“Little People, Big World”
In March 2006, TLC aired the pilot episode of “Little People, Big World.” Its name was deemed appropriate since three of the six main cast members have dwarfism. Matt Roloff, the husband and father in the show has diastrophic dysplasia, a type of dwarfism that had him in and out of the hospital with complications as a child. He had multiple surgical operations as a child, which are responsible for the crutches he uses to day to support himself while walking. Amy Roloff, the wife and mother in the show, has achondroplasia dwarfism, but didn’t suffer complications as Matt had. One of their children, Zachary, has achondroplasia but the rest of the children are of average height.
The premier was successful, attracting a large viewership that has remained consistent in the 24 seasons for which the show has been on the television network. The American reality television series promised to let fans into the Roloff household to follow the lives of the family patriarch, Matt, his wife Amy, and their children Zach, Jeremy, Molly and Jacob. The show was primarily set on the family farm in Portland, Oregon, but would follow the family on trips and adventures beyond Roloff Farm. The show initially ran for six seasons before its cancellation was announced. However, a seventh season was made and the news of cancellation has not come up again since.
The show has changed over the seasons, but maintained its premise of following members of the Roloff family performing daily activities. In 16 years, fans watched Matt start his business after spending years building a career in computer software sales, to supplement the income from the family farm, while Amy held down the fort at home, and engaged in philanthropy by helping raise funds for the Dwarf Athletic Association of America, to support foster parents who adopt children with dwarfism from homeless shelters.
The Roloff children are now all grown up, and some have already started their own families, and had Roloff grandchildren. Zach and Jeremy, the Roloff’s first-born twins, are both married with children. Zach married Tori, who joined the cast of “Little People, Big World” and has become a regular on the show until the couple hinted that they would not be returning if the show is renewed for another season. Zach and Tori have three children Jackson, Lilah and Josiah. Zach’s twin, Jeremy, married Audrey in 2014. They left the show four years later, and are now a family of five with their children Ember, Bode and Radley.
The Roloff’s only daughter, Molly, followed in the footsteps of her older brother and stepped away from the spotlight; she lives in Spokane, Washington, with her husband. She makes occasional appearances in the family’s reality television series, unlike Jacob who left the show completely, claiming that the producers advance their agenda to increase viewership, accusing them of manufacturing storylines to heighten the drama, making the family mere characters in a fake storyline, as opposed to portraying their reality. He now travels the country, and shares his adventures with fans on YouTube.
Divorce and New Beginnings
In 2016, the curtain fell on Matt and Amy’s marriage when the couple split. The news was shocking to the show’s fans, but most agreed that the two didn’t seem to have an easy marriage based on their interactions in the show. From the beginning, Amy and Matt appeared to have different personalities, pursued different priorities, and life goals. Naturally, these differences planted a wedge in the marriage, and fans watched the 27-year-long union disintegrate piece by piece until the couple admitted that their marriage was over.
After the divorce was finalized, Amy wrote a memoir entitled “A Little Me”, in which she explained why she filed for divorce. In a promotional message for the book, she promised to reveal the life lessons she’d acquired so far, and the inspiration that drove her to write the book. In the memoir, Amy alleged that Matt had an affair with one of the managers at the Roloff Farm, a conclusion she reached after seeing some messages and pictures that she deemed too inappropriate to be shared between people in a platonic or professional relationship.
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However, the inappropriate exchange was not Amy’s only clue. She realized that Matt was spending a lot more time on the farm than he was spending in their home with their family. Apparently, Matt would rush to the farm after filming “Little People, Big World,” and the farm manager with whom Amy suspected Matt was involved was around more than usual. Amy felt betrayed, ashamed, and scared that her husband was interested in another woman. Although he denies any inappropriate involvement with his employee while he was still married to Amy, her discovery destroyed her relationship with Matt, driving them to an inevitable divorce. The couple announced their decision to file for divorce, adding that they would remain cordial for their four children, grandchildren and business.
The divorce allowed both Amy and Matt to pursue new beginnings. For Amy, that came in the form of Chris Marek, whem Amy met at a pool party in 2016, the same year her marriage to Matt was dissolved. The two started a whirlwind romance that led them to the altar in 2021; they had their wedding ceremony at Roloff Farms with the help of Matt and his girlfriend, the left for their honeymoon to Maui, Hawaii immediately, and have kept their fans updated on their adventures since. Amy lets fans into her life with Chris occasionally, by sharing pictures of the happy couple traveling and having fun. The couple faces the occasional bump in their relationship – most recently rumors of their separation after Amy visited her family in Michigan alone, prompting some fans to suspect trouble in the marriage. Amy addressed the rumors by assuring her fans that her marriage is as strong as ever, and shared pictures of her and Chris celebrating their anniversary on a trip to Italy.
