Although several plots were concluded in TLC’s Welcome to Plathville season 5 finale, the tales were barely neatly tied off.
While parents Kim and Barry were finalising their divorce and amiably splitting assets, Ethan and Olivia came to a tearful decision on their marriage as the minutes ticked down on the Plath family reality series. Fortunately, Lydia was the one family member who couldn’t stop smiling.
In a beaming statement, the 19-year-old said, “I’ve actually been dating someone for quite a while.”
Though there was a picture of them taken outside with her beaming up at him as they took in the scenery from a high point, she did not reveal his name or reveal his face. Instead, she only said, “He is amazing, just an amazing man of God.”
She went on, “We met through mutual friends.” It is more lovely than I could have ever dreamed of, and it is sweeter than I could have ever asked for or imagined. Prior to putting it out there, we wanted to grow in our relationship and make sure we were stable and firm. For that reason, we wanted to keep it private. My family also loves him, as they are aware.”
Lydia said in closing that her conviction in marriage hasn’t been “shattered” by her parents’ divorce.
In relation to that, Kim, 51, and Barry, 55, were in a more tranquil setting than when viewers previously witnessed them interacting. They were packing up the last bits of their divorce and clearing out the family home in preparation for its impending sale.
The couple, who had been married for over 25 years when they revealed their intention to divorce in June 2022, appeared to be more at ease going forward than they had been earlier in the season as they split up everything from furniture to family portraits. The parents of 10 children.
“I feel like if Barry had been able to tune in emotionally to what’s going on years ago, then, you know, we would probably be on a different path right now,” Kim said.
Barry added, “After you go through the process of mourning the death of a relationship, there’s another chapter that begins. Yes, it has an end. You succeed in surviving. You do manage to survive. You think to yourself, “Well, maybe if I can make it through that and grow as a person, I can come out with a better understanding of relationships, hopefully for the next time around, if there is one.” I hope to have gained some knowledge.
“Kim and I will always be bonded through 25 years worth of great experiences,” he stated.
Kim expressed similar feelings: “The nicest aspects of my 25 years with Barry were all the children we brought into the world, raising them, watching them grow, laughing with them, and enjoying life together. Because of the lovely children that came from that 25 years of marriage, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
She also disclosed that she was still dating Ken Palmer, 57, that he had gotten to know all the local youngsters, and that she was still thinking about accepting his invitation to move in with him.
“I do see the inevitable happening down the road: Kim and her significant other attending a blended family event because, well, that’s what the kids want.” They desire their parents to be together. They want their parents to be together and for everything to be peaceful. I sometimes have to go above and above in order to get along,” Barry remarked. It’s incredible that I can now communicate with all of my kids again, even Ethan. I want children to know that they are just loved. There is no way to go wrong with such strategy. Since a great number of people have never heard their father say “I love you,”
In fact, over the season, 25-year-old Ethan Plath, the oldest of the Plath children and someone who had grown distant from everyone else, gradually started to mend his bonds with his father and siblings. His chat with his sister Moriah, with whom he had not communicated for almost a year, came to an end in the season finale. Although the chat wasn’t flawless, Ethan acknowledged that “we’re both trying, and that’s a start.”
A few other siblings of Plath sent updates: Micah, 22, who was thankful to be able to show some of his family members the beauty of California, ended the season still there. The 18-year-old, who was pursuing his pilot’s licence, disclosed that he still had a few months left in school but that he intended to be the family’s first college graduate with a four-year degree, with the goal of landing a position with an airline. Along with talking to Ethan, Moriah, 21, concluded the season by having her new song, “Circus,” play in the show.
For the last ten minutes, Plathville reserved the report from Ethan and Olivia, 25. The couple, who got married in October 2018 at the age of 20, had been having disagreements in the second half of the season over a number of significant issues, such as politics, religion, communication, and how to raise their hypothetical children. They had also been wondering if they should or could continue to be married.
It was evident early on in their couchside talk that they had reached a breaking point.
Ethan said to Olivia, who was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home and has been vocal about her bad experiences recently, “One of the biggest things that could be done on your end to try to make this work would be to go back and try to 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.” “I feel like if you’re searching for something that you haven’t found that maybe is trying to take the place of that, and I don’t know if there is a replacement.”
“My upbringing and the culture I lived in were designed with men in mind and served their needs. And to tell me that I should return to a society, a religion, and a way of thinking that taught me that I had no value without a spouse, that all I had to do to succeed in a relationship was to give in, accept, and make three meals a day while giving thanks to God,” she shot back. “I don’t think you understand the privilege you have to look at me and tell me I need to go back to that because it served you.”
“There are roles that a man plays that are different from roles that a woman plays, and that’s natural,” Ethan retorted. It’s innate in who we are. And the whole thing about preparing three meals a day—that’s one of the few secrets to winning a man over. How recently did you prepare a meal?
Afterwards, he said, “I feel like I have to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘This is the absolute limit where my personal views will let me go with where you are now,’ and that’s just not consistent with having kids in the mix. I told you once something I’d been keeping to myself for a long time: if there was anyone alive today with whom I could have children, I would want it to be you. And I sincerely hope that’s how things work out since I love you so much. However, I also feel compelled to uphold my morals and ideals, and given the way you have changed, I’m not sure how I can do that. There are simply some things that I don’t want the kids I raise to think and believe when they get older. To me, it comes down to principles.”
Olivia replied, “I’ll be damned if I repeat that. I’m the child of two people whose principles matter more than a relationship with their daughter,” with tears in her eyes. I do believe like you have chosen for us to not be together, and it hurts that I feel like I’ve given this relationship my all. However, I agree with the decision and believe it to be the best course of action for both of us in terms of our desired futures.”
“I love you as a person,” she continues. “Even if I believe we’re not meant to be romantically involved, I still adore you and wish the best for you. Nobody can claim that we didn’t try.”
It said on the last end card, “Olivia and Ethan have mutually decided to file for divorce.” On October 27, the couple made their breakup known to the public.
You can watch Welcome to Plathville online at Max.
