A family reunion. Ethan Plath reunited with several of his siblings at a recent family gathering amid ongoing drama on their TLC series, Welcome to Plathville.
“Went down to Georgia saw my Dad and siblings. So good to see them,” the reality star, 24, captioned a series of images via Instagram featuring him posing with siblings Micah, 22, Lydia, 19, Isaac, 17, Cassia, 11, and Mercy, 10.
“The little girls aren’t so little anymore. Also picked up a couple cars! Good times!”
Referring to the older man in his photos, the reality star continued, “And to clarify the gentleman in the photo is not our dad that’s my good friend Philip Palmer. He’s a machinist and we’ve built a couple of engines together.”
Plath — who has been married to his wife, Olivia Plath, since October 2018 — is the eldest child of parents Barry and Kim Plath. Since its premiere in November 2019, the TLC series has followed the family — which also includes daughters Hosanna, 23, Moriah, 20, and Amber, 14 — over the years, focusing on how the kids adjust to modern-day things they were forbidden from experiencing while growing up, including the internet, pop culture and even soda.
Courtesy of Ethan Plath/Instagram
Like any reality TV family, they have gone through their fair share of troubles, namely Barry and Kim’s divorce. Us Weekly confirmed in June 2022 that the two had split after 24 years of marriage.
“After considerable thought and discussion, we have decided to end our marriage,” the former couple told Us in a joint statement at the time. “While this was not an easy decision, we know it’s the best choice for both of us. We have been through many highs and lows in our 24 years of marriage and as we navigate this new chapter in our lives, we will coparent our amazing children.”
Ethan and Olivia have also found themselves at the center of some of the family’s drama. Back in 2018, as ongoing tensions between the couple and Ethan’s parents began to rise, an altercation between Olivia and Kim occurred at the pair’s wedding reception.
“I think a lot of it was my mom trying to make it her wedding almost,” Micah exclusively told Us in August 2021. “It was at her place. She had what she wanted to do. She’s just, you know, really excited, and I feel like that happens a good amount of times, but she probably went a little overboard and Olivia definitely felt that way.”
Explaining that the incident was likely caused by poor communication, the model continued: “I mean, I don’t know exactly, but this is kind of what I’ve gotten from it just a whole bunch of things like that, that led up to, a lot of frustrated and bad communication. Just people not saying what they’re going to do, doing things differently, doing things other people didn’t want to.”
Courtesy of Ethan Plath/Instagram
Kim also found herself in some legal trouble, as the matriarch was arrested for DUI in October 2022. She was later sentenced to serve 50 hours of community service in addition to paying $963 in court costs, attending DUI school, completing a substance abuse evaluation and complying with drug and alcohol testing in March 2023.
In August 2022, the siblings took to social media to share that they would not be “divided” by drama. Addressing how they are portrayed on the reality series via Moriah’s Instagram, the message read, “We as a family are not going to sit back and watch as our family is driven apart.”
The statement continued: “We ask that you have compassion for us and understand that not everything you see on the show is as it actually is in real life.”