Kim and Barry Plath are officially calling it quits after 24 years of marriage. The Welcome to Plathville stars confirmed they were ending their marriage Tuesday in a statement to PEOPLE, calling it the “best choice” for both of them after their decision to separate and live apart was first chronicled on the ongoing fourth season of the TLC show.
“After considerable thought and discussion, we have decided to end our marriage,” said Kim, 49, and Barry, 54, in their statement. “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.”
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In Tuesday’s episode of Welcome to Plathville, Kim told Barry that she was “not happy” in their marriage, adding to her husband, “I just feel like I’ve been hurt too much.” Barry said of his own feelings about the dissolution of his marriage, “I can’t help but feel a little betrayed. One thing I thought wouldn’t ever be shaken was us. Now it’s totally shaken up. It’s just really sad. It’s a tragedy.”
He continued in a confessional, “I look at her and I see a woman who feels trapped. I have bought flowers and bought presents, but I’m still an optimist hoping that she’ll change.” The former couple’s relationship problems will play out through the rest of the season as well, based on the midseason trailer that debuted Tuesday. “Once I realized that you were not really loving me for who I am, that’s not a marriage I want to save,” Kim tells Barry, who adds, “The relationship is D.O.A.”
Also in the trailer, Kim defends her decision to split with Barry to her 18-year-old daughter Lydia, who argues that she should have looked to God instead of ending the relationship. “When you marry a man, do you care if he loves you?” Kim asks her confused-looking child. Kim and Barry are parents to nine children together – Moriah, Ethan, Hosanna, Micah, Lydia, Isaac, Amber, Cassia and Mercy. They also had a son, Joshua, who died at 17 months old in a tragic farming accident. Welcome to Plathville airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
