Welcome back, Welcome to Plathville viewers.
On Tuesday night, TLC will air the Season 5 premiere of this popular reality show, which has undergone some major changes since the last time we watched Barry Plath, Kim Plath and their kids in awkward action.
Barry and Kim have split, for example.
And we’ve heard that Ethan and Olivia may soon be doing the same.
In a sneak peek at the September 5 episode, courtesy of People Magazine, Micah and Moriah Plath vent to their parents about their brother Ethan’s spouse.
“Honestly, she’s always hated the way we grew up,” Micah says of his sister-in-law. “She’s always talked crap. And Ethan has, I really feel like he’s absorbed all of that.”
Responds Barry:
“You know what it’s called? It’s called brainwashing.”
Speaking to the camera via confessional, Moriah emphasizes how things have become extremely tense between her and her former best friend, especially as Moriah has gotten closer to her mom and dad again.
“Olivia has said a bunch of things about my parents for years, and it’s only gotten worse,” Moriah says on the premiere. “It’s gotten to the point where lies are being told. And I personally want to do my part in making things right.”
Just over a year ago, Moriah and her siblings released a joint statement.
It came in the wake of Olivia feuding with her in-laws on numerous occasions.
“We as a family have decided to not be divided anymore,” the message opened back then, continuing as follows:
“There is a lot more to the story than what you all have seen on the show.
“While we understand that this is a TV show and we are not in control how the show is edited, we are actually a family that is full of love and respect for each other.
“That being said, we as a family are not going to sit back and watch as our family is driven apart.”
As you can see, the statement does not cite Olivia by name.
On a July 2022 episode of Welcome to Plathville, however, the family gathered for a memorial in honor of Joshua Plath, who died at 17 months old in 2008.
The details of what transpired at this emotional event were never made public — but even Olivia confessed she caused a scene.
Moriah, who has been very close to her sister-in-law for years, said on air that she reached a “breaking point” as a result of the drama, adding:
“I am so done. I am so over it. I’m just tired of fragile relationships.”
Referencing a claim by Olivia that Kim once stole money from her son, Moriah adds on the premiere:
“That makes me so mad, because I sat there by her side for years saying, ‘You are valid. You can feel however you want to feel.’
“But I will not tolerate lies being told.
“I will not tolerate somebody just then going off the deep end.”
Moriah goes on:
“You have every right not to like a person that’s okay. And you have every right to be like, ‘Their values or their beliefs or whatever, don’t line up with mine and I don’t want to associate with that.’
“That’s okay. But it’s not okay to try and make the whole world or a whole family feel the same way.”
Barry agrees with his daughter’s assessment, too, slamming Olivia’s behavior as “relationally destructive.”
“I see that now,” Moriah replies. “And that’s why I choose not to have a relationship with her anymore.”
s