Welcome to Plathville star Ethan Plath reflects on his personal growth following his divorce Olivia Plath.
“Same car, same place, same person. “April 2024 vs. April 2022,” Ethan, 25, wrote via Instagram on Friday, April 25, along with side-by-side photos of himself two years apart. “It’s amazing what pain does to you! So many times in the last year I wanted to give up and give up, but I didn’t and I think life makes me stronger.”
The post comes two months after Ethan and Olivia, 26, filed joint divorce papers, citing an “irretrievable breakdown.” They gave their official separation date as February 25, 2023, although the couple only announced their separation in October.
“Ethan and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Olivia wrote in an Instagram statement at the time. “I have ambivalent memories of us being 18 years old, innocently dreaming of eternity – but the partner you choose is a reflection of the world you want to live in, and at 18 I didn’t know who I was or what a life I wanted to create something for myself.”
Welcome to Plathville stars Ethan Plath and Olivia Plath faced a number of challenges before calling it quits. The reality stars married in October 2018 after being engaged for almost a year. Regardless of the occasion, the newlyweds had tensions with Ethan’s ultra-conservative parents Kim and Barry Plath early in their relationship. “When […]
She noted that she has since begun a “journey of questioning, deconstructing and rebuilding” that she will “continue to prioritize” as she moves forward.
“There were beautiful moments and I want to remember them and honor them. We fell in love as children and went our separate ways as adults. Smarter, older and braver,” she continued. “Thank you for the great time, Ethan. I wish you the best.”
Ethan shared his own Instagram statement at the time, noting that both he and Olivia “gave it their all” to try to make their marriage work.
“Welcome to Plathville” introduced viewers to Barry and Kim Plath and their nine children when the reality show premiered on TLC in November 2019. According to the series description, the couple’s children — Ethan, Hosanna, Micah, Moriah, Lydia, Isaac, Amber, Cassia and Mercy — “never had a soda, don’t know who Spider-Man or Tom is.” […]
“It seemed like in life we were constantly pulling each other in opposite directions with different goals,” he explained. “I wish Olivia all the best for the future. I care deeply about her and always will.”
Ethan and Olivia tied the knot in 2018 after being engaged for almost a year. Olivia often clashed with Ethan’s mother, Kim Plaththroughout their relationship.
“When we were together, I knew I was being controlled in what we were allowed to do and say,” Olivia shared exclusively Us weekly in August 2021. “I remember the night it clicked in me that we got engaged. We come through the door, [Kim] was waiting for us and she grabbed my hand and looked at the ring. And the first thing she said was, ‘Oh, I want to exchange rings with you.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, that’s really weird.'”
She added: “It was just a pattern of her trying to make a lot of decisions for me. “I had just gotten out of my parents’ house and was just figuring out who I was and I didn’t want those decisions to be made for me get hit by me.”
Olivia said her dynamic with Kim often felt like a “power struggle” during an interview with Kim TeenVogue earlier this month.
“Looking back now, all I wanted to do was choose my own life. I just wanted to be myself and live authentically as I am,” she said.
Olivia added that it was a struggle for her and Ethan to navigate their conflicting belief systems. Although both were raised as fundamentalist Christians, Olivia made a point of questioning fundamentalist teachings throughout her childhood.
“I was 20 and newly married to someone who was unwilling to leave fundamentalism behind, while at the same time questioning fundamentalism,” she said TeenVogue their time further Welcome to Plathville. “I’ve been open to the public to criticize and criticize my whole life, and I was a child who grew up so sheltered from the world. Being thrown out there and everyone watching me deconstruct and try to figure out what being married is all about and how I deal with in-law conflict. When I look back, I think, ‘Gosh.’ It felt very overwhelming.”