Why Ethan Plath Stopped Talking To His Parents

We've known for a while now that things between Welcome to Plathville star Ethan Plath and his parents, Kim and Barry Plath, are rocky. We learned in the trailer for season 2 that Ethan and his wife, Olivia, have cut off contact with them completely, in spite of the fact that his parents now live less than half a mile away (per People).

While it's easy to see why things would be tense between Ethan and his parents given just how strictly the Plath kids are raised, fans have wondered what the breaking point between Ethan and his family was. Thanks to a sneak peek of the show from People, we now know the answer.

"Since last year, a lot has happened in our relationship between me and Olivia and my parents and my siblings," said Ethan. "Just the family dynamics. Yeah, a lot has happened. It's kind of hard to say."

Olivia explained that the tension had been building up for a while. "During last year, we were allowed to see the kids some, and then last fall, everything just completely changed and we were not allowed to see the kids at all," she said. "It was just toxic."

Ethan said that this was "really hard" and "very, very frustrating" for him. "I have a lot of frustration that I am trying to deal with, like, why am I not allowed to see my siblings unsupervised?" he said. Eventually, that frustration led to him and Olivia cutting off contact completely. "We needed space as a couple, so we decided that that meant no contact with my parents," he said.

While they don't have contact with his siblings who live at home, Ethan and Olivia do keep in touch with Moriah and Micah who have moved out of the family home and live nearby. "Ethan and I took Micah and Moriah under our wing a lot and this year it looks a whole lot different because now they're off flying on their own and doing their own thing, making their own friends," said Olivia. "So we don't see them as often. But when we do, we have fun."