The Untold Truth Of Moriah Plath
Welcome to Plathville's Plath family may not be quite as large as another famous TLC family, the Duggars of Counting On fame, but they've got no less drama. The show debuted on the network in 2019, introducing the world to the large family. The Plath clan consists of nine kids who, like the Duggars, come from an ultra-conservative background. The Plath kids are homeschooled, don't watch TV, aren't allowed to consume junk food, and have limited computer access.
One of the breakout stars of Welcome to Plathville is Moriah Plath, the family's second oldest daughter. From the beginning of the show, which began filming when she was 16 years old, Moriah seemed to be the source of family tension, as it was clear she wasn't totally on board with all of the family's practices.
In the Plath family, she might not quite fit in, but, out in the world, Plath is a regular woman who is paving her own way. Here's the truth about Welcome to Plathville star Moriah Plath.
Welcome to Plathville's Moriah Plath is the rebel of the family
Moriah Plath is something of a rebel, but, in the Plath family, that basically means being "preoccupied with listening to music and doing her makeup," as her sisters said on Welcome to Plathville. She doesn't seem to have a truly rebellious spirit, but instead she appears to want to experiment in the way that teenagers in less conservative environments are allowed to.
While most of the family appears to dress quite conservatively on the show — to the point that the kids said they even grew up going swimming while wearing t-shirts (via MEAWW) — Plath seems to have adopted a less modest fashion sense. A photo posted to her brother Micah Plath's Instagram shows her wearing a midriff-bearing top at the beach. Micah is wearing just swim trunks in the photo, although their older brother, Ethan Plath, sports a modest t-shirt. Moriah's own Instagram shows that she's not afraid to wear a bikini or a sports bra or even dye her hair purple — things that are definitely a break from her conservative upbringing.
Moriah Plath is a talented singer
Like the rest of the Plath family, Moriah Plath is musically talented and is part of the family band, The Plath Family. According to the band's website, Plath's mother, Kim Plath, nurtured her kids' interest in music from a young age, and, in 2015, the family began performing gospel music. The band has released several CDs with Moriah as the lead singer, and the entire family was featured in a 2016 documentary called Family, Unity, Harmony, in which Moriah can be seen both playing the guitar and singing.
Plath is also a budding songwriter, and the Welcome to Plathville star has opened up on Instagram about how much she loves music and the impact it has had on her life. Plath credited music with helping her through some particularly tough moments in her life, saying that, at one point, "music was one of the few things I had to pull me through."
Welcome to Plathville's Moriah Plath has a budding acting career
It looks like Moriah Plath is quite talented when it comes to the arts. Not only does she have some serious musical chops, but the Welcome to Plathville star is also a talented actress. As of this writing, she has one acting credit under her belt, a short film called You Should Be There, in which she plays Brittany, a rebellious teenager. You Should Be There was made by production company Sound. Light. Story., which consists of brother and sister team William and Morgan Willer. The Willer siblings also made the 2016 documentary about the Plath family, Family, Unity, Harmony.
Considering the fact that the Plath family is notoriously disconnected from modern technology and the kids don't watch television, Moriah's acting career might seem a little odd — although no odder than starring on a reality TV show. Her family, however, seems to be supportive of her acting, or at least of her starring in this particular film. "I'm so proud of her," her mom, Kim Plath, wrote on Facebook in 2019.
Welcome to Plathville star Moriah Plath has questioned her family's conservative lifestyle
While the Plath family may be incredibly conservative, Moriah Plath isn't completely on board with all of her parents' teachings. The first season of Welcome to Plathville shows her confronting her own beliefs and challenging her family's viewpoints. Her parents described her on the show as "opinionated" and "wired differently" from the rest of the family. While it's clear that she loves her family, Moriah admitted that she doesn't "agree with everything they say and think."
It seems that Moriah has been skeptical of her family's lifestyle for quite some time, even before Welcome to Plathville first aired. In an Instagram post, Plath admitted to "secretly" listening to country music on the radio when she was 12 — something that TV Shows Ace noted is forbidden in the Plath household, as the kids were not allowed to listen to secular music.
Like most people, Welcome to Plathville's Moriah Plath is just trying to find herself
While Moriah Plath comes across as poised and confident on Welcome to Plathville, in reality she's your average young woman trying to find her place in the world. That's no easy thing to do, especially when making your mark means opposing some of your family's choices. Moriah has opened up about her conflicting emotions on Instagram. In a post from October 2019, she admitted that she was "struggling," adding, "Sometimes you have to go through something that completely destroys you in order to figure out who you really are."
In February 2020, Moriah wrote in a post that she was searching for her calling in life. "It's like I'm constantly running, even running from everything I love to try to find my purpose," she said.
She may be a reality TV star, but, at the end of the day, Moriah Plath is an ordinary young woman. It's clear that she has been through some real struggles and is doing her best to navigate them, just like any other young person going through life.
