It’s a Plath world! 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 kids — Ethan, Hosanna, Micah, Moriah, Lydia, Isaac, Amber, Cassia and Mercy — “have never had a soda, don’t know who Spider-Man or Tom Brady is and have never watched TV.” They live remotely in rural Georgia with their “follow their own rules” parents. However, things between the relatives began to change as the children grew up and began exploring avenues that were once forbidden.
Moriah, for one, moved out of her parents’ house and pursued a romance with Max Kallschmidt. (They split in fall 2021).
“When it comes to relationships, if they’re living in our household, we’re gonna have some say in where they go and what they do,” Kim explained during an August 2021 episode. “I mean, traditionally, we prefer to get to know other families with children of similar ages, and when there’s a family that we all kinda like and get along with, and there’s some interest from one of ours and one of theirs, then we kinda go from there.”
Despite the fact that Moriah did “her own thing” in her search for love, the matriarch insisted she and Barry were “happy” for her. Moriah, meanwhile, believed her behavior set “a good example for my siblings” to “do what you want.”
Not every member of the family is as willing to share their life with the world, though. Moriah explained exclusively to Us Weekly in August 2021 why Hosanna is not on the show.
“She got married at a young age and moved off with her husband and started her life somewhere else,” Moriah said. “And she didn’t want to be on the show, and we were kind of all just, like, yeah, I mean, it’s her life. … Sometimes we keep in touch to some extent, but it’s also, like, she’s across the country and, you know, it would just be a hassle and she doesn’t want to be on the show.”
The family has also documented their struggles throughout the show’s run, including Barry and Kim’s feud with Ethan’s wife, Olivia Plath. The photographer explained in an August 2021 Instagram Q&A that the pair are “much happier” after distancing themselves from his parents.
“The show has brought so many people, experiences, growing opportunities, self-reflection and fun times into my life,” Olivia wrote. “The show has not been toxic for me. The only toxic thing was having to continue a relationship we didn’t want with my in-laws for the sake of the show. So we decided to do what was best for us and [cut] contact.”
Scroll through the gallery below to learn more about the Plaths.
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