Reality TV Roloffs Share the Good, Bad and Ugly

by Amy Hatch (Subscribe to Amy Hatch's posts) Feb 9th 2009 5:01PM

What's it like to have your life on reality TV? ParentDish recently sat down with Matt and Amy Roloff, stars of the hit TLC reality show, Little People, Big World, to talk about what it feels like to have their every move broadcast for the entire world to see -- and judge -- before they start their next season this week.

Reality TV Moms

Amy Roloff

Amy Roloff may be little, but as you can see on Little People, Big World, she has a huge heart.

Thos Robinson, Getty Images

by Gabrielle Linzer

Think being a mother is hard? Try doing a decent job with a full camera crew under your feet 24/7. Some mothers have chosen to put their lives on display for the world to revere or condemn. Here, reality TV's best known mommas.

AP | Getty Images | FilmMagic | Getty Images

Former Biggest Loser contestant Amy Wolff is expecting her first child in July with husband and co-contestant, Marty Wolff. "I feel like the luckiest pregnant girl ever."

Trae Patton, NBC

Michelle Duggar

This 2004 Arkansas "Young Mother of the Year" doesn't believe in birth control, and it shows. Michelle Duggar is set to give birth to her 18th child in 2009 according to Discovery Health, which may prompt TLC to change her show's name to "18 Kids and Counting"!

Beth Hall, AP

Kate Gosselin

Kate Gosselin didn't set out to create a family of eight, but her genes had other plans. Managing her set of twins and sextuplets with ease, this model mother makes having eight children look manageable, and maybe even a little bit fun.

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

Denise Richards

We've been hearing about Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen drama in the tabloids for years, but when Richards decided to get her own reality TV show, we learned she wasn't kidding when she claimed "It's Complicated." Between her messy, public divorce, raising her children and maintaining her status as a sex symbol, Richards' life is certainly more dramatic than the average mom.

Jason LaVeris, FilmMagic

NeNe Leakes

Arguably the most popular housewife in Atlanta, it's not surprising that NeNe Leakes upstages her two sons with social drama and her outspoken personality, Despite her magnetism to controversy, Leakes told Essence she still makes time to help others through her organization, "The Twisted Hearts Foundation," which promotes knowledge about domestic violence in the community.

Bravo

Tori Spelling

Although she was often upstaged by her late pug Mimi La Rue in the past, Spelling is a force to reckon with as she pursued entrepreneurship and stayed in the spotlight all while eight months pregnant with her second child, Stella. Now, as a mother of two back in L.A., Spelling continues to take on Hollywood at full steam with her role on the newly renewed 90210 series.

Chris Polk, FilmMagic

Mommy Meerkat

These moms are wilder than most of the other matriarchs on reality TV, but they manage their families with the same loving care. Dominant female Flower rose to power and led her pack, the Whiskers, for more than five years. These tough mommas are experts at multi-tasking, as they are filmed foraging, caring for their young and fiercely battling enemies to protect the pack.

Animal Planet

Renee Wilson

Appeared on "The Biggest Loser" with daughter Michelle Aguilar. Renee, 47, lost 45 pounds in seven weeks. "She was the quintessential yo-yo dieter," Michelle, 27, told "Prevention." Luckily the mother-daughter team was able to use familial motivation to break their old habits and start living a healthier lifestyle.

Trae Patton, NBC Photo

How do the kids feel about the cameras? Matt: The kids have thick skins, and sometimes, [the critics] get it right. It may be nasty, but sometimes you have to look and say, "I really need to work on that." It can be a little bit of a cat-and-mice game. For instance, if Molly doesn't want them to film her practicing for her driver's test, they will catch her.

What if the time ever comes when one or all of them decide they've had enough? Amy: If they ever came to us and said, "Under no circumstances," then we would have to have a family discussion about what is best for everyone, and then it would be over.

Is what we see real? Amy: Those moments don't represent the last or the next 20 years of our lives, whether we are going through the best times or the most horrible times. You almost want to say, "Can I put a mirror in your face?"

