‘Welcome to Plathville’ Stars Kim and Barry Plath Say Ending Their Marriage ‘Was Not an Easy Decision’
TL;DR:
- Kim and Barry Plath have separated after 24 years of marriage.
- The Welcome to Plathville stars said the decision to end their relationship was not easy.
- Kim and Barry’s fractured marriage has been a major plotline in season 4 of their TLC reality show.
Barry and Kim Plath are going their separate ways. The stars of TLC’s reality series Welcome to Plathville have decided to separate after more than two decades of marriage.
The ‘Welcome to Plathville’ stars say ending their marriage is ‘the best choice’
Kim and Barry’s fraying relationship has been a major plot point in Welcome to Plathville’s fourth season, which is currently airing on Tuesday nights on TLC. So far, viewers have watched as Kim has moved out of the family home and Barry has struggled to regain his wife’s affection.
Now, the pair are confirming that they have not been able to repair their marriage.
“After considerable thought and discussion, we have decided to end our marriage,” Kim and Barry said in a statement shared with People. “While this was not an easy decision, we know it’s the best choice for both of us. We have been through many highs and lows in our 24 years of marriage and as we navigate this new chapter in our lives, we will co-parent our amazing children.”
Barry ‘never thought’ his marriage to Kim would end
When Kim, 49, revealed that she wasn’t satisfied in her marriage, it came as a shock to Barry, 54.
“The feedback I’m getting is she isn’t happy. There was this whole issue of just taking her for granted,” Barry explained in the show’s May 31 episode. Ultimately, Kim decided to move out, staying at the family’s various rental properties when they were available. If she spent the night at home, she slept on the couch. Meanwhile, she threw herself into her new dance studio, leaving Barry to shoulder the duties of caring for their younger children.
Gradually, Barry came to realize that the separation might be permanent.
“I never thought this would happen,” he said during a conversation with his daughter Lydia Plath during the show’s June 14 episode. However, he confessed that he and Kim may have needed to put more work into their relationship, especially in its early years.
“There were certain things left in the background that we didn’t deal with,” he said.
Kim wishes Barry would have ‘listened earlier’ to her concerns
In the June 28 episode of Welcome to Plathville, Kim said that she had tried to communicate her concerns to Barry over the years, but that he had refused to listen. When he suggested couples therapy, she replied that they were past the point where that would help.
“Now it’s gotten to the point where I’m ready to leave the marriage, now he cares,” Kim said in a confessional. “But I feel like if I was really worth it, he would have listened earlier.”
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