‘Welcome to Plathville’: Moriah Plath Goes On Her First Real Date— ‘It’s a Huge Gamble With My Heart’
Growing up on a 55-acre farm in rural Georgia with conservative, Christian fundamentalist parents and eight homeschooled siblings, 17-year-old Moriah Plath often dreamed of freedom and escape. After she started to rebel against her strict parents, Kim and Barry Plath, she was kicked out of the house and sent to live with her 19-year-old brother, Micah Plath (who was also starting to venture out on his own).
The Plath family believes in supervised courtships rather than traditional dating. Moriah asserted her newfound independence once again on the Nov. 17 episode of TLC’s Welcome to Plathville season 2 by going on her first real date with her boyfriend, Max.
Moriah was nervous and excited before her first-ever real date
Growing up, Moriah was taught that she should “pick her guy from afar,” court him with parental supervision, and hopefully end up with him permanently.
But that wasn’t the way the 17-year-old wanted to live her life. Instead, the Welcome to Plathville star explained that she was “starving for freedom,” especially in her love life. She wanted to have a more traditional, romantic relationship with a boyfriend and get to know him before settling down.
On the most recent episode, Moriah’s crush – a teenager named Max – took her on her first real date ever. She was jittery and excited as she prepared for the milestone.
“I’m about to go on my first date, and there’s no words to tell you how I’m feeling,” Moriah gushed to TLC producers. “I wish I could, but it’s just impossible.”
And that wasn’t the only first of the evening. Max showed up to take Moriah out for ice cream on a motorcycle – making it her first-ever motorcycle ride. The teen was thrilled for the new experience, saying it made her feel “free” and like she was “about to fly.”
The ‘Welcome to Plathville’ star admitted she was ‘scared’ to get close to Max
Moriah and Max sat down to eat together, and sparks immediately flew between the young couple. “Not only is Max cute, but he’s also pretty funny,” Moriah told TLC producers, adding that he made her feel “comfortable” instead of on edge or judged.
Still, Moriah was worried about opening up to her new boyfriend when it came to her past. She was worried her strict family or her lack of understanding of the modern world would turn him off.
“I’m kind of scared to tell Max about my past, because I’m scared that it’ll scare him off,” Moriah admitted. “I wasn’t in the world. I’ve had to learn all this on my own, and sometimes it’s like, ‘What if I learned it wrong?’”
But Moriah wanted to take the risk if it meant she and Max could find a way to connect.
The teen admitted that her parents kicked her out because of her first meeting with Max
Naturally, Max wanted to know why Moriah no longer lived with her parents, despite being under 18. The Welcome to Plathville star sheepishly revealed that her new boyfriend had actually played an unwitting role in her parents’ decision to kick her out of the house.
“I had a list of rules to follow, and one of the rules was that I would have to tell them every time that I went out,” Moriah explained. While she agreed at first, she felt Kim and Barry never allowed her the chance to spend time with friends – so eventually, she started sneaking out to get around their restrictions.
“That got kind of messy,” Moriah told Max before dropping the bombshell: “And then, the night that I met you – that was the night that my parents told me I had to leave.”
Still, Moriah had no regrets. While she acknowledged that it was harder to make it on her own, she was craving the chance to spread her wings. She felt “trapped” at home under her parents’ thumb and the weight of their rules.
Now, she hoped she could find something real with Max – who made her feel more accepted than anyone else ever had.
“This is the first time I’ve really liked a boy like this,” the Welcome to Plathville star confessed. “Honestly, I’m kind of scared. I just feel like it’s a huge gamble with my heart. But I’m going to take it one step at a time.”
