On Tuesday’s episode of Welcome to Plathville, mother of nine Kim Plath reflected on the “bad relationships” some of her adult children have been in, before going on to admit that the way she and ex-husband Barry Plath raised their family may have ultimately contributed to their children’s love life issues.
As fans of the TLC series know, the marriage between Kim and Barry’s eldest son Ethan Plath and Ethan’s now ex-wife Olivia Plath was heavily documented from the beginning of the family’s show before the couple ultimately called it quits in 2023. More recently, viewers watched as Micah Plath’s troubled relationship with girlfriend Veronica Peters also ended, with Kim even drawing comparisons to Veronica and Olivia last season.
On this week’s episode, the focus continued on Isaac Plath’s sudden split from girlfriend Kaylynn Brinkley, which Isaac previously blamed on his fear that he and Kaylynn were moving too fast. While Isaac also claimed that he ended his relationship with Kaylynn because he was concerned that she would want to tie the knot before he was ready, he later admitted that he regretted his decision and wanted to get back together with Kaylynn.
After speaking to Isaac about his relationship dilemma, Kim told viewers that she and Barry are somewhat to blame for the “bad relationships” their adult children have found themselves in.
“A lot of my older kids, they’ve had kind of bad relationships,” she said. “Looking back, the thing that I would change with how we raise the kids is– I have a hard time promoting sex before marriage, I do feel like there’s a benefit to waiting– but now, I think it’s better to have sex before marriage and really get to know who you’re marrying than to just rush in and get married so that you can have sex.”
While Kim acknowledged that Isaac and Kaylynn had “spent a long time” getting to know one another, she also noted that her 20-year-old son and his 22-year-old (former) girlfriend “still have to figure out some of those things for themselves.”
“ … and it’s hard,” Kim added. “They have to figure out [how] to get to know somebody and not move too fast.”
Despite Kim historically not being the biggest fan of the people her children have dated/married, she revealed on Tuesday’s episode that after seeing Kaylynn upset over her and Isaac’s breakup, she reached out to her and the two ended up speaking on the phone for a couple of hours.
As her conversation with Isaac continued, Kim shared that Kaylynn had expressed her concern for Isaac’s well-being– something she said proved that Kaylynn is a “good woman.”
Kim also told Isaac that it was wrong for him to project his relationship fears onto a “genuinely kind” person like Kaylynn, before going on to encourage her son to learn how to “appreciate what [he has].”
“Sometimes you have to see that for yourself to know, because if you keep thinking, ‘Well, the grass is greener on the other side,’ then you don’t appreciate what you have,” she said. “But then, when you experience it, you see the grass really isn’t greener on the other side, and nobody can really tell you that.”
While Isaac ultimately agreed with his mom’s advice, he also told her it might be too late for him to repair things with Kaylynn.
“I really don’t know if I will get her back,” he said. “That really scares me.”
New episodes of ‘Welcome to Plathville’ air Tuesdays on TLC.
Watch a clip from this week’s episode below.
(Photos: TLC; Instagram)
