Kim Plath Shares A Sad Update About The State Of Her Marriage To Barry

Reality shows are a lot of fun to watch, but they're risky to produce as real people's lives are messy, and not even the most experienced producers can predict what might happen. The most famous example is the "19 Kids and Counting" franchise, which came to a screeching halt thanks to Josh Duggar's scandal. Now it seems "Welcome to Plathville" may be the next show to fall victim to family troubles.

The show follows the lives of Barry and Kim Plath, who raised their nine children in a fundamentalist household that forbade most types of technology and even sugary snacks, per The U.S. Sun. But their oldest children broke away from the restrictive life, and now it looks as though another family member may be joining them.

In the most recent episode of "Plathville" (a clip is seen here on YouTube), patriarch Barry revealed that his marriage to Kim may be doomed. "We've been having conversations here and there, and the feedback I'm getting is, she isn't happy," he said. The episode went on to show Kim spending her nights on the living-room couch. He admitted that he could have done more to show his love through date nights and other gestures, but it may be too late to make amends. "In some respects, I'm like feeling left behind," Barry said. "I've always thought marriage would be 'til I die, but in reality, it looks like it could end. Soon."

Sadly, the newest episode of the series may prove Barry right. 

Judging from TLC's sneak peek of the latest episode of "Welcome to Plathville" released on Instagram, maybe they should rename it "Welcome to Splitsville." Kim Plath reveals that she and husband Barry have separated; she has been bunking in their family's rental properties whenever she can, and is also planning to stay at the family farm. 

For the Plaths, this is huge. "I guess I'm feeling — I never thought it would be like this," Kim says in the clip. "It's very different from how I thought it would be. It's a time of a lot of change right now, and I'm not sure exactly what that's going to look like." She goes on to explain that Barry has made only minor efforts to rekindle the spark, and "at some point I felt like he's not really trying."

But if Kim was hoping for fan sympathy, she may be disappointed: Instagram followers on the TLC account are accusing her of abandoning her family. Comments on the uploaded sneak peek include: "What kind of a person goes off and leave their children behind and break their heart? That's not what I call a mother."

But at least one of the Plath children doesn't seem to be taking sides in her parents' crisis. Lydia Plath, an aspiring singer, posted an Instagram video on May 17 about the new season of the show, cautioning, "Don't be quick to jump to conclusions...be quick to love!"