“Welcome to Plathville”: Ethan Reveals His Struggles with Depression: 'I Have a Lot on My Heart and Mind, But I Can't Express It'
“Welcome to Plathville”: Ethan Reveals His Struggles with Depression: 'I Have a Lot on My Heart and Mind, But I Can't Express It'
Liza EsquibiasWed, April 8, 2026 at 12:34 PM UTC
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Ethan PlathCredit: tlc -
Ethan Plath opened up about his struggles with depression after his divorce in the latest episode of Welcome to Plathville
He explained that music has helped him express his emotions, including in the time since he and his ex Teegan Nichols split
Ethan also attributed his lack of communication skills to his parents, adding that he is "still learning, working on it"
Ethan Plath is sharing his mental health struggles.
In the April 7 episode of Welcome to Plathville, Ethan, 27, and his friend Austin gathered for their weekly Friday night music session, where they played guitar and showed each other new songs they were working on. One of Ethan’s was about “walking along a lonely road,” which he explained was inspired by a vulnerable time in his life.
“It's kind of written from the place of pain, like somebody leaving everything, trying to start over,” he said. “As the song goes on, the guy finds out that you can’t just run from your problems.”
Ethan Plath and his friend Austin in 'Welcome to Plathville'Credit: tlc
“What were you going through to have all that come about?” Austin asked, to which Ethan replied, “Oh, that was when Olivia left.”
Ethan and his ex-wife Olivia Plath publicly announced their split in October 2023 and jointly filed for divorce in February 2024 following five years of marriage. Their rocky relationship was heavily documented on the TLC series, as they struggled to see eye to eye on several key issues, including communication, politics, religion and differences in how they want to raise children.
“Depression is a real thing, and I definitely struggled a lot with it,” Ethan shared during his confessional while reflecting on his headspace when he was writing the song. “Music helps a lot, but also, sometimes music is very painful too.”
When Austin pointed out that Ethan seemed to have a lot on his mind, the eldest Plath son opened up about a new song he is working on about his ex-girlfriend Teegan Nichols. In the season 8 premiere, he revealed that they had broken up, although he hoped they might still reconcile.
“What's it about?” Austin wondered.
“I don't know,” Ethan quipped. “I don't really think I'd want to play it.”
Austin then asked Ethan if he still had romantic feelings for Teegan, and he said, “I guess I do.”
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“I have a lot on my heart and mind, but I can't express it,” Ethan continued. “I definitely think my mom and dad and all of my siblings, we just didn't really learn to communicate very well. Even not communicating what you feel or whatever, but just actual communication. That definitely has not helped me any in my personal life. I've had to learn that the hard way. But that's okay. I'm still learning, working on it.”
Ethan Plath and Teegan NicholsCredit: TLC
Offering some advice, Austin opened up about his own heartbreak and encouraged Ethan to learn to move on despite his ex always having “a place in your heart.”
“You can never get rid of it,” Austin added. “It could be the same way for her to you. It's just in this time of life, it wasn't right, and one day, it might come back. But if it don't, it wasn't meant to be. And that's just something to us men we have to be okay with.”
“With Teegan, I definitely miss a lot of things — doing stuff together, making memories together,” Ethan reflected. “The biggest thing really, is she truly was my best friend that I'd ever had. Not being able to talk to that person or spend any time. And then you're just thinking all the time about how quickly time goes by, and every day, every minute, you can never get back.”
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Austin encouraged Ethan to embrace the support system he has surrounding him, which the reality star appreciated.
“If I'm left to my own devices, I'll just end up spending all my time alone just thinking about everything, and that's not good,” he noted. “So it's good to have friends that get you away and not keep everything that you're thinking bottled up inside of you.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Welcome to Plathville airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