Matt Roloff and Caryn Chandler
In 2017, a year after his divorce from his wife of 27 years, Matt announced that he was in a relationship. He made the announcement in the 17th season of “Little People, Big World”, and accompanied it with an official declaration of their relationship on Instagram. In the post, Matt stated that Caryn had been managing Roloff farms for a few years, and the two had forged a great working relationship, adding that he and Caryn were officially dating. He explained further that he had embarked on a journey of soul-searching and realized that he wanted her in his life, noting that they had a lot of things in common, enjoyed being around each other, and were good companions. He ended the post by hinting that he and Caryn had more in common than he did with Amy.
With their relationship public, fans learned more about Caryn Chandler, the former employee to whom Amy referred in her revelation of the affair that put the final nail in the coffin which was her marriage with Matt. She was the manager at Roloff farms for several years and had worked closely with Matt, the overall director of the farm, and Amy, who served as Roloff Farm’s secretary until she was relieved of the position after the divorce. However, Caryn wasn’t featured in the show, and wasn’t invited to any of the family’s events before 2017. Caryn is a divorced mother of two, Brittany and Connor, having separated from her husband in 2021. She lives in Portland, Oregon, in her family home.
As Matt’s girlfriend, Caryn has now made several appearances in the show, and is invited to family events. Her first family event was Zach and Tori’s baby shower in 2017. At first, some members of the family, particularly Amy, were uncomfortable with her inclusion in events to which she would not be invited previously. She has since warmed up to her – The two women worked together to host the Roloff Farm’s traditional pumpkin patch. With her place in the family cemented and accepted by the family members, fans have been wondering when Matt and Caryn intend to get married.
Wedding Bells?
A few years ago, Matt hinted that he would propose to Caryn Chandler after Amy’s wedding to Chris, to avoid stealing her thunder, held in 2021 at Roloff Farms. and the couple moved to their new residence close by. Fans had kept their eyes glued to Caryn’s finger waiting for Matt to fulfill the promise.
'Little People, Big World' Star Matt Roloff Talks Wedding to Caryn Chandler in Exclusive Previewhttps://t.co/wUCfYOL5ez pic.twitter.com/oAKn4eZQ7U
— PopCulture.com (@PopCulture) October 19, 2020
Although the proposal wasn’t forthcoming, Matt and Caryn continued to build their relationship. They embarked on a project to build their home together on one side of the Roloff farm, after Amy expressed reservations over living in the same house she Matt had lived in and raised their children. The couple documented the project on the show and Matt shared some snippets of their progress on his social media accounts; Matt was excited to announce that he and Chandler would move into the house once it was completed. In one post, Matt hinted that he would ask Caryn to marry him on the day they break ground on their forever home. Construction on the house began last year but keen fans are yet to see a ring on Caryn’s finger.
Last year, Matt pushed his intended proposal to Caryn again. In an episode of the show, he acknowledged knowing that Caryn was disappointed in the slow pace at which their relationship was progressing, adding that the two had stagnated in limbo. Once again, he hinted at a proposal, but insisted that he would only pop the question once their dream home was completed. He justified his decision by insisting that they should have a place to live before marrying. The two are living separately at the moment – Caryn resides at her family home in Oregon while Matt, who turned the former family home into a short-term rental, is living in a mobile home on the farm.
Caryn has dropped some hints that she’s unhappy with their current relationship status. When filming an episode of “Little People, Big World,” she referred to herself as Matt’s wife, saying she is married to the guy who owns a pumpkin patch. Matt caught on, and gave her and their fans hope by saying she’s almost married to a guy who owns a pumpkin patch. Months later, fans listening for wedding bells are disappointed to learn that Matt has not proposed despite other cast members hinting at a proposal – In November last year, Chris Marek said although he did not know when Matt and Caryn were marrying, Matt had confided in him that the wedding would be small and lowkey.
After two years of building Caryn and the fans’ hope for a wedding between him and Caryn, Matt revealed some news that planted doubts in the minds of their fans over the prospect of the long-awaited proposal and marriage. It all started last year when Caryn accompanied Matt to a meeting with Zach and Tori, who wanted to purchase a portion of the Roloff farm that the Roloff family patriarch had put up for sale. In the meeting, teh parties turned hostile and a disagreement ensued. Caryn intervened much to the chagrin of fans, who believed she should have left the matter to Matt and his son. The incident created a rift between Caryn and the rest of the family, prompting her to take a step back from the family, to allow Matt and Zach to patch things up.
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A frustrated Caryn has decided to put her house in Oregon up for sale, and is preparing to move away from Matt and his family to Arizona to be close to her parents. The “U.S. Sun” reported that Caryn has quit “Little People, Big World” and is tired of being caught in the middle of family drama, and forced to mediate. She was set to make the move in January, but now hopes to complete her relocation in May to allow enough time to sell her home, which is already on the market. The move dampens fans’ hopes for a wedding, but doesn’t eliminate the possibility since she insists that her relationship with Matt is still strong and intact.
For now, it remains unclear whether Matt Roloff and Caryn Chandler are actually planning to marry.
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