Ethan and Olivia Plath aren’t the only family members not quite getting along.
In an exclusive sneak peek at this week’s episode of TLC’s Welcome to Plathville, Kim Plath meets up with her daughters Moriah, 21, and Lydia, 19, and finally tells them about her new boyfriend. And they are less than thrilled.
“What have you girls been up to?” Moriah asks, settling in for a catch-up.
“Well, I guess what’s new with me is, um, I’m dating someone,” declares Kim, 51, smiling.
Lydia and Moriah respond with a long, awkward pause, not smiling. Lydia raises her eyebrows and swirls her drink, avoiding eye contact. Finally, Moriah breaks the silence and asks, “How’s that going?”
Kim — who revealed earlier this season that she’s dating her son Isaac’s former flight instructor and colleague, Ken Palmer, after splitting from her husband of 24 years (and their father), Barry Plath, last year — is quick to respond: “Good. I mean, I really like him.”
That much has been evident. The pair officially became boyfriend and girlfriend in last week’s episode and sealed the decision with a kiss for the cameras.
“It went from my mom telling me, ‘You know, like maybe one day, two years down the road, I might date someone, but I’m not ready for anything right now,’” Lydia says in a confessional. “And then, next thing I know, she’s been dating someone for a while and I never really got a warning. I don’t know. It’s like she wants me to just, in one day, just hop on board, accept everything and move on. Like, I don’t think I can do that. That’s too much to process.”
But Moriah isn’t going to let her mom off the hook as she confronts her candidly.
“It can be really hard to be honest about how I feel, but that’s one thing that I’m learning is so important,” she begins. “So I do struggle with the fact that you’re, you know, dating, just because that’s unfamiliar to me, I guess.”
She adds, “I’m trying to convince myself that everything’s OK, you know, that I feel totally fine, it doesn’t matter. But I’m like, you know, I don’t support that.”
In an interview, Moriah notes, “I definitely feel like this is very soon. It’s a lot.”
Kim received a considerably different reaction earlier this season when she told her son Isaac, 18, about Palmer. He’d already suspected some romantic funny business between his mom and the man with whom he owns a plane and appeared to be accepting of the new relationship.
As Kim and Barry’s divorce moves forward and Kim begins this new romantic chapter, their eldest child’s separation appears to be just beginning. Ethan and his wife Olivia, both 25, have been struggling in recent episodes, since moving to Minnesota together in late 2022. On Friday, Oct. 27, they announced in separate statements they were splitting after five years of marriage.
“Olivia and I have parted ways,” Ethan shared. “It just didn’t work between us, though Lord knows we both gave it all we had. It seemed we were constantly pulling each other in opposite directions in life with different goals. I wish Olivia the best in the future ahead. I care for her deeply and always will.”
“Ethan and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Olivia wrote, in part. “There were good moments and I want to remember and honor those. We fell in love as children and are going our separate ways as adults. Wiser, older, and braver. We will be okay.”
She concluded, “Thank you for the good times, Ethan. I wish the best for you.”
They have since unfollowed each other on social media.
Welcome to Plathville airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
