Welcome to Plathville's Barry Plath is the patriarch of the large, conservative Plath family,
but he remains something of a question mark. From religion to family and even a couple of dark
secrets, here's the truth about Barry.
The Plath family website advises that Kim and Barry Plath homeschool their children;
perform in a family band with them, which Barry presumably manages; and hold down day jobs.
While Kim is a naturopathic doctor, Barry is a transportation planner who's held his job for a
private firm for over 25 years. This likely means Barry has to use a computer for work, even though
his kids are largely limited from doing the same. Religion is at the forefront of Barry's life,
as anybody who's even had a passing glimpse at Welcome to Plathville can attest. His
faith and the faith of his family guides them in every aspect of their daily lives,
too. Barry and Kim lost their 17-month-old son, Joshua, in a tragic accident in 2008,
and, according to a post by Kim on the family website, Barry was an incredible support.
According to Barry Plath,
the Plath family farm is, quote, "heaven on Earth," and, for just $100 a night, you could
experience it for yourself as, according to Soap Dirt, the property is listed for rental on Airbnb.
The posting led to accusations that the Plath family didn't actually live there full time as
they reportedly purchased a house back in 2017 in the more suburban area of Cairo, Georgia, which is
close to plenty of major outlets and chain stores like Walmart and Pizza Hut. This calls their
strict lifestyle into question. And it turns out that the family did, in fact, move, as they shared
in the Season 2 premiere of Welcome to Plathville. Another potential secret Barry's been keeping has
to do with daughter-in-law Olivia and the show. As fans know, Barry and Kim have had
significant issues with Olivia, Ethan's wife. “Ethan and Olivia are not to be around the
other children without us present.” According to CheatSheet, following an
Instagram post in which Olivia appeared to lay out all the ways the Plaths had wronged her,
she claimed in the comments that it was actually Ethan's parents who manipulated
them into appearing on the show in the first place, promising their son he'd get to see his
estranged siblings if they agreed to take part.
Barry and Kim Plath live their lives according to God's will, but their marriage is surprisingly
modern. As CheatSheet reported, during an episode of Welcome to Plathville, Barry opened up about
his long-term relationship with Kim, describing it as a, quote, "two-way street." Likewise,
parenting their children is a constantly evolving process for which he and Kim, who tied the knot a
few months after they started dating, frequently and equally require each other's participation.
As revealed in a clip of the show shared to Instagram, the couple originally met
at church. They were initially just friends, since, presumably, Kim didn't really see anything
romantic happening between the two. That is, until the voice of God informed her Barry was
the man Kim was meant to marry. Other, similarly strict religious families observe patriarchal
rules when it comes to home lives, but Barry and Kim don't subscribe to such beliefs despite
their untouchable faith in God.
In a teaser for Welcome to Plathville shared to Instagram, Barry Plath admitted he wants to keep
his kids young and untouched by the horrors of the outside world as long as possible.
Hence why they banned their brood from technology and junk food. Although the dedicated parents
worked hard to raise their children, in recent years, the elder kids have pulled away from
the family in a significant way, which gives the patriarch cause for concern. As CheatSheet noted,
Barry shared it was tough to see Micah and Moriah leave the family homestead and go out and explore
beyond what they provided for a home environment. As parents, he and Kim make plenty of mistakes,
by Barry's own estimation, but although the Plath patriarch hopes his children
can experience great things in their lives, there’s a bit of concern about what path
they're going to want to go down.
Although the Plath parents are intent upon keeping their kids safe from the
harsh realities of modern life, Barry and Kim are open to adjusting when necessary. For instance,
during a particularly tense episode of Welcome to Plathville, teenagers Micah and Moriah confronted
their folks for neglecting to prepare them for the real world. Micah argued in a confessional that,
as parents, they should've aimed to educate their kids as much as possible,
but instead Barry and Kim let them down, as he and his sister explained in no uncertain terms.
"It's kind of hard to prepare your kids for the modern world when you're trying
to keep them from the modern world." Although Barry quipped that, as parents,
they, quote "haven't reached that level of perfection" yet, he listened to Micah and
Moriah's comments—particularly when it came to sex and relationships. Micah implored his parents
to do a better job with his younger siblings. In a follow-up episode, the committed father
approached son Isaac to have, quote, "the talk" in a reasonable and upfront manner.
Although clearly uncomfortable, Barry acknowledged it gave him the, quote, "opportunity to connect
with Isaac" in a completely different way, too.
The Plath family has fractured since their show premiered, and as a result, Barry and Kim have
found themselves cut off from son Ethan while teenagers Micah and Moriah moved out of the
family home. Barry might be pretty stuck in his ways in many areas, but he's willing to try when
it comes to his kids, as evidenced by the sweet moment he and Isaac surprised Moriah at work.
Barry explained, "I do want to maintain
good connections with the children that aren't living under the house anymore."
As embarrassed as Moriah was, she clearly appreciated the gesture. Barry's relationship
with Ethan is slightly more complicated. Following an explosive incident at the house,
Barry expressed regret that things had gotten so bad. He also acknowledged believing in miracles,
opining that if he and Kim could find common ground with Micah and Moriah, then there was hope
for their relationship with Ethan, too.
Losing little Joshua left an indelible mark on the Plath family, particularly
the parents. Barry and Kim's relationship was understandably tested by the tragic accident,
but Barry never blamed his wife even in those moments she blamed herself. He understood Kim was
going to take it incredibly hard, so Barry didn't want to add to her grief any further. Although
they don't like to bring up the topic too often, in a Season 2 episode of Welcome to Plathville,
the Plath parents shared their loss with the children after repeated questions about Joshua.
While reminiscing about the boy, Barry recalled, "He was a very good snuggler."
It's been over a decade since Joshua's passing, but the wound feels just as fresh.