Redditors Think Kim Plath Was Running an MLM Scheme — Here's Why!
Published Sept. 12 2023, 9:57 p.m. ET
The Gist:
- Social media users claim that Kim Plath was involved in an MLM scheme.
- Some users think that Kim forced her son Ethan to sell Young Living Essential Oils.
- Kim and Ethan's relationship has been strained in the past.
- Kim was also arrested and charged for DUI before the MLM scheme allegations surfaced.
Season 5 of Welcome to Plathville began on Sept. 5, 2023, and the conflict between the cast has already boiled over. The hit TLC reality show first premiered in 2019 and follows the messy relationships of the Plath family, a group of Christian Fundamentalists living in Georgia. Barry and Kim Plath lead the pack, as the parents of nine children. Viewers have witnessed the couple’s divorce and Kim’s arrest for DUI. Now, the patriarch is being accused of running a multi-level marketing scheme.
Kim and Barry announced their separation in June 2022 after 24 years of marriage. The couple, who share children Ethan, Hosanna, Micah, Moriah, Lydia, Isaac, Amber, Cassia, and Mercy, begin living in separate homes during Season 4 and are never able to mend their relationship.
Social media users are digging into another part of Kim’s past and are suggesting that she was involved in an MLM scheme. Here's what we know.
Was Kim Plath running a multi-level marketing scheme?
Kim has found herself at the center of a scathing allegation. In a Reddit thread, started by user Evilbadscary, fans of Welcome to Plathville are sharing reasons why they believe Kim was involved in a multi-level marketing plot. In the MLM model, individuals make their earnings by recruiting new sellers into the business, creating what are known as “downlines.”
In this case, some believe that Kim forced Ethan to become a seller of Young Living Essential Oils so that she could benefit from his product sales. “The MLM is likely Young Living essential oils,” one person suggested. Adding, “The catalog linked on Ethan’s page is 2016, so the timeline fits.”
It isn't clear if the allegations are true or if Kim will be forced to address the speculation head-on. The family’s website has since been archived, but the links to Kim and Ethan’s Young Living Essential Oils websites are still active. Young Living, which claims to be the “world leader in essential oils,” sells ultrasonic diffusers, dietary oils, and other wellness products.
Kim and Ethan have tried to mend their relationship.
Ethan’s relationship with his mother, Kim, has become strained and the MLM allegations may only make things worse. In Season 4, the pair had a sit-down and attempted to come to a peaceful resolution. During the conversation, Ethan told Kim that he felt held back under her tutelage, prompting Kim to suggest that she did the best she could raising her kids.
And while Kim and Ethan’s relationship remains on thin ice, in part due to Olivia Plath’s disdain for the family matriarch, he has made amends with Barry. “I really want to let go of stuff that was holding me back, holding him back, and just move on,” Ethan said.
Kim Plath faced another scandal before the possible MLM scheme came to light.
The announcement about Kim being part of an MLM scheme came days after she was arrested for driving under the influence in Florida.
According to an arrest report obtained by InTouch Weekly, the reality star was involved in a single-vehicle crash that left the vehicle overturned in a ditch filled with water. Kim was pulled from the wreckage by a bystander and was charged with DUI. Kim “appeared to be intoxicated and had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath and person.”