Kim And Barry Plath Have One Of Their Most Emotional Conversations Yet In New Teaser
Fans got to know Kim and Barry Plath and their lovable brood of children on TLC's "Welcome to Plathville." The hit reality show follows the titular family as they navigate life on a rural farm in Georgia, eschewing most modern conveniences, including TV and social media.
Naturally, as the seasons have gone on, certain members have broken free of Kim and Barry's vice-like grip. In particular, as Soap Dirt confirms, ambitious teenagers Micah and Moriah Plath moved out of the family home in an effort to gain some semblance of independence.
Moriah is pursuing a career in music, while Micah is a budding model. Both kids have spoken extensively about how tough it was to tackle the real world when their upbringing left them so unprepared for it. In particular, Micah admitted that his parents' teachings led him to believe he had to marry the first person he had a romantic relationship with.
However, although Kim and Barry have always presented a united front, they've been noticeably struggling in recent months. Per People, Kim even felt she was being neglected by her longtime husband.
And, now, a new teaser from "Welcome to Plathville" appears to show the couple having one of their deepest — and most frank — conversations yet.
The Welcome to Plathville stars might be headed for divorce
Understandably, the Plath marriage took a major hit after the loss of their toddler son, Joshua, whom Kim accidentally ran over in her car in 2008. More recently, Kim and Barry have struggled to recapture the magic of their early years.
In a new teaser clip posted to Twitter, the longtime spouses sit down to discuss where they are as a couple and if calling it quits would be the best choice for both of them going forward. As far as Barry is concerned, he misses Kim and wants to try, reasoning they shouldn't just throw away all their happy years together. But his wife feels like she's been "hurt too much."
Barry suggests getting professional help so that they can learn to communicate better, but Kim reckons they've gone beyond that point. After he accuses her of behaving selfishly, Kim asks whether Barry wants her to remain in the marriage even though she's unhappy. In a confessional, the matriarch says that Barry viewing her desire to be in a happy marriage as selfish exemplifies everything that's wrong with them: Barry continually disregards her feelings.
Barry promises to listen more going forward, but fans will have to wait and see what happens. As Distractify points out, however, the Plaths are conservative Christians, much like fellow reality stars the Duggars, so divorce may not be an option. On the now-archived family website, Kim shared how they had turned to God for help with everything in their lives, so that could be the couple's next move.
Kim Plath recently confirmed she's moved out of the family home
As The U.S. Sun notes, Kim and Barry Plath's seemingly untouchable marriage is one of the focal points of "Welcome to Plathville," so their relationship issues have left fans suitably gobsmacked.
Moreover, the couple believes they were destined to be together, with Kim revealing on their family site, "In the Spring of '97, on the exact same day, before either of us ever talked about it or showed any interest in the other, God revealed to Barry and I that we were going to marry."
They got hitched in July of that same year. As the reality star acknowledged, "Our marriage has been a continual process of growth, refinement, challenge, heartache, and joy," but things appear to have soured considerably between them.
Fans were shocked when Kim shared a sad update about the state of her marriage to Barry, confirming the two were living apart, per a clip from "Welcome to Plathville" that was posted on Instagram. The matriarch is staying at some of the couple's rental properties as well as the family farm. "I never thought it would be like this," Kim admitted sadly.
In the comments, several fans argued that Kim was trying to rediscover her true self after years of playing the dutiful wife. One fan even decried Barry as a "narcissist" and "control freak" who always tries to make his wife "look like the bad guy." They championed Kim for finally standing up for herself.