The Untold Truth Of Little People, Big World
Little People, Big World has been on TLC since 2006, which is a long time by reality TV standards. Fans have watched the Roloff family meet a lot of milestones throughout the years, including the family's recent flurry of weddings and pregnancies. And viewers have also witnessed some rather difficult moments in the Roloffs' lives — like Matt and Amy Roloff's emotional separation and divorce.
Of course, there have still been quite a few moments that the reality TV cameras didn't capture for fans of the show. From legal troubles with both the authorities and their fans to controversial statements about relationships and marriage, the famous American family has had its fair share of scandal behind the scenes. So, just what hidden truths have the Roloffs been hiding over the years? Let's dive deep and find out all about TLC's best-known family. Here's the untold truth of the stars of Little People, Big World.
Matt Roloff's two DUIs
In June 2007, Matt Roloff was arrested for a DUI in Washington County, Oregon (via TODAY). Per reports, Matt was struggling to keep his Chevrolet van within its lane, and responding officers quickly suspected Matt was intoxicated. Matters only got worse for Matt when he refused to take a breath test and after he failed a field sobriety test.
Matt was cited for driving under the influence, a charge he plead innocent to in an official statement (via Access Hollywood), "I have entered a plea of innocent. I respect the judicial process and in fairness to the court I will not comment further on this case until it is resolved."
Shortly after Matt's arrest, it was brought to light that he was also arrested for drunk driving in 2003. Matt's first run-in with the law might surprise fans, especially since he has never publicly addressed the issue.
The Oregonian reported that Matt was convicted of the drunken driving in 2003, a charge that was "dismissed a year later after he successfully completed an alcohol diversion program, records show."
As for the 2007 charge, Matt was ultimately found not guilty. He told The Oregonian (via Reality TV World) at the time, "I'm glad it's over. I'm just anxious to get back to spend time with the family."
Matt & Amy Roloff were sued by a fan
Fame, like most things in life, comes with a price. Matt and Amy Roloff learned this lesson when they were sued by a fan in October 2011. According to Radar Online, a fan named Linda Farrall claimed she sustained injuries while visiting Roloff Farms in Oregon in 2009.
In documents obtained by Radar, Farrall's lawyers stated that the injuries occurred at the farm's picnic pavilion, and that she fell off the structure after "another guest accidentally bumped her from behind." She then "lost her balance, stumbled forward, and fell off the pavilion."
Farrall's legal counsel reasoned that Amy and Matt should have installed a railing on the pavilion to avoid potential accidents. They argued, "Defendants have shown a reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm and have acted with a conscious indifference to the health, safety and welfare of others."
Matt and Amy were sued for $100,000, a bill they argued they didn't owe. In Matt and Amy's response to Linda's lawsuit, they countered that she was responsible for her own safety.
The parties were able to settle out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Is Little People, Big World fake?
Obviously, it's not shocking information that most reality television shows aren't very real. What is surprising, however, is when a reality star admits to the fakery.
In a February 2017 blog post on Rock & Roloff, Jacob Roloff slammed Little People, Big World for its constructed and "staged" story lines, writing, "In the scene they were supposed to be discussing some serious matter...I remember though that the scene they were doing was inherently staged and fake. Whatever discussion they were acting out had already happened in real life, so this was at best a rehashing."
Jacob went on to argue that the staged scene had a "profound" effect on his mom, Amy Roloff, adding: "When they came out though, I saw tears in my mom's eyes and I suddenly realized that this staged 'joke,' 'fake' thing was effecting real life in a profound way."
Ultimately, Jacob made the decision to leave the TLC hit. He wrote, "I luckily got out of the cycle. I've always been partial to not doing the show on the basis of such inward questions as, 'Why me? Why, among all the billions of people, or millions of kids growing up have I been chosen by the Ultimate to live this life?'"
Jacob Roloff's estrangement from the family
When Jacob Roloff decided to stop filming Little People, Big World, his departure caused a major rift within his family. Jacob apparently felt bitter that he spent a good percentage of his childhood in front of reality television cameras, and he blamed his parents for his pain.
Jacob's book, Verbing, largely addressed his issues with his parents. He wrote (via Radar Online), "I felt isolated. And due to that, angry. This led to arguments and miscommunications with family, especially my parents, culminating really in their decision to experiment having me see a therapist.
To make matters even more messy, Jacob insinuated that his family robbed him of his TLC earnings. Jacob tweeted (via TMZ), "Man I wish it didn't feel like I was getting f***ed out of the money from the show that was my childhood right now."
Amy and Matt never commented on Jacob's allegations, and the network didn't address the issue either.
Although Jacob distanced himself from his loved ones for some time, he eventually came back into the fold. He said in a 2017 blog post on Rock & Roloff, "I've come to let go of all bitterness in recent years towards both my parents and the production company."
Matt Roloff's suspected affair
When Matt and Amy Roloff announced their split in June 2015, not many fans were surprised. The brewing tension between the two had been obvious for years, and the couple's spats were often captured on the show.
Viewers were a little shocked to learn, however, that Matt was suspected of having an affair with his longtime employee, Caryn Chandler, prior to the breakup.
The rumor mill started to churn shortly after Matt and Amy finalized their divorce in 2016. Not too long after the divorce papers were signed, Matt revealed his new relationship with Caryn to the world. People had a lot of questions about the timing of the romance, including Amy.
Amy said upon learning the news (via Daily Mail), "Caryn has been Matt's personal assistant — now that they're dating, of course that's hurtful."
Although Amy is perfectly happy in a new relationship of her own, there are rumors that she and Caryn still don't get along.
