Why Fans Are Upset With Kim And Barry Plath
It's no secret that Kim and Barry Path are villains to some fans of the TLC reality show "Welcome To Plathville." Over the course of the show's airtime, we've seen the matriarch and patriarch of the Plath family punish their children who choose to live outside of their strict and conservative religious lifestyle.
Olivia Plath, who is married to Kim and Barry's son Ethan, noted that her in-laws have abusive tendencies towards the few children who choose not to live under their rules (via People). "When Ethan went no-contact, his parents basically said, 'Alright, we're totally fine with that' and haven't made any effort to reconcile," she said.
On his son, Barry said, "Now that our oldest Ethan is married, there are certain things that just have, in an overnight sense, changed the dynamics of the family," he continued, "I have Ethan, that's been transformed somebody who's bitter and unforgiving toward me" (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet).
The Plath's intense treatment of their children isn't extended only to their rebellious children. Kim and Barry are now being accused of treating their most loyal daughter poorly.
Fans feel they are manipulating their daughter Lydia
Lydia Plath is by far the family's most loyal daughter (via MeAww). Fans are constantly tweeting about the treatment of Lydia on the show. After an episode aired, one fan took to Twitter to say, "really hate when people misinterpret scripture honoring your parents has nothing to do with letting them choose who you want be with. Brainwashed." The tweet referred to the Plath parents were telling Lydia who she could and couldn't date.
Recently, the Plath parents were accused of manipulating Lydia (via Screen Rant). When Lydia had a crush on a guy, her parents forbade her from speaking to him without letting them know. When they felt they couldn't trust her, they went through her phone and confront her about it.
After this distasteful public display on television, a fan tweeted out this message, "I hope that all of the Plathville children and adults get the necessary therapy that they should have. It's a family, not a cult, and the parents are doing more damage and trauma than the 'goodliness' they presume that they are imparting on their children."
People are upset by the constant distrust and manipulation the Plath parents often place on their children; fans worry that the controlling ways have extended towards who their children want to pursue romantically.