Barry Plath and Kim Plath are finding their family’s new normal following the end of their marriage of more than two decades. In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of the Tuesday, Oct. 1, season finale of Welcome to Plathville, Barry comes face-to-face with Kim’s new boyfriend Ken, and has a conversation with the new man in his ex’s life for the first time.
After Kim and Barry announced in June 2022 that they had officially split, the Plath family is coming back together for a family band reunion performance in St. Petersburg, Florida, forcing Kim and Barry to find a way to co-exist for the good of their nine kids.
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“Just like old times, huh?” Barry asks Kim as he finds her waiting on the hotel patio. Kim starts to protest, but Barry quickly clarifies he means only with the family band preparing to perform once again, earning her acknowledgment.
Continuing his small talk, Barry notes that he hasn’t seen 21-year-old daughter Moriah in a while. “I think she’s still getting ready,” Kim tells him, as Barry smiles, “She’s still getting ready. That’s not a surprise.” Ending the conversation, Kim excuses herself, telling her ex, “I got to go get something to drink. I’m parched.”
That leaves Barry standing alone, just feet away from Kim’s new boyfriend. “She disappears, and then I’m standing there with Ken,” Barry tells the camera in a confessional. “I’m like, OK, this is the moment, you know, ’cause I really haven’t sat down with Ken before.”
Saying hi, Barry sits down with Ken, who is admittedly “a little apprehensive” going into their first real chat. “Barry and I haven’t talked a whole lot in the last couple years, and we haven’t actually sat down face-to-face and talked,” he tells the camera. Barry is feeling equally nervous, joking in a confessional, “God grant me the ability to come out on the sunny side of life.”
Barry breaks the ice by asking Ken how he thinks the performance aspect of the trip has been going so far. “Good. You know, I’ve seen them all singing two or three at a time, [but] I’ve never seen them all together,” Ken answers. Barry agrees, “It’s going to be a treat for you,” adding, “You know, it’s going to be a throwback to the good old days when we had the band. [I] got the sound equipment out for the first time in five years.”
To the camera, Barry reveals he intends to keep the conversation focused on his and Kim’s kids, as it’s a “pretty benign, safe” subject for the occasion. Ken is more than willing to stay on topic, telling Barry how “impressive” it is that the children can harmonize so well. Barry agrees, “Yeah, well, it’s one of those family things, you know. …You can see it in families that [have] got that musical thing going and harmonies come. You know, just because it’s like a sibling thing.”
Watching from afar, Kim reflects, “It is nice to just see Barry and Ken talking for a few minutes. I mean, that makes me feel better. It makes me feel like, OK, it’s a step towards a new normal.” Barry agrees in a confessional of his own, “Enough time has passed for me to get comfortable and to go, ‘OK. This is the new norm.’ Life is too short to get stuck in the past.”
The Welcome to Plathville season finale airs Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
