Welcome to Plathville star Olivia Plath went through a lot in 2023.
“2023 was quite a year. A while ago I wasn’t sure how this year was going to feel in retrospect because getting divorced, losing a younger brother tragically and questioning everything you know while starting over in life is a lot to have happen in a short time. But the honest truth is that I’m so so thankful for this year,” Plath, 25, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, December 30. “It challenged me, it shook me, it provided time for grief and also gave me room to gain confidence.”
News broke in May that Plath’s younger brother Micah Meggs had died at the age of 15 after he was struck by a moving car. Five months later, Olivia announced that she had separated from husband Ethan Plath.
“I simultaneously feel like I grew up a lot this year and gained back some youth and child-like wonder and joy,” she added on Saturday. “My heart grew … a lot. My mind questioned … a lot. And despite everything, or maybe because of everything, my soul feels so vibrant, curious, serene and at home with herself.”
Olivia shared a handful of photos from the past year of memories with her friends and family.
“Here’s to all of the gorgeous people and animals I spent time with and the corners of this magical earth I discovered — sincerely the best parts of my year,” she concluded. “These photos might not seem super glamorous, but they were all moments that breathed life into me. So ready for 2024 because no matter what happens, it’s going to be the best year yet.”
Olivia rose to fame in 2019, starring on TLC’s Welcome to Plathville. Season 1 began less than one year after Olivia married Ethan, now 25. She was often at odds with Ethan’s mom, Kim Plath, following a family feud about wedding planning.
Throughout Olivia and Ethan’s marriage, they hit multiple rough patches. By October, they decided to call it quits for good.
Welcome to Plathville’s Plath Family’s Ups and Downs: A Timeline
Since Welcome to Plathville premiered, the Plath family has dealt with their fair share of ups and downs. Kim Plath and ex-husband Barry Plath — who announced their separation in June 2022 — rose to fame after the series debuted on TLC in 2019. The docuseries chronicles Kim and Barry’s life in rural Georgia with […]
“Ethan and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Olivia wrote in an Instagram statement at the time. “I have ambivalent memories of us being 18 years old, innocently dreaming of forever — but the partner you choose is a reflection of the world you want to live in, and at 18 I didn’t know who I was or what kind of life I wanted to create for myself. There were good moments and I want to remember and honor those. We fell in love as children and are going our separate ways as adults. Wiser, older and braver. We will be OK.”
Ethan Plath and Olivia Plath. Courtesy of Ethan Plath/Instagram
In his own Instagram statement, Ethan noted that their relationship “just didn’t work” after they “both gave it all we had.”
Despite breaking up, Olivia has made it clear that she has no intentions of changing her last name or leaving Welcome to Plathville.