Summary
The Plath family was accustomed to not consuming sugar, limited technology, and adhered to strict religious teachings. After five years of marriage,Ethan and Olivia announced their split, with Olivia sharing the news on her Instagram page. Olivia expressed that she started having doubts, which led to their separation. From the start, a few obvious things showed theWelcome To Plathvillecouple would eventually separate, and frankly, their separation wasn’t a surprise.
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She Was Ready To Change Her Childhood
Ethan and Olivia had nothing in common, and their differences were showcased more than once onWelcome To Plathville. They had contradicting opinions on children, morals, and politics. While Ethan wanted to control Olivia, she proved she was a free bird who wasn’t ready to be confined to one specific way of thinking - she had experienced the world differently. Olivia being free-spirited meant that she wasn’t comfortable living in Ethan’s hometown of Cairo, Georgia, so they moved away. TheWelcome to Plathvillereality starsresided in many places, including Tampa and Minnesota.
Olivia enjoyed living in Tampa. The city is bustling with people, and Olivia could explore her photography hobby and travel, which wasn’t Ethan’s style. Ethan, being introverted, enjoyedworking on old cars and barely enjoyed fun outingswith his wife. Having lived in an isolated world most of his life, Ethan finds it hard to make friends after moving away from his hometown. On the contrary, Olivia’s personality makes it easy to blend anywhere and communicate effectively with Ethan, who fears expressing his feelings to Olivia.
Perhaps her exposure somehow made Olivia more confident than Ethan, who was coming out of his shell and found it hard to adjust. Topping that with their communication problems meant that their marriage wouldn’t survive. Unlike Olivia, Ethan wasn’t good at stating what he felt and barely made compromises. The couple had gone through a couple of therapy sessions trying to work on their issues, but it didn’t help.He enjoyed his company, and at times, Olivia went too far when teasing Ethan about his hobbies, which he perhaps didn’t take kindly.
Olivia Was Honest
She Stayed True To Who She Was
Even thoughOlivia has often been painted as the villainwho caused chaos in the Plath home, she was genuine from the beginning. Never once did Olivia pretend to be someone, but she wasn’t. She was uncomfortable with their fundamental, solid beliefs, which eventually became a significant deal-breaker in their marriage. It was planned out in theWelcome To Plathvillefinale, where Ethan said:
“One of the biggest things that could be done on your end to attempt to make this work would be to go back and try mend your relationships with your family and try to get back to some of the roots and values that were instilled in you and how you grew up.”
Olivia was uninterested in returning to her parent’s religion. She viewed it as harmful to women. Olivia’s mom and dad, Don and Karen Meggs, brought her up with values similar to those of the Plaths. She had been looking forward to evolving, something theWelcome To Plathvillestar expressed to her then-husband Ethan. On the other hand, Ethanwas unhappy with the woman she was becoming. As a result, he tried to control her. Their incompatibilities became evident over time.
Ethan was unwilling to disconnect from the world he grew up in and wanted Olivia to stop being true to herself so she could fit into the life he had envisioned they’d have together. From the start, Olivia said shewould never have raised her children in suchan environment. Meaning she wanted a different lifestyle, which Ethan was aware of. Ethan often said he was okay with Olivia’s detachment from fundamental religion. Despite agreeing to move to another city with Olivia, Ethan was still hanging on to the life he knew and wanted to bring up his kids with the same fundamental beliefs.
Ethan Wasn’t Ready To Prioritize Olivia
Ethan and Olivia married young. Very few 18-20-year-olds have what it takes to keep a marriage alive. Ethan’s love for cars kept him away from Olivia. Sometimes, his hobby looked like it had turned into an obsession. Ethan was insensitive to Olivia’s childhood trauma and played a victim more than once, yet he wasn’t so good to her. Ethan still wanted to please his family and took sides, which left Olivia out.Ethan’s lack of empathypushed Olivia on the edge.
Kim Plath Was Too Controlling
She Was Too Involved
It’s safe to sayKim’s controlling behavior had a great partto play in the couple’s marriage dissolution. Ethan’s mom never liked Olivia. She accused her of being a lousy role model for her son. Kim constantly referred to Olivia’s “evil spirits” before banning her from the family home. As if that wasn’t enough, she turned her kids Micah and Moriah Plath against Olivia, claiming she was a drama queen. Kim switched it up on everyone with her unreasonable rules, which became hard for Olivia to handle,who was breaking the chains of domination.
Most Likely Not
Olivia and Ethan announced their split in October 2023 before filing for divorce in February.Welcome To Plathvilleseason 6revealed Ethanwas having a hard time moving onafter seeing Olivia for the first time since their separation. In his admission, Ethan claimed to know how to process the whole situation, adding that he never wanted to divorce.
“We haven’t officially gotten a divorce yet but I guess that’s around the corner. It’s sort of a mutual decision. I didn’t want it to happen, but I don’t see how we can make it work together, so it is what it is.”
There is a slim chance that theWelcome To Plathvillestars will work through their issues. Olivia confirmed she is in a relationship with someone new during a Q&A on her Instagram, calling him the “best thing.” In the trailer, Olivia also said there was potential (viaTLC). The 26-year-old star seems to have moved in and is happy in her relationship. Having married young, being opposites, and not getting support from their parents, the formerWelcome To Pathvilleis done for good.
Welcome to Plathvilleseason 6 airs on Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. EDT on TLC
Welcome To Plathville
Cast
Welcome to Plathville is a reality television series that follows the lives of the Plath family, a strongly conservative family with nine children that, while sharing some of their values, have begun to yearn for and seize their own independence. As the family tries to hold onto their old-world values, primarily separated from the rest of the country, they will reckon with their children’s newfound beliefs and clash with new family members from their spouses.
