Welcome To Plathville: Kim Plath Ruined Olivia & Ethan’s Marriage (8 Of Her Dirtiest Deeds Ranked)

•  Kim Plath never approved of Ethan and Olivia’s marriage and did everything to ruin their relationship, even though divorce is frowned upon in their conservative Christian circle.
•  Kim attempted to control Ethan and Olivia’s wedding, making decisions and criticizing everything the bride-to-be chose or did, asserting her power over her daughter-in-law.
•  Kim created a divide between Olivia and Ethan by blaming Olivia for taking Ethan away from his family and being a bad influence on him, causing friction that led to their divorce.

Welcome to Plathville’s Kim Plath never approved of Olivia and Ethan Plath’s marriage, and she did everything in her power to ruin their relationship. While the highly conservative Christian pushed Ethan into marriage at a young age, she didn’t expect Olivia to be strong-willed and opinionated. It seemed that although divorce is frowned upon in their circle, relinquishing any power Kim had over her kids was worse. Perhaps after going through her own divorce, Kim realized the splitting of a union was better than enduring someone she hated for the rest of her life.

Between Moriah Plath’s nasty personality and Kim’s constant undermining of Ethan and Olivia’s marriage, the young couple’s union seemed doomed. After moving across the country and Ethan’s shocking cheating accusations, Ethan and Olivia finally announced their split in October 2023. While things happen behind the scenes, Kim actively attempted to thwart Olivia and Ethan’s marriage onscreen on Welcome to Plathville. How did she ruin their marriage?

8 Kim Never Approved Of Olivia’s Upbringing

Kim and Barry raised their children in a notoriously conservative Christian household. The family of 11 was relatively removed from society until Welcome to Plathville season 2. While the family hasn’t confirmed their religion, they are likely Baptists due to their close ties to the Duggar family and reticence toward attending a regular church.

Olivia was raised in a similarly conservative household, which was part of the reason Ethan and Olivia were encouraged to marry so young. However, Olivia’s family was more integrated into regular American society; she even drank alcohol and had a social media presence. Ironically, the Plath family rose to notoriety due to a prominent reality TV show, social media, and Kim’s notorious DUI arrest, highlighting Kim’s hypocritical nature. However, in Kim’s eyes, Olivia and Ethan were doomed from the start because she disapproved of Olivia’s upbringing, which wasn’t conservative enough for her liking. She began to attempt to ruin their relationship publicly from the very beginning.

7 Kim Attempted To Control Ethan and Olivia’s Wedding

Kim’s controlling ways began before Ethan and Olivia even tied the knot. According to Olivia, Kim always tried to make decisions about their big day and was critical of everything the bride-to-be chose or did. Kim even wanted Ethan and Olivia to get different engagement rings and announced their engagement before Olivia could share the news. From the beginning, the matriarch’s assertion of power over her daughter-in-law spelled bad news for the couple.

6 Kim Accused Olivia Of Taking Ethan Away From His Family

Kim and Barry repeatedly implied Olivia was taking Ethan away from his family. The pair moved to Tampa, Florida, and then moved again to Minnesota before they announced their divorce. This argument had some weight as it was evident that Olivia wanted to create space between her and her in-laws based on how they treated her and tried to assert power over her. However, Kim’s constant narrative of Ethan’s distancing himself from the family as Olivia’s fault likely contributed to the friction that ultimately led to Ethan and Olivia’s divorce.

5 Kim Purposefully Created A Divide Between Olivia and Ethan

Kim desperately wanted to maintain control over Ethan and constantly tried to forge a divide between the married couple. She had no problem blaming the slightest issues on Olivia and making heavily implied suggestions to Ethan or other family members that her influence was to blame. While Ethan largely defended Olivia, that sort of nagging on a relationship has to take its toll, especially on a family as closely knit as the Plaths.

4Kim Accused Olivia Of Being A Bad Influence On Ethan

Even though Kim has been less than angelic in recent years, having gotten arrested for a DUI and seeking a divorce from Barry, Olivia was a bigger problem for Ethan in her eyes. While the Plath family’s Christian denomination remains unknown, they fall under the umbrella of conservative Christianity. Olivia started speaking out about deconstructing her faith, a term typically used in the community of Christians raised in a fundamentalist faith who disentangle themselves from the complications of such a rigid religious upbringing. This public moral questioning gave Kim even more ammunition to accuse Olivia of being a bad influence on Ethan.

3 Kim Blamed Olivia For Being Bad Influence On Moriah

Moriah has been a troubled member of the Plath family, likely due to a similar rebellion against her family’s conservative values. While Moriah recommitted herself to her faith in the current Welcome to Plathville season, she lived with Ethan and Olivia before the now-infamous credit card debacle. Her rebellion wasn’t tied to Ethan and Olivia, but Olivia was an easy target for Kim. When Moriah came crawling back to the family during the feud between Olivia and Kim, her son’s marriage ended as the family united against him and his soon-to-be ex-wife.

2 Kim Turned The Plath Family Against Olivia

Even while going through a divorce that rocked the family, the one thing that seemed to hold the Plaths together was their mutual disdain for Olivia, started by Kim. One by one, Kim convinced her ex-husband and children Olivia was a master manipulator who had turned Ethan against them. Ethan was increasingly pushed between choosing his wife or his family.

1 Kim Blew The Credit Card Situation Out Of Proportion

Kim blew the credit card situation way out of proportion in the fight that started and ended. She was looking for any way to use Olivia as a scapegoat and drive negative attention away from her, and it worked. Olivia was trying to defend Ethan, yet the situation ultimately led Ethan to crawl back to his toxic family. Kim meddled in Olivia and Ethan’s relationship from the start, and finally, she got what she wanted. Olivia will be much better off without the Plaths and the poisonous interactions she endured on Welcome to Plathville.