Welcome to Platteville Stars Kim Plath and Barry Plath have been dealing with a difficult divorce for the past few years, but Their custody arrangement for their younger kids is yet to be settled. While Kim, who married Barry in her early 20s, has been through a lot in recent years, her time married to Barry has been a long string of discomforts. The couple shares nine children, and after dealing with some serious issues during their marriage, many wondered if they would be able to continue to be civil after separating and sharing custody of their younger daughters.
Originally living in the confines of fundamentalist religion, Kim, Barry, and their children were cut off from the modern luxuries of the world. While this worked for them for a time, the Georgia natives finally decided that fundamentalism was something too stifling for the family and they moved away from the extreme version of their religion. Despite the fact that they still believed in the foundations of their Christianity, the Plaths reintegrated into a society their children had never seen before. Welcome to Platteville Season 6 featured Kim and Barry’s strained relationship, however Their custody arrangement is more difficult than viewers understand.
Related
Kim Plath is seeking full custody of her 3 minor daughters
She only wants physical custody of the girls
While Kim and Barry’s divorce has yet to be finalized, the former couple have discussed the best options for their three young daughters. The older Plath children were not a factor in the divorce, but Amber Plath, Cassia Plath, and Mercy Plath are all under 18 and will require the care of an adult for the next several years. Although Barry and Kim have been caring for their six other children together, things have changed in their relationship in recent years, and it appears that Kim is no longer interested in them sharing custody of the three younger girls.
In court documents that were made public to the media, it was noted that Kim requested sole physical custody of her three youngest daughters with Barry. Although there are not many details about the request, it is clear that Kim is not interested in sharing custody of their daughters with Barry. Instead, she hoped that she would be able to take care of the girls, probably in the hope that she would be able to get along with the girls. Daughters, as she wants. Unfortunately, Barry showed up Welcome to Platteville Trying to maintain his connection to his daughters despite the divorce.
Barry has been a controlling parent in the past
His behavior is uncalled for
In the past, Barry was the more controlling side of the marriage Welcome to Platteville. Barry was married before his union with Kim, Barry’s behavior has always been something that viewers are wary of. Controlling by nature, Barry was able to hide behind the facade of their fundamentalist religion for a long time. His controlling nature wasn’t necessarily outward in the way that tends to be highlighted on reality TV, but in a quieter, more subtle way. Barry made all the rules of the relationship as the MAAnd pushed Kim to parent their children in specific ways.
Hiding behind their fundamentalist religion as a backdrop, Barry explains himself using religion and the beliefs he was taught by the church. Rather than owning up to the fact that he wanted his family to feel subordinate, including his wife, Barry would make it clear that he was working from the rules he was taught by the church. While Barry’s control has seemingly loosened over the years as the Plath family has moved into a more modern version of themselves, His behavior was difficult for the younger Plath children to deal with as they had more freedom with Kim.
Kim has self-destructive issues of her own
She can’t be trusted with the kids
While Barry was a strict, controlling parent, Kim has become more self-destructive in recent years. Kim’s behavior after her divorce from Barry changed dramatically, because it felt like something changed in her intrinsically. The majority of Kim’s time as the matriarch of the Plath family before leaving the confines of fundamentalist religion was spent doting on her family and doing Everything Barry dictated. While Kim chose to serve her family, she lost a lot of her identity in the process and clearly felt that loss when the Family moved back into general modernity after fundamentalism.
After Kim and Barry split, her life slowly spiraled out of control. Not only did she not have the same role as a mother as she was used to for decades, but she wound up with little going on in general, especially removing her role as a woman. Kim turned to substances to help her cope and eventually found herself with a DUI arrest Under her belt. Pleading guilty and serving community service, Kim became more erratic over time. While she was trying to regain the trust of her children, her behavior was anything but maternal or trusting.
Should Barry or Kim get full custody?
Doesn’t really seem appropriate
Although Kim and Barry have both had their issues, both deserve to be present in their daughters’ lives. While the minor Plath children grew up with their parents together, they are now used to a new normal where they shuffle between households. Although they may not be fans of going from one place to another, Kim and Barry have been doing what they can to keep the kids in a normal state of mind, giving them as much as they can individually So they don’t miss out on what it feels like to have the same upbringing as their siblings.
While Barry was a controlling parent to the Plath children in his early years, it’s clear that he became more relaxed in his older years. Leaning into exercise and conditioning, Barry’s behavior was relatively stable Welcome to Platteville. Kim, on the other hand, has shown some dangerous, irritable behavior over the years she’s been on the series. Although she may not be the monster some make her out to be, She made mistakes just like Barry. Although she may only want custody of the younger girls, Welcome to PlattevilleKim and Barry both deserve to raise their daughters.
Welcome to Platteville Airs Tuesdays at 10pm EDT on TLC.
Source: TLC/ Instagram