Olivia Plath From ‘Welcome to Plathville’ Explains Why She Won’t Change Her Name Despite Divorce From Ethan Plath

Olivia Plath’s marriage to Ethan Plath is over. But one thing won’t change for the star of TLC’s Welcome to Plathville. Despite her divorce, Olivia says she won’t stop using her former husband’s last name.

Ethan Plath’s ex Olivia Plath says she ‘earned’ her last name

Following the Welcome to Plathville Season 5 finale, Olivia took to social media to answer some fan questions about her marriage, her plans for the future, and her experience on the reality show. One person wanted to know if she planned on changing her last name now that she was no longer married to Ethan.

“As of right now, I do not,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.

“This has been my name for the entirety of my adult life,” she added. “Honestly, I sometimes joke that I f*cking earned it (and largely gave it notoriety) with everything I went through.”

Olivia also said that going back to her original last name of Meggs didn’t make sense because she was no longer that person. Like Ethan, Olivia’s parents were ultra-conservative Christians who homeschooled their many children. As an adult, she’s distanced herself from that lifestyle.

“I’m not about to change it back to my dads/family last name because that girl doesn’t exist anymore – she grew up and left that world behind,” she wrote. “I will probably change it when I get married again someday, or maybe hyphenate since my business is branded based on my current last name. We will see.”

She doesn’t regret her time on ‘Welcome to Plathville’

Another follower asked Olivia if she regretted appearing on Welcome to Plathville. The show, which premiered in 2019, often focused on Olivia’s contentious relationship with her in-laws, including Ethan’s mother, Kim Plath, and his siblings Moriah Plath and Micah Plath.

Olivia was in her early 20s when the show began. She admitted that “growing up in the public eye is really hard and not for the faint of heart.”

“There have been some negatives, I won’t lie,” she wrote. However, she said that despite some painful moments, she doesn’t want to take back her time on the show.

“The positives greatly outweigh the negatives,” she wrote. “The experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met, the consistent ‘holding up a mirror’ of watching my own actions and gaining introspection, I wouldn’t trade those. I’m grateful for them.”

Olivia praises ‘Welcome to Plathville’ producers for their portrayal of the Plath family

Olivia also shed some light on how much control she and the rest of the Plath family had over Welcome to Plathville storylines.

“I’ve always said ‘they can’t film what you don’t do,’” she wrote. “One common misconception for our show is that the producers are always scheming, plotting, or forcing us into situations or having conversations. That is absolutely not true.”

The show’s producers “have a high level of integrity,” she added. “If you see inconsistencies in the show, that is due to certain cast not being honest/realistic, not the producers.”

TLC has not yet confirmed whether Welcome to Plathville will return for a sixth season. But if it does, Olivia plans to be involved, she said.