“Little People, Big World”
On 4 March 2006, TLC aired the first episode of “Little People, Big World,” a series that follows the lives of Matt and Amy Roloff and their children. 17 years later, the show has been renewed 23 times, and the cable Tv network just aired the 24th season between 1st November 2022 and 3rd January 2034. The show’s primary setting is the family’s 109-acre farm in Portland, Oregon.
Matt Roloff, the family patriarch, and matriarch Amy Roloff, agreed to film their daily experiences and activities after they were approached by TLC. They considered the proposal an opportunity to educate people on dwarfism, which inspired the name of the show as a nod to Matt, Amy and one of their sons, Zach, who have dwarfism and refer to themselves as little people. As portrayed in the show, the couple has three other children of average height; Molly, Jacob and Jeremy, who is Zach’s twin brother.
The show catapulted Matt Roloff to fame as soon as its first season aired in 2006. Viewers, who later became his and the show’s die-hard fans, were hooked by the story of his childhood – Matt spent most of it in and out of hospitals, as he was born with Achondroplasia dwarfism, a condition that increased his risk of health complications such as recurring ear infections, breathing problems, excess fluid on the brain, obesity, and a curved spine.
As a child, the show’s fan-favorite had to undergo 15 painful orthopedic surgical operations. The procedures and the long recovery periods afterwards had Matt spending weeks at a time in hospitals, only to end up back on the operating table again, after recovering from the previous operation. The pain from the multiple surgeries was only rivaled by the isolation and loneliness Matt felt, and the empathy he felt for his brothers, Josh and Sam, who were often stuck in the hospital with him. Unfortunately, Josh wasn’t as lucky as Matt and Sam, as in 1999, he succumbed to the heart and lung complications he’d battled since childhood.
Years after his recovery, Matt was back in the hospital again, this time with his son, Zach, who was in and out of the hospital like his father, for seven operations although the only Roloff child with achondroplasia dwarfism. At one time, he had excess fluid on his brain and almost died as a result, just as Matt was grieving the loss of his brother, Josh. Matt’s struggles with his own, his brothers’, and his son’s health endeared him to the fans, who sympathized with him and admired his resolve to use his experiences to become resilient, value his family, and share his story to encourage others through the show and his memoir: “Against Tall Odds: Being a David in a Goliath World.”
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Over the 17 years during which “Little People, Big World” has aired on TLC, Matt has appeared in all 383 episodes, reaching millions of viewers who have tuned in to watch every one of the show’s 24 seasons, and are looking forward to seeing him again if the show is renewed for its 25th season. Everyone is particularly looking forward to watching Matt pursue a new adventure, as he builds a new home with his girlfriend. Here is everything you need to know about Matt Roloff’s exciting new home adventure.
Divorce and New Beginnings
When Matt and Amy Roloff married in the late 1980s, they hoped to spend the rest of their lives together in wedded bliss. A few years later, in 1990, they welcomed their first-born children, a set of twins. They remained committed to each other through Zach’s occasional surgeries and hospital visits, the birth of their other children, the loss of Matt’s brother, and other difficult moments. Determined to give their children good lives, Matt and Amy acquired the Roloff farm on which they grew pumpkins, built a series of playgrounds for the children, and later filmed their show. For 26 years, the Roloffs created numerous happy memories on their family farm.
Trouble began when in 2016, Matt and Amy Roloff ended their 26-year union officially, after their divorce was granted by the court – Amy had filed for divorce the previous year. In a memoir she released after the end of her marriage, Amy alleges that Matt was unfaithful – in the memoir entitled, “A Little Me,” Amy accuses Matt of having an affair with one of their employees at Roloff Farms. According to Amy, Caryn Chandler was a manager at their farm when she noted that Matt would spend most of his time at the farm. He would go to the farm every evening after filming, and spend the days they were not filming working at the farm. Amy also saw some pictures on Matt’s phone and read some messages that were inappropriate for colleagues, or a boss and his employee. His behavior, the messages and pictures, and Amy’s intuition point to Matt having a relationship with Caryn, while he was still married to Amy.
Matt didn’t confirm or deny Amy’s allegations over his alleged affair with his current girlfriend, Caryn. However, fans have interpreted some statements he made in the past as confirmation that the beginning of his relationship with Caryn overlapped with the last years of his marriage to Amy. For instance, in his Memoir, Matt cites fundamental differences in his and his ex-wife’s understanding of the word “commitment.” To Amy, a commitment is a rigid and non-negotiable promise but to Matt, a commitment is flexible and negotiable. The controversial statement had the show’s fans in an uproar, considering his position as an admission that his infidelity was behind the divorce. Amy has since moved on from their separation, and married Chris Marek in a glamorous wedding held at the Roloff Farm.