Matt, you were arrested for driving under the influence last summer and found not guilty in January. Did the show influence the trial? Matt: I'm not sure if it helped or hurt the trial. I just didn't think about it. When you've been doing the show as long as we have, if you analyzed everything that happened in your life, you'd drive yourself batty. You just have to let the show take its course. I say, let the good, bad and ugly fly.

If it's so hard, why do it? Matt: I think we have committed ourselves to sharing our story, as raw and painful as it can be, like when the kids to stupid stuff or even my DUI. The funny part is that the very stuff you don't want to share is the stuff that makes the most compelling television.

Fellow reality-TV parents Jon and Kate Gosselin recently came under fire from critics who say that the two violate child-labor laws by allowing their eight children to be filmed almost 24/7. Matt: We can't speak for the Gosselins, but our kids have gotten a lot of benefits from the show, including a weekly paycheck from the family corporation.

How does your show impact how the world sees little people? Matt: Jacob has walked into a grocery store and watched his mom be teased for being a little person. The show can play an important part in society's acceptance of little people. I hate to say this because it sounds so cliché, but we have been called to be part of a show that really celebrates diversity, and I think it has changed a lot of people's viewpoints.

Can you talk about the hints that Matt suffered a heart attack? Amy: His health is just fine.

Speaking of hearts, any advice for marriages on camera or off-screen? Amy: It's all about give and take. There may be ups and downs, but in the long run you have to think about what brought you together, and that is love.

Little People, Big World season 5 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.

Comments (51)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

chacha6581 2-09-2009 @ 8:07PM

I like them. They seem like good people. I do look at little people in a more positive way since viewing the show. I do not have any friends or family who are little people, so seeing their family interact life's daily challenges is pretty interesting.

Mike 2-10-2009 @ 12:13AM

Thank You for doing this show ,I have learned alot about little people
and I have the upmost respect for you and your family by filming this show that others will see that little people do the the same things big people do. I am looking foward to your new season.

Best of Luck

diane 2-09-2009 @ 8:19PM

I've watched the show from the begining and love it. The love between the kids is real and so are the activities.Matt and Amy are giving their kids a real dream life on the farm and you can see the life lessons they give them with each show. I even enjoy seeing the mess in the house, it reminds me of how hard it was keeping my house spic and span with 5 kids around. God Bless both Matt and Amy and the kids. Oh are they little people, I think they have huge hearts.

Ellen Lopes 2-09-2009 @ 8:38PM

I love the Roloffs. They are real, interesting and love life. They seem to have it all. Loving families they come from, created, they love people of the world and try to help others. They don't seem fakey at all. I could be friends with Amy, she rocks. Matt is a dreamer and would also be a great friend. The kids are kids, and you can tell they were raised with love and strength, long before the show even started.

katea9tails 2-09-2009 @ 9:03PM

It is funny I was watching The Show and happened on this page by just following a tease and didn't realize it was for them. The show I am watching are the two episodes about losing their friend Mike. When the show first came on and they were promoting it I thought that isn't a show I would be interested in and I know people who won't watch it because I think it makes them uncomfortable just like many of us feel when we many of us are out in public and see someone with a disability or that is just different from most of the folks in our world. They may have not wanted to watch it cause they thought it took advantage of Little People I am not sure - just that they would change the channel instantly. One day I happened on it while waiting for another show to come on. It is just like watch the folks down the street - to see what is happening in their lives. It does show some of the struggles they go thru as Little People but it doesn't throw it in your face in a self righteous way. I think that it is a very good show - to let us know that when you see the overweight lady struggling to walk thru the store or the family with a son who has multiple disabilities and perhaps drooling in a wheelchair at a table next to you - these are people that are living life - just like you - it is ok to smile and you don't have to feel pity for them. You might be struggling with things that they aren't facing - theirs might just be more visual but we are all here together on this earth and we are more the same than we are different. I know that having a camera must be trying more times that we know. It seems that many of the families that have allowed this have fallen apart during or after = The Hogans and The Newlyweds to name a couple. I hope that this family never suffers for sharing their lives with us. Thanks

Gale 2-09-2009 @ 11:10PM

Your statement about the family was exactly how I was feeling, I think the show changed that uncomfortable feeling alot of people had when seeing a little person...as with most things "never say never" about what could some day be a part of your own life and caring and kindness can never be bad thing!!!!!

