Olivia Plath says TLC’s Welcome to Plathville did not accurately depict the reality of her marriage to Ethan Plath. 

Olivia, 26, took to social media on Thursday to speak about her ex-husband’s treatment of her during the years they were together and the “things I experienced in my relationship that are domestic abuse and violence.”

Olivia Plath says ‘diminishing’ abuse that isn’t physical harms women 

Olivia, who announced she and Ethan were divorcing in 2023, said in her Instagram video that she knew she “wasn’t being treated well” in her marriage. However, it took her a long time to recognize she was in an abusive relationship because Ethan was not physically violent with her. 

The professional wedding photographer said people often assume that “if you don’t have a ton of bruises, it must not have been that bad.” 

But that’s a dangerous attitude to have, the wedding photographer explained. 

“There’s a lot that falls under that category [of domestic abuse] and diminishing other kinds of abuse that aren’t physical keeps women in dangerous, harmful situations,” she added.  

‘The Welcome to Plathville’ star paints disturbing picture of her marriage 

Olivia went on to share some disturbing stories about Ethan’s behavior when the Welcome to Plathville cameras weren’t rolling.

“He threatened to shoot my friends that he called out by name that he thought were influencing me to be more liberal,” she recalled. (Olivia has previously said that her and Ethan’s growing political differences contributed to their decision to divorce.)

Ethan also had a habit of slamming furniture, driving recklessly while she was in the car, and once left her stranded while they were traveling abroad, she said. 

“In arguments, he would refuse to let me leave the house. He would block my car so that I was not able to leave,” Olivia shared. When they finally broke up, she said he told her was planning to buy a gun to “restore order,” though he later claimed he just said that to scare her. 

Ethan also displayed threatening behavior when they met up to discuss signing divorce papers. That interaction was filmed for Welcome to Plathville, a choice that Olivia said she deliberately made because she was concerned for her safety. 

“I made sure that when I was meeting with him there [were] cameras there for a reason,” she said. 

Ethan Plath would ‘cuss’ and ‘spit,’ Olivia claims  

On Welcome to Plathville, Ethan was portrayed as a sheltered and naive young man. In reality, he was not the mild-mannered person people saw on TV, according to Olivia. 

“He would back me into corner, he would cuss me out, he would spit in my face, and any time I threatened to call the cops on that, he would say, ‘I didn’t hit you. You have nothing on me,’” she said. 

In another post, Olivia said she’d previously hesitated to speak out because she was afraid of violating the terms of her NDA. Now, she wants other women to know that if they are in a similar situation, they are not alone. Nor should they be afraid to share their stories.  

“Women speaking up about abuse of DV doesn’t ruin a man’s reputation,” she wrote. “If that were true, we wouldn’t have a convicted felon for president. Women don’t owe abusive behavior or men silence to protect them from scrutiny, accountability, or uncomfortability.”

Showbiz Cheat Sheet has reached out to Ethan for comment on Olivia’s allegations. 

How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

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