A supposed source told The Hollywood Gossip that Caryn and Amy didn't interact at a recent family gathering, revealing, "I never once saw Amy speak to Caryn; there's a real tension there. The kids seem caught in the middle. This was [Zach and Tori's] baby Jackson's first day at the farm during pumpkin season, it was kind of a big deal and Amy was shut out."
The good news? When Caryn isn't around, Matt and Amy seem to co-exist just fine.
Audrey Roloff's anti-LGBTQ views
In May 2016, Audrey Roloff caught heat for since-deleted comments she wrote to a fan on her marriage blog with husband Jeremy Roloff, Beating 50 Percent. Radar Online reported that Audrey expressed her homophobic take on same-sex marriages when the fan criticized her blog for exclusively catering to heterosexual couples.
"We are not claiming to be a resource for same-sex marriages. It is not something we agree with," she allegedly wrote. "We are for opposite-sex marriages that are striving to give more than average to their marriages. To live out the covenant of marriage every day, and to center their marriage around Christ. That being said, know that our content is not written to same-sex marriages, so to say that we don't offer advice for that side is accurate."
And a few months prior to Audrey's controversial comments, Jeremy retweeted an article from The Blaze, an extremely conservative news outlet. The article argued that gay rights groups are waging a war on churches (via The Inquisitr).
Naturally, many fans didn't take too well to Jeremy's retweet.
Jeremy & Audrey Roloff's controversial comments on marriage
Jeremy and Audrey Roloff are no strangers when it comes to controversies. After catching flak for comments they made about the LGBTQ community, Jeremy and Audrey came under fire for remarks they made about marriage and dating.
In a since-deleted May 2016 post on Audrey and Jeremy's blog, Beating 50 Percent, she made a controversial argument for why a woman's body is no longer her own when she gets married. She wrote: "1 Corinthians 7:4 says, 'For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.' Our bodies are no longer our own, we are now one. We should desire to sexually please our spouse regularly. So get naked."
As for Jeremy's hotly debated comments, he ticked off fans when he said that a man should pursue a woman no matter what.
He argued (via InTouch Weekly), "We live in an age where commitment is resisted ... Men, there are a million beautiful, smart, and strong women out there waiting for a man, not a boy. Often the distinction is pursuit and commitment. If you find a woman worth marrying, make her feel worth marrying! Culture promotes men cowering in corners because they find more pleasure in pride than pursuit. The woman of your dreams is often on the side of a long, sometimes hard and difficult pursuit. Denial is a part of life, but a woman worth marrying is worth patiently purposefully pursuing — and she's likely waiting for that man to show up."
Jacob Roloff doesn't share the family's religious views
Jacob is definitely the rebel in his family. Unlike his family members, Jacob doesn't subscribe to Christianity and mainstream conservative ideas. In fact, Jacob actually seems to dislike Christianity in general, which might come as a big surprise to fans.
In an April 2017 blog post on Rock & Roloff, Jacob said of Christianity, "Christians as I have experienced them have assumed a real and damaging sense of superiority over all other belief systems. They believe that their Mystic, Jesus of Nazareth, was the Supremely Gifted Mystic and that their book, The Bible, is Supreme in Knowledge and Law. It is fine and even necessary for a person to hold tight in their belief and sort of, in a way, feel privately supreme and content, but the supremacy in the minds of Christians today has outwardly pitted them against the world and their neighbors."
Jacob concluded his lengthy message: "After coming to know Christianity through leaving it, I wish more than ever that I could call myself one, but alas I cannot, and I feel no rush to choose a replacement. After all, Jesus didn't need Jesus, or Christianity, to save himself from his sins, and neither do you."
The family's employee was deported
Fans might remember a petition Matt and Amy Roloff started to save their beloved employee, Camerino Gonzalez Sanchez, from deportation to his native home of Mexico. Sanchez was a well-liked fixture on the show, and many viewers were concerned when the Roloffs announced his troubling legal matter.
Matt wrote in the online petition to save Sanchez (via InTouch Weekly) "Camerino was hired by Roloff Family Farms and was essentially adopted by the Roloff family. He became primary caretaker for this unique, well-known family that is affected by dwarfism (our story is told in the hit TLC show Little People, Big World). Camerino essentially became my arms and legs, as I walk on crutches. Camerino has been gainfully employed for 17 years in this position. During that time he raised his two young girls — both US citizens and honor students."
What's noteworthy, however, is what Matt didn't choose to disclose in his petition. According to Radar Online, Sanchez was deported after he was convicted for "cocaine possession, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and reckless driving."
Although Sanchez initially tried to appeal his conviction, he was officially deported in 2015.
Matt Roloff's drug addiction
While many fans may have heard about Matt Roloff's DUIs, they probably don't know he was addicted to cocaine in the '80s.
The Little People, Big World star first wrote about his struggle with drugs in his 1999 memoir, Against Tall Odds: Being a David in a Goliath World. Matt admitted that for a brief amount of time, he "began experimenting with drugs" (via Radar Online), and that he eventually "worked up to even harder drugs, including cocaine."
He added, "I never thought I'd be someone who used drugs, but it happened. I thought I could just try it and get out of it, but I was wrong. It caught me like a bear trap. I almost didn't escape."
Matt's love affair with drugs ultimately got him in serious debt. He explained (via Cafe Mom), "I ended up in deep debt. I also know that what I was doing was dangerous to my health. I can remember many times when I used drugs how my heart would just pound inside my chest, seemingly trying to break its way through my rib cage. I don't know if the drugs were harder on my body than they would be on an average-sized person's, but I know that I was taking a huge risk by using them."
Luckily, Matt was able to put a stop to his addiction with a lot of prayers and help from his family.