Olivia Plath Calls New Duggar Docuseries ‘Triggering to Watch’: ‘That Was My Life’

Olivia Plath has revealed that the new Duggar family documentary series, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, was a bit too close to her reality.

Looking At Life

The television personality shared on Instagram on Saturday how watching the Prime Video docuseries about the Duggar family and their religious beliefs, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, was emotionally difficult for her. This was due to her having gone through similar experiences with faith.

“That was my life up until a few years ago,” Plath shared. “A little triggering to watch, but also there is solidarity in having other people speak up and say, ‘Yep, you’re not crazy, happened to me too. I know about this.’ That is healing in a way.”

Plath also shared that she got an “overwhelming response from people saying, ‘Please, let’s talk about this,’ ” that led her and her sister Lydia to open up about their experiences as “ex-[fundamentalist] and ex-cult kids” in extensive detail on an Instagram live.

“I will say, the realm in which my public life exists, there’s a lot of things I can’t say,” she shared. “There’s a lot of things I want to say about religion, about my past, about the world that I went right back into, and I hadn’t known to say them in the public space that exists for me, so I’m gonna get on [Instagram] instead.”

“I’m jumping on to say my experience, to be honest, was decently negative. There’s a lot of things that I laugh about now, because what else are you supposed to do?” Plath continued, adding that she is “not really religious anymore.”

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Welcome to Plathville first aired in November 2019, following Ethan and his family – his wife Olivia, parents Barry and Kim Plath, and his eight siblings. They live a traditional, conservative lifestyle in rural Georgia, avoiding technology in the digital age.

Their series is very closely related to the docuseries made about the Duggars and their lifestyle. It explores similar harmful views and issues in a cult-like religious setting.

Read More: Jill Duggar is ‘Done With Secrets’ As She Announces The Release of Her New Memoir ‘Counting the Cost’ – Rare