Why Olivia Plath Wears This Instead Of Her Wedding Ring
There's no shortage of drama on TLC's Welcome To Plathville. The reality TV show follows the lives of Barry and Kim Plath and their children. One of the key storylines throughout the show has been their difficult relationship with son Ethan and his wife, Olivia. The couple married in 2018. Ethan was the first Plath to move away from the family farm, and the family tensions may be why Olivia Plath wears something else instead of her wedding ring. She's shared pictures on Instagram of another meaningful piece of jewelry, and Screen Rant has suggested that Olivia's wedding ring holds difficult memories.
In season 2 of Welcome to Plathville (via YouTube), Ethan and Olivia Plath opened up about their difficult relationship with his parents. Olivia explained that Kim was involved in picking out her original ring. The blogger/vlogger Katie Joy from Without a Crystal Ball revealed (via YouTube) that Kim didn't shy away from expressing her desire for Ethan and Olivia to get together when she first met Olivia. However, that didn't last. Olivia went on to say that, as hard memories are attached to the ring, she doesn't wear it.
On March 8, Olivia posted a picture on her Instagram of the gold semicolon band that she wears in place of her wedding ring. She wrote, "Keep going; your story is not finished yet and you are stronger + more precious than you can even comprehend." She added a suicide hotline number.
What does Olivia Plath's ring mean?
Since being on Welcome to Plathville, Olivia has used her platform to advocate for mental health, and her ring may play into that. A semicolon is used in sentences to link closely related clauses. In mental health communities, it's used to raise awareness for mental illness, self-harm, suicide, and addiction, according to the non-profit mental health organization Project Semicolon (via Facebook).
Speaking to People about her own mental health journey, Olivia said, "I'm currently in therapy. I started again last month, just realizing that I was not in a healthy place and I needed to work through things. And I think maybe once we've gone through some therapy, we feel like we've processed our childhoods and we're ready to not just react when we have our own kids, but actually like, take positive steps for a better childhood for them."
During filming, Ethan gave Olivia another ring on a trip to California. He asked her to see it as a promise that they'd have a second wedding, a ceremony on their terms.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.