‘Welcome to Plathville’: Olivia Plath Says She Was Raised in a ‘Cult Environment’
Olivia Plath was reflecting on her relationship with religion this Easter. The star of TLC’s reality series Welcome to Plathville says that even though she’s moved away from the cult-like faith of her childhood, she’s not sure what role organized religion will play in her life going forward. However, she says she can still enjoy spending time with family and loved ones as she figures it out.
The ‘Welcome to Plathville’ star rejected her family’s lifestyle
Like her husband Ethan Plath, Olivia was raised in a conservative Christian environment. She and her nine siblings grew up on a farm in rural Virginia, where they were homeschooled by their mother. Everything was shared between the kids, and Olivia did not have her own bedroom or even many of her own possessions, the then 19-year-old shared in a documentary-style video about her family’s life (via YouTube). She also shouldered big family responsibilities at a young age, such as managing the family’s grocery budget, her mom explained.
Soon after, Olivia met her husband at an event for families with similar values. Once she got married, she began rejecting the strict lifestyle of her youth. But the questioning had begun much earlier.
“I’m looking around me and thinking, ‘All of these people have the exact same lives, and they all believe the exact same thing,’” Olivia said in an episode of Welcome to Plathville when speaking of her childhood. “I wanted to express myself differently.”
Today, Olivia doesn’t mince words when describing how she was raised and how it affected her outlook on religion.
“Having grown up in a very religious, cult environment, I don’t really know the role I want religion to play in my life right now,” she said in a video posted to her Instagram Story on April 9.
Olivia Plath is unsure how she feels about organized religion
Olivia’s comments on her childhood came on Easter Sunday. The holiday has inspired her to reflect on how she wanted to approach celebrating certain holidays moving forward. She admitted she didn’t have all the answers.
“I don’t really know what to do with the holidays with Christian origins,” she said. “It’s not like I hate them. I don’t know what significance I want them to have in my life right now.”
While Olivia might not be sure how she feels about Easter and other holidays, she knows she appreciates the way they bring loved ones together.
“I still had Easter dinner and hung out with family and had a great time,” she said. Olivia didn’t share which family members she spent the day with, but she and Ethan appeared to be in their new home state of Minnesota, while his dad and several of his siblings spent the weekend in Florida, according to posts on Lydia Plath’s Instagram.
The TLC star wants others to know they aren’t alone in questioning religion
Olivia also had a message for others like her who “are in a similar boat of deconstruction or trying to figure out what religion looks like in your life.”
“Having come from a really extreme background, you’re not alone,” she said. “It’s OK to still enjoy the meal and family and find the eggs and all the fun things and still not know what exactly you think. It’s OK.”
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