It has been around seven months since Welcome to Plathville stars Ethan Plath and Olivia Plath filed for a divorce, but Olivia is still a Plath by heart – and legally. On Instagram, Olivia answered a question that many viewers have had, and it is all because of the last name that she refuses to change. Being a Plath is not in her blood, but according to Olivia, it is now part of her identity.
In February 2024, Olivia and Ethan filed for divorce after six years of marriage. Before they divorced, they had been living separately. Even though Olivia has moved on, what is left of her marriage still remains with her, the Plath name. Many fans disagreed, telling her to go back to her maiden name, which is Meggs. However, Olivia refuses.
In the video, she is sitting in her car, drinking her boba tea, giving her “hottest take”. “Women used to have their dad’s last names, signifying that their dad has ownership of them,” she said, “and when they got married, they changed their last name to signify that the ownership like changed or shifted, and it now went to the husband. When I got married at 20, I took my husband’s last name because it’s the only thing I knew to do,” she continued. “ It’s what all the women around me did. And I wasn’t particularly fond or trying to hold on to my maiden name.”
The ‘Welcome to Plathville’ Star Was Married For Six Years
Ethan and Olivia married in 2018 after being engaged for a year. However, in October 2023, both of them announced their separation. It was in February this year when they filed for divorce, with Olivia, who often clashed with her ex-mother-in-law Kim Plath, listed as the petitioner. “Six years later I’m now divorced and everybody has an opinion on what last name I should have,” she continued in the video. “Everyone tells me I should ‘return’ the last name that I currently have. And that to me is the silliest thing ever like that’s such a load of BS. It’s 2024 men don’t own women and men don’t own last names.”
“Plath has been my last name the entire time I’ve been an adult and anything I’ve done in my adult life has been with this name,” she said. “If the people that think I should ‘return’ it and go back to my Dad’s name because I belong to that family again now that I’m divorced, I don’t. This is my last name and I don’t see any reason to change it. It’s become part of my identity. And apparently, that’s a hot take. Who knew?” Although many agreed and shared their similar experiences in Olivia’s comments section, others disagreed and criticized her for “men bashing”.
Season 6 of Welcome to Plathville explores the aftermath of Ethan and Olivia’s separation and divorce. Although Olivia is adamant about the divorce, Ethan struggles to move on. In the divorce filing, they cited the reason for the divorce as an “irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage, since over the years, they could not see eye to eye.
Welcome to Plathville airs every Tuesday on TLC.
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