Caryn Chandler is Matt Roloff’s new beginning. Although Matt declined to reveal when his relationship with her started, the two have been in a relationship since they went public in 2017, the same year his divorce from Amy was finalized. Immediately after they announced that they were dating, Matt transferred Caryn from her former position as a manager at the family farm and made her his personal assistant. As part of her duties, she was involved in ensuring that the Roloff Farm was ready for Amy’s wedding to Chris in 2021. Caryn is also responsible for running the Roloff farm’s famous pumpkin season-which she ran as a manager, and now runs in collaboration with Amy and the rest of the Roloff family. Despite their divorce, Matt promised to ensure that his ex-wife is involved in the management of the Roloff farm.
Property Sale Controversy
Although Matt’s divorce from Amy was amicable, it has raised some issues regarding the ownership and management of the farm and all its activities including festivals. The controversy began when Amy sold her share of the property to Matt after the divorce. She made the move after not knowing where to go after 27 years of working with Matt to build their dream property. After selling her portion of her farm property to Matt for $667,000 and over 32 acres of the rest of the land for $975,000, Amy bought her own property nearby and was done with Roloff farm – giving the impression that had ended her involvement in all activities related to the farm.
In 2022, Matt announced his intention to sell off part of the land that was formerly his and Amy’s home. In an Instagram post, the Roloff family patriarch said that he was putting 16 of 109 acres for sale, including the part of the land on which the Roloff family home stands. Although Amy had sold off her share of the property, she spoke up against the intention, insisting that Matt should have sold the land to one of their children. Her response had his fans in an uproar, asking why she didn’t keep her share to pass it down to them, or sell it to one of the children – or at least had Matt sign a contract compelling him to sell it to their children if he ever decided to sell any part of the property.
The world-famous Roloff Farm is for sale! ✨ Nestled on 16 acres, it includes:
– 5-bedroom main house
– Pirate ship
– Barn TV production studio space
– Western town & German-inspired medieval castle pic.twitter.com/qX2be4w0qf— Realtor.com (@realtordotcom) June 1, 2022
The controversy surrounding Matt’s decision to sell a few acres of the Roloff farm involves other members of his family as well. Initially, Matt claimed that he offered Zach, Jeremy and Jacob the opportunity to buy the land, but Zach turned him down, claiming that the quoted price was too high. However, Zach later accused his father of being manipulative, and lying to maintain favor with the fans of the show. As of November 2022, Amy, Zach and the rest of the family failed in their efforts to ensure that the land was either sold to Zach or Jeremy. Matt is in a partnership with iTrip Vacations – together, the two partners have transformed the former family home into a short-term rental property. Matt and Caryn are undertaking a very exciting adventure on the rest of the land.
Exciting New Home Adventure
Matt and Caryn are pursuing an exciting adventure. When the pair started their relationship, it was obvious that they would live on the farm they both loved, and had been working on for over 10 years. However, Caryn had some reservations about living in the Roloff family house – being the house in which Matt had lived with his wife, Amy. Caryn wanted to live with Matt in a new home built just for the two of them, with her personal touches in the design and her involvement in the construction of the home.
Towards the end of 2021, the couple was excited to announce that they were starting the process of designing and planning the construction of their home on a prime portion of the 93-acre property, that was excluded from Matt’s short-term rental project. In June of the following year, the couple shared an update on the progress of the construction of their homes with their fans. They had just broken ground on the lot they had identified as the location of their future home on the North-west side of the property.
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In the past, Matt had teased that the day he and Caryn broke ground on their new house would also be the day of their engagement, however, fans are yet to see a ring on Caryn’s finger. Caryn has also made it clear that she would be just as happy if her relationship with Matt remained as it is now. In October 2022, Matt teased a major announcement, which left fans speculating that the exciting Roloff dream house adventure had come to an end, and that he and Caryn would be announcing their engagement and the date of their nuptials soon. The couple has kept fans waiting for the anticipated news, but made several statements that lead fans to believe that the house is complete, the couple is engaged, and will follow the Roloff family tradition by having their wedding on the 109-acre Roloff farm sometime in the future.
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