‘Welcome to Plathville’: Moriah Plath Defends Olivia Plath From Accusations That She ‘Led Her Astray’
Welcome to Plathville’s Moriah Plath, the second-oldest Plath daughter at 17, has always marched to the beat of her own drum – much to the chagrin of her strict, demanding parents, Kim and Barry Plath. Eventually, Moriah’s refusal to follow the Plath family rules (like not eating sugar, never using cell phones or social media, and wearing ultra-modest clothing) spurred Kim and Barry to kick her out of the house.
On TLC’s Welcome to Plathville season 2, Moriah revealed that she moved in with her 19-year-old brother, Micah Plath, after their parents kicked them both out. Now, Micah and Moriah weren’t even trusted to be along with their own siblings without supervision.
In a recent Welcome to Plathville segment, “Moriah’s Story,” the teen opened up about her journey and her yearning for freedom as a young girl. She also defended her brother Ethan Plath’s wife, Olivia Plath, from accusations that she was the one who caused her to rebel.
Moriah said she’d always been ‘starving for freedom’
Moriah reflected on her restrictive childhood, revealing that the “piece of heaven” her parents created for their family at their 55-acre farm was anything but for her.
“I’ve always been really different than the rest of my family,” the Welcome to Plathville star admitted.
While her parents expected her to fall in line, all she wanted was to find her own way. And while her parents wanted her to find contentment at home, all she wanted to do was venture far beyond it. When she was a young girl, she revealed, she would look out at the tree line of her family’s property and imagine everything she was missing.
“I’m starving for independence,” Moriah confessed, adding that her home was “never comfortable for her.” “I’m starving for freedom.”
The 17-year-old revealed her goals for the future
As for her hopes for the future, Moriah wanted to try just about everything – especially because she always felt her parents didn’t believe she could make it in the real world.
After such a confining childhood, the Welcome to Plathville star wanted to leave her options open. And after knowing what she was “supposed” to do for so long, she actually craved the uncertainty of a wide-open future.
“Every day, I realize how much more there is to learn,” Moriah confessed, “but that’s part of the fun of it. For me, it’s like this adventure. If I knew it all, there’d be no adventure.”
Although Moriah wanted to have a house one day that she could call home, the 17-year-old revealed that she never wanted to “get too comfortable” and “settle down in one place.” Instead, she hoped to continue traveling for the rest of her life as much as she could.
“I always want to go and explore and just keep that wild side alive,” she said.
One of Moriah’s many goals was to start her own clothing line. Referring to the Plath family’s ultra-modest approach to fashion growing up as “Amish-style” and “conservative,” the Welcome to Plathville star said she wanted to wear wild, eye-catching clothing now – and possibly even design it. Now, when she walked into a clothing store, she felt an “adrenaline rush” and a surge of creativity.
She defended her sister-in-law from her parents’ criticism
Welcome to Plathville producers asked Moriah about the past criticisms leveled against Olivia for her role in “corrupting” her younger sister-in-law.
But Moriah insisted that that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Ethan’s wife might have been more open to hearing about her hopes and dreams, she admitted – but she had nothing to do with her choice to venture outside the Plath family boundaries.
“I have to say, I felt extremely bad for my sister-in-law getting the heat for how I behave,” Moriah revealed.
Adding that she felt it was “totally wrong” of her parents to “blame Olivia” for her actions, Moriah declared confidently, “These are things I would have done whether she was there or not. I was going to get here either way.”