Moriah Plath has a particularly close bond with her sister-in-law, Olivia
Moriah Plath loves her siblings, but she has an especially strong connection with her sister-in-law, Olivia Plath. Olivia stirred up some issues on Welcome to Plathville after she married Moriah's brother Ethan Plath as she comes from a less conservative upbringing and encouraged the family to try new things, even giving Moriah her first taste of cotton candy. Moriah and her sister-in-law became even closer when Moriah began working for Olivia, a photographer, as a wedding assistant.
Moriah has nothing but nice things to say about Olivia, and she regularly posts pictures of the two of them on social media, calling her "a huge role model for me and so many others" and "one amazing strong [woman]" in one Instagram post. It seems that the relationship is appreciated on both sides, as Olivia has also written heartfelt posts about her relationship with her sister-in-law. "We've walked through fire and found a solace in each other," she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post, thanking her sister-in-law for being "the most fun and adventurous business partner" and "keeping me on my toes."
This is how Welcome to Plathville star Moriah Plath stays in shape
While Moriah Plath hasn't talked much about her fitness routine, it's clear from her Instagram pictures that she's in amazing shape. The reality star appears to go to the gym regularly, and she has several gym trips documented on her Instagram highlights. Some of the pictures show Moriah working out with her brother, Micah Plath. Her gym excursions are most likely a relatively new development in her life, as going to the gym seems to be one of the things the Plath kids were discouraged from doing by their conservative parents. Brother Ethan Plath was seen going to the gym for the very first time on Welcome to Plathville.
Part of Moriah's physique can likely be chalked up to healthy eating habits, as the Plaths don't allow their kids to have sugar or soda — it's one of the strict rules the Plath kids have to follow. It seems likely that she's also had some gymnastics training, or at least some serious natural flexibility, as she can be seen doing an effortless front handspring in one Instagram post.
Moriah Plath wants to go to college
Both of the Plath parents, Kim and Barry, went to college, but they don't necessarily want their kids heading off to school. Kim revealed in one episode of Welcome to Plathville that Hosanna Plath, the oldest daughter of the family, was offered a music scholarship, but didn't accept it, as her parents thought she'd learn more in the real world than in school "learning head knowledge."
Moriah Plath caused tension in the family when she announced on the show that she was considering going to college. While her parents didn't shoot the idea down, they were skeptical. Kim said that, while she isn't opposed to the idea of college, she doesn't see the point of spending a lot of money on school "when you don't even know what it is that you want to do."
Kim did bring her daughter on a college tour, and, in spite of the fact that Kim spoke negatively of her own college experience, saying that she found her peers were too focused on partying, Moriah seemed to come away from the visit still wanting to go to college. "Definitely got a good impression of Stetson University DeLand Campus," she wrote on Instagram.
Welcome to Plathville's Moriah Plath loves to travel
While a quiet rural lifestyle may suit many people, Moriah Plath doesn't seem to be one of them. In her Instagram bio, she describes herself as "a small town girl with big city dreams." She loves to travel, something that may have been inspired by her brother Ethan Plath and her sister-in-law, Olivia Plath, who have also caught the travel bug, as evidenced by the photos Olivia posted to Facebook of the couple's adventures through Europe. On the show, Moriah traveled to California with Olivia and, in her Instagram highlights, wrote about being excited to travel to "Nashville, Ohio, and Detroit."
Unfortunately, Moriah's parents don't seem to be too thrilled with her passion for travel. "There is a bit of concern," said her father, Barry Plath, on Welcome to Plathville as he talked about his daughter's desire to "explore the world" and her "adventurous side." It appears that Moriah's parents would rather keep their kids as close to home as possible as her mom, Kim Plath, added that she was concerned about her daughter's desire to see more of the world negatively influencing the younger kids in the family.
Is Welcome to Plathville star Moriah Plath estranged from her parents?
The tension between Moriah Plath and her family seemed to come to a head after filming on Season 1 of Welcome to Plathville wrapped. In October 2019, Moriah wrote about becoming independent in a lengthy Instagram post that led to fans to wonder if she had been legally emancipated from her parents. TV Shows Ace noted that there was a flurry of confusion as to whether she had become emancipated, if it was all a joke, or if a non-disclosure agreement with TLC prevented her from opening up about what was really going on in her private life.
While Moriah herself has remained cryptic about her status as of this writing, her sister-in-law, Olivia Plath, confirmed on the podcast HeyFrase in March 2020 that Moriah had indeed left the family home and had moved in with Olivia and her husband, Moriah's brother Ethan Plath. Olivia revealed that Moriah's parents left the family farm in December 2019 to move into town and "wanted Moriah out." She added that Moriah is doing her best to stay on good terms with her parents, however, in order to maintain contact with her younger siblings who are still living at home.