and estranged husband were married for five years. In that time, the Plath name became part of her identity.
The Plaths split in 2023, but Olivia, 26, said she plans to keep her last name in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly.
“My last name being Plath, it’s been that way for my entire adult life,” she explained. “I got married as kind of a sheltered kid and changed my name at that time. There’s no reason why I would go back to my maiden name. I’m not that girl anymore.”
Olivia, whose maiden name is Meggs, married Ethan the year before Welcome to Plathville premiered on TLC. Viewers have seen their marriage unfold and disintegrate over the course of the show.
“Everything I’ve done as an adult has been in this name,” she added. “And also there’s a staunch feminist part of me that is very against the idea of last names belonging to men. It’s [an] assimilation of letters that we use to identify people and who cares if it’s my name? It’s not harming or hurting anyone else.”
Olivia is adamant that keeping her married name does not mean she wants to give her marriage another chance. In fact, she shut that down on the show.
“I just came to the realization that it was a pattern,” she said. “I didn’t want to continue. The fundamentals of the relationship hadn’t changed, the foundation hadn’t changed. It’s just kicking a can down the road and that’s a pattern I don’t want to repeat for the rest of my life. It’s a pattern I don’t want to bring kids into.”
She clarified to Us that her thoughts are about their relationship, not Ethan as a person. Olivia noted that she still cares about him, even if she doesn’t love him romantically.
“I don’t think he’s a bad person, but I think he wasn’t my person,” Olivia told Us. “That was not the right fit. We gave it a run and learned a lot of things and we were kids when we got together, but as adults I don’t think we were compatible.”
Olivia hinted that fans will get a glimpse at her new boyfriend during the current season, whom she met working a wedding.
“I’m really lucky to know him,” she teased. “And a little bit of that plays out on the season, so like towards the end I think people see a small glimpse of that.”
Welcome to Plathville airs on TLC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
With reporting from Mandie DeCamp
