Photo: TLC / YouTube
Everything you need to know about the Roloff family — and more.
By Kathleen Sullivan — Written on Nov 14, 2020
It seems like just yesterday that we were introduced to one of our most beloved reality families.
Premiering in 2006, Little People, Big World chronicled the lives of the Roloff family — and stole our all of our hearts in the process.
We got to know this family well and followed their adventures on their family farm in Portland, Oregon, and to viewers, they seemed like the perfect bunch of folks.
Or were they? Throughout the years there have been various scandals and controversy in the Roloff family, including cheating allegations, divorce, and more.
Here are 18 cringe-y things about Matt Roloff and Amy Roloff's family:
Join us as we look back on 18 cringe-y things about Little People, Big World and the entire Roloff family.
1. Jacob Roloff was involved in a serious farm accident.
In 2006, a serious accident involving son Jacob and family friend Mike Detjen, 58 took place on the family farm. As the Roloff’s said in a statement on TLC:
“While Jacob and Mike were readying to launch a pumpkin, the winch prematurely triggered. Both Jacob and Mike were then struck several times by a 2,000-pound block of concrete that acts as a counterweight and powers motion of the trebuchet.”
Jacob was left with a head injury but released from the hospital the same day.
Their friend Mike didn’t get so lucky and required substantial x-rays and a ct scan. Tragically, Mike passed in 2008 due to unrelated heart issues.
2. Jeremy's been accused of animal abuse.
In early 2011, a series of pictures leaked depicting Jeremy Roloff and best friend Jacob Mueller tossing their beloved cat Mo in the air.
Many fans were shocked at the treatment and it was the start of lots of speculation regarding the family’s “Christian values.”
3. Matt and Amy Roloff separated — and eventually divorced.
Although issues were present throughout the previous seasons, it wasn’t until 2014 that Matt and Amy formally announced their separation, leaving quite a bit of fans brokenhearted.
Matt admits to “tension” causing the split.
Amy said it was Matt’s decision to bow out of marriage.
4. Amy spoke out about feeling left out during the holidays.
While the divorce, which was announced in 2016, didn’t come as a complete surprise to fans, Amy didn’t hold back on speaking about her isolation issues as a result of the split.
That Thanksgiving, Amy spoke about the loneliness she felt in the empty nest as everyone else celebrated with the new people in their lives. Ouch!
5. Audrey Roloff posed naked in bathtub.
It is not just the immediate family that gets to partake in scandals.
In 2016, daughter-in-law shocked fans when she appeared in a post on Instagram naked in a bathtub.
While her lady bits were covered up, fans were quick to point out the hypocrisy of the woman who preaches about Christian values on her blog: Beating 50 percent.
6. Audrey Roloff slammed gay couples.
In a statement on her blog (which has since been deleted), Audrey wrote, “We are not claiming to be a resource for same-sex marriages. It is not something we agree with.” However, she did say that LGBT couples were more than welcome to read her blog. Gee, thanks Audrey.
7. Audrey struck yet again with anti-LGBT remarks.
In October 2016 posted a picture of LGBT advocate and then-ambassador James Charles with the quote “Confused….” The LGBT community was quick to take notice and call Audrey out for comment and reports labeled her as “homophobic.”
8. Matt Roloff moved on.
In 2017, Matt announced he started dating again. Surprise occurred when it was revealed that his farm manager Caryn Chandler, who was previously an employee of both Matt and Amy. Awkward, indeed.
9. Matt snubbed Amy at his birthday.
As if the news of Matt’s love life was not enough of a blow to Amy, she was then left out of Matt’s surprise 56th birthday. While reports say that she was on the premises, she was not allowed to enter and was left outside doing a “meet and greet with the public.”
10. Amy retaliated with a Father’s Day snub.
That Father’s Day, Amy posted a sweet message to the fathers in her life, including her own and father-to-be Matt. Noticeably absent in the message? Her ex and Roloff patriarch Matt.
11. Jacob Roloff released a tell-all book.
In 2017, Jacob released a tell-all called Verbing chronicling the high tension and many fights, once again portraying Matt and Amy in a negative light.
Jacob later would reveal that a lot of it was due to him “acting out” during the bratty teenage years. His second book, Out To See, came out in January of 2018.
12. Amy’s accused of being "tacky" with her new boyfriend.
Amy was next to find happiness with now- fiancé Chris Marek and posted a picture of her Valentine’s gift to him on Instagram.
The present: a simple cookie professing her love. While some thought it was cute, others accused her of being just plain tacky.
13. Amy was also accused of "living in sin" at the Superbowl.
In February of 2018, Amy posted a picture of herself and Chris at a Superbowl party, which drew criticism from her followers.
"A Christian doesn't continue to live in sin," one follower wrote. "Better to marry than to burn."
14. Molly got married — but Audrey tried to steal the show.
No stranger to controversy, Audrey took to Instagram to congratulate sister-in-law Molly on her nuptials.
However, many fans were quick to deem her as a spotlight hog as she chose to share a picture of her and husband Jeremy instead kissing at the reception on her Instagram feed. Weird.
15. Matt Roloff blasted the Little People, Big World producers and threatened to quit.
As the series gets ready for its premiere, Matt recently made waves with a public post about his dismay with Little People, Big World's producers.
According to the family patriarch, both producers and editors have sought to highlight tension instead of happy moments between the family and he's not sure how much of that the Roloff clan can take.
"We've been pushing the new producers to stop making our show negative and keep the family Love (sic) and togetherness in the forefront," Matt said in a Facebook comment.
"For some reason these producers/editors that come in to work don't know the show and want to amplify the negative. I'm not sure we (the Roloff Family) can take that kind of editing much longer."
16. Jacob Roloff doesn't appear on the show for a reason.
“Producers have to try to get us to follow the talking points,” Jacob wrote.
“For me, noticing how the agenda of the crew doesn't work well with the health and happiness of our family is what made me decide quite a while ago that I could not be a part of it as soon as I was able," he added.
17. Amy Roloff revealed her engagement in a spread in People.
In Sept. 2019, Amy Roloff and Chris Marek got engaged shortly after her birthday.
"I’m excited, I’m so surprised, I’m thrilled! I never in a million years thought I’d be getting married again, but I also hoped for it!" she gushed. "Now that it’s happening, I couldn’t be happier or more excited.”
18. Matt Roloff has been accused of cheating on Amy Roloff before.
A fan commented on a picture of Roloff and his girlfriend, Caryn Chandler, writing, "This lady was dating Matt when he was still married to Amy and she's there for the money."
However, Matt took the high road and simply replied, "You couldn't be further from the truth."
So…will Season 21 of the hit reality show finally be a drama-free one? We doubt it, but tune into TLC on Tuesdays at 9/8 central to see for yourselves!
Kathleen Sullivan is a freelance writer and full-time mom. Besides YourTango, her work can be found on: The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, Grown and Flown, xoJane, and Parentco.