Amy and Matt Roloff were introduced to the world in 2006 on their hit TLC reality series
Little People, Big World.
The Roloffs, who were born with dwarfism, ran a family business called Roloff Farms
and raised their four kids in front of the cameras.
The husband and wife dealt with typical family issues on the show, including teenage angst,
the struggles of raising a son who was also born with dwarfism, and marital discord.
But no one would have predicted that after almost 30 years of marriage, Amy and Matt
would call it quits.
So, what went wrong between them after a quarter century together?
Let's take a look.
Wandering eye?
Caryn Chandler was a longtime friend of the family, the manager of their pumpkin farm,
and Matt's personal assistant for many years.
After Amy and Matt announced their separation in 2014, Matt hopped back into the dating
world, and, perhaps not coincidentally, he found love with Chandler and went public with
their romance in 2017.
Amy revealed how "hurtful" Matt's new relationship was for her, considering how close Chandler
was to her and their family.
Whether or not Matt and Chandler's romance crossed a line during her marriage is hard
to know.
But the fact that the two became a romantic item at all indicates there may have always
been something bubbling up between them.
The good news for Amy is that she's since moved on with her new beau, real estate broker
Chris Marek.
"It's a new beginning, new chapter."
Questions of commitment?
Insight into Matt and Amy's differing relationship priorities was further provided by his 1999
book, Against Tall Odds, which resurfaced after the family's fame skyrocketed.
In the book, Roloff was blunt about his relationship with his then-wife, and he shared some candid
insight on what the word "commitment" means to him.
He wrote:
"Amy tends to be more of a committed-to-a-fault kind of person, while I see most commitments
— with some very notable exceptions — as flexible and negotiable."
With such different viewpoints on the value of commitment at hand, it's surprising they
managed to make things last as long as they did.
Empty nesters?
As their kids grew up, married, and moved away from home, many suspected Matt and Amy's
union suffered from empty nest syndrome — the term commonly used to describe the grief parents
feel when their children grow up and leave home.
Without their kids as a buffer, it's possible Matt and Amy realized their partnership was
on its last leg, especially after their son revealed his frustration with their decision
to display his childhood to the world on their show.
Youngest son Jacob was just nine years old when Little People, Big World started filming.
And after a decade of growing up in front of the cameras, he became pretty agitated
with the whole process.
Sure, having money to go on lavish vacations was probably nice, but he still wished for
a quieter upbringing, writing in a blog:
"Money, things, and trips — all material — cannot ultimately compensate for the immaterial
experiences of a childhood innocently experienced."
It's hard enough watching your children leave the roost but even harder when they resent
the home you made for them.
Outside tension
Jacob wasn't the only one to suffer the consequences of small screen stardom.
In 2013, Matt and Amy became the targets of disturbing death threats and harassing phone
calls.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Matt speculated as to who the suspect might
be, saying:
"They've been to the farm.
They know it.
Is it somebody on our farm?
Someone in our own network of people we know, or some random individual?
We don't know who's up to it, and it's spooky."
Law enforcement got involved when the threats became serious, and when Matt began receiving
abusive phone calls and noticing suspicious cars in their driveway, he said it made the
whole family feel "uneasy."
Matt and Amy announced their separation less than a year after going public about the harassment
and threats, so it's highly likely that the stress of the situation had at least some
impact on their happiness at home.
A house, not a home
Home was the last place Matt wanted to be at the end of their marriage.
When the couple announced their separation on a special episode of the reality show,
Matt revealed that he "never quite felt at home" in his own house, which may have been
a surprise to viewers of the show because he once said:
"It's my dream home really.
Kids were all born and raised here, and I imagine I'll be buried here on the farm somewhere."
The discord reportedly prompted him to pack up and live in the family's "bridal house"
on Thanksgiving 2013.
The two attended marriage counseling, but after being separated for 19 months, they
decided it was time to call it quits.
Amy later revealed that it wasn't her choice for Matt to leave and said she was "saddened"
by his decision.
"It happened very quickly.
I don't know where I was at.
How I did not know."
Though they continued to remain business partners, Matt and Amy finalized their divorce in 2016.
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