maya, is “finally home” after spending 18 days in the hospital.
“What started off as thinking it was a stomach bug turned into something so much bigger. My baby is a fighter, the strongest little human ever,” Taylor, 31, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, April 12. “She’s still healing but we are finally back in California.”
The Teen Mom alum noted that there’s a “lot to unpack,” but for now she and Cory, 35, are just “grateful” they were able to bring their “baby home.”
“Thank you Cook Children’s CICU in Fort Worth, TX, for saving my baby’s life. And thank you god 🙏🏻,” Taylor added.
Cory also shared an update with fans after Maya — who was born with a rare congenital heart defect called tricuspid atresia, which required two open-heart surgeries — returned home over the weekend.
He noted via Instagram on Monday, April 13, that his “worst nightmare became a reality” when he got a call saying Maya was being airlifted to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, while he was halfway across the globe.
“Watching my daughter fight through this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. These days [have] tested everything in me,” Cory shared. “Fear, pain, uncertainty… all of it. But through it all, Maya never stopped being strong. She reminded me what courage really looks like. I’ll carry this forever. I’ve never been more proud to be her dad.”
Cory revealed that although Maya is home, it is “just the beginning” of his daughter’s latest health journey.
“She’s already faced two open-heart surgeries, and now we’re here again — this time fighting for two of her most vital organs, her lungs and her heart,” he wrote, noting he would go into more detail “soon.”
Cory added, “I’m just happy that we got released from the hospital and got back to California safely. Again my message for years has been this, HEALTH IS WEALTH & as long as you’re healthy you’re the richest man or woman in the world! ❤️✊🏽.”
Original story below:
Teen Mom alums Taylor Selfridge and Cory Wharton have been facing a difficult time as their 3-year-old daughter, Maya, has remained in the hospital for over two weeks.
“16 days in the hospital … this is the longest stay/most stressful one we’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot,” Taylor, 31, shared in her Snapchat caption on Tuesday, April 7, alongside a photo of Maya playing on her tablet. “She’s getting much better hoping to get out of here soon. It’s a long story and I’ll give you guys an update when we get back home.”
Maya was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect called tricuspid atresia at birth, a condition that requires a series of open-heart surgeries to manage oxygen flow. Maya successfully underwent her final scheduled procedure in October 2025.
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“It’s been a lot. We all need therapy after this … But she’s doing good,” Taylor said in another video update posted on Snapchat. “She’s doing so much better. You guys have no clue. We’re hoping to get out of here this week.”
Taylor made sure her daughter felt comfortable and supported, remaining by her side as she rested during her hospital stay.
“You want to go see the puppies?” the influencer asked Maya, revealing that her daughter was no longer on oxygen and finally able to leave the room, “so we’re moving and grooving.”
Taylor said she would share more at a later time after fans expressed their concerns after she appeared to be MIA on social media. Furthermore, several spoiler accounts for The Challenge reported that Cory, 35, had flown home while filming season 42 in Thailand.
Cory’s ex — and fellow Teen Mom alum — Cheyenne Floyd also noted that she was watching Cory and Taylor’s cat while they were handling a personal situation in an update shared via social media, according to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup. (Cory shares daughter Ryder, who just turned 9 on Tuesday, with Cheyenne, 33, and daughters Mila, 5, and Maya with Taylor.)
Back in October, Taylor shared a post celebrating her daughter’s successful heart surgery.
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“Maya had her final open heart surgery called the Fontan 🫀 before the Fontan her blood was mixing oxygenated blood and non-oxygenated blood, which caused her to have low oxygen to her lungs,” she shared, noting that Maya would hopefully see a drastic improvement from 75-80 percent naturally for oxygen flow to the low 90s as her body adapted.
“That being said, we just finished the final surgery that we’ve been waiting for about four years since I was pregnant with her 🥺,” she added. “This will be a forever health issue for her, but she should never need another open heart surgery again and if she does, she will probably be older than me now.”
