Olivia Plath Returned to ‘Welcome to Plathville’ to Counter the ‘Fundie Crazy’
Olivia Plath might have left her marriage to Ethan Plath behind, but she hasn’t quit his family’s TLC reality show.
The 26-year-old wedding photographer will appear in Welcome to Plathville Season 6, which premieres July 16. The new episodes will follow Ethan and Olivia as they navigate their divorce. Ethan will also reconnect with his family, with whom he had a tense relationship while married. Meanwhile, Olivia considers whether she is willing to let go of her complicated past with Ethan’s sister Moriah Plath.
Olivia Plath explains why she returned to ‘Welcome to Plathville’
Olivia’s in-laws are fundamentalist Christians. She was also raised in an ultra-conservative family. Olivia and Ethan met at a camp for conservative Christian families and married in 2018 when they were just 20 years old. But soon, Olivia began to distance herself from the lifestyle in which she was raised. That caused some serious tension with her in-laws and, eventually, her husband.
Now, that Olivia and Ethan are divorced, some fans are wondering why she would continue to associate with the Plath family.
“Can’t believe you’re going to be back on that show with that crazy family,” one person commented on one of Olivia’s recent Instagram posts.
Olivia says she wants to be able to challenge the Plath’s conservative views on Welcome to Plathville.
“Doing my own thing in my own way with my own people. Hoping to provide a counter perspective to all of the fundie crazy,” she replied.
Ethan Plath criticized Olivia for rejecting her ‘roots and values’
Olivia’s rejection of fundamentalist beliefs played a major role in the breakdown of her marriage to Ethan.
“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,” Ethan told Olivia in the Welcome to Plathville Season 5 finale.
Olivia said she was not interested in returning to the religion of her childhood, which she now views as harmful to women.
“The faith and the world that I grew up in was a world built for men, that worked for men. And to tell me that I need to go back to a culture and a faith and a belief that told me that I was worth nothing without a husband; that in a relationship, I just need to submit and say yes and cook three meals a day and praise God and it would all be fine,” she said.
“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,” she added.
Welcome to Plathville Season 6 premieres Tuesday, July 16 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. Episodes also stream on Max.
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