jan sterling 2-10-2009 @ 12:43AM

i love little people big world - you forgot their disabilities and just love them for the great people they are - their ups and downs, their kids, their triumphs and sad times too - was very hard to watch when their friend mike died - he was family - think its going to be very hard on jacob as he spent a lot of time when him - just like another grandpa - looking forward to the new season

braychr 2-09-2009 @ 9:42PM

I love this show. I have watched for several years and can not wait till the new season. I like someone else said I was watching tonight when the family friend Mike passed. That was so sad I cried my eyes out the first time I saw it. As far as the comment on Amy not being a good housekeeper Yeah the house has been a mess but maybe listen to what Amy said in the episode tonight If she had to choice between spending time with a loved one or cleaning the house she will take time with the love one. The house and be cleaned later but if a love one passes you can't get them back. This show has defiantly made me think of the challenges Little people face everyday that I take for advantage like getting the item off the top shelf in grocery store. I hope this show continues for years!

ddr 2-12-2009 @ 4:39AM

Sorry but I agree with the first writer about the house being a mess, and she is just using any excuse that comes along to her advantage to explain away the messy house. We all have homes, so why don't we all just stop keeping clean and chalk it up to spending time with loved ones? Somehow we manage to do both, and part of showing love is to keep a clean home for our children and family, and to teach our children self-respect rather than laziness and sloppiness! Most women would be ecstatic if their husbands paid for and built such a home as he has for her and the kids, but all she can do is put it down because she doesn't want to have to keep it clean! She's lazy and a slob and her kids are following right behind her! And they are all verbally very disrespectful! They don't even know how to dress appropriately. Who goes to a memorial service with their kids in jeans and sloppy clothes? Have they ever worn shirt and tie? I doubt they even own one. Part of being a loving parent is the responsibility for teaching children how to keep home clean and presentable, how to wash clothes and hang them up, not thrown in piles on the floor in the living room, to pick up after themselves, to dress appropriately for solemn occassions such as church, funerals, eating dinner out, having professional photographs of family taken - her kids had jeans on with holes in the knees, how to speak respectfully to their father rather than to speak to him as if he were the family dog - those things are part of quality time parents should give to their kids. I do not care for this show and do not think these people are heroes or people I'd want my children associating with. My son would not be given a van until he could show me that he would keep it clean and cared for first rather than treating it like the family bathroom. This family doesn't show me anything I'd ever look up to or that I'd want my children to copy. I fail to see what is so terrific about them. The mother is a lazy slob who wants to be a teenager playing soccer rather than a mother setting example for her children and helping her husband. And I don't know when I've seen worse kids - they are rude, disrespectful, spoiled, lazy, overindulged brats and I can't wait until they have to try to get a job and see what real work looks like. And as for their father - he's just another person using a disability as a soapbox opportunity rather than just going to work everyday like the rest of us and raising our family without making everything an opportune occassion to get on our soapbox. So they are little? Big deal. There are far worse disabilities to be had in this world and being short is not among them. In fact it's been anything but a disability for them. They've gotten rich off of it, Even their son stated he wants to marry a little person and wants all of his children to be little people. Some disability! It's been a gold mine for them - and his son has learned that lesson well - or he wouldn't be saying that he wants his children to be born so disabled!!!

CelluliteQueen 2-09-2009 @ 9:54PM

I started watching the show last year, and it's become one of my favorites. It's also helped me to realize how difficult life could be as a 'little person', and how they are stared at in public, etc., just for being different.

Being a Fat Person, I can understand their discomfort, and then understand how they just learned to ignore it. (as I have!) It's an excellent show, and I'll keep watching as long as they keep filming!

And if you want to see what it's like to experience life as a Fat Person, check out my web site: www. CelluliteQueen. com. You've GOT to have a sense of humor to be fat in a thin world! :)

saywha 2-10-2009 @ 4:10AM

You know.. A lot of fat people have medical reasons as to why they are fat. People are so ignorant about one another. Everyone has a life story and everyone does something for some reason. Why are people so damn judgmental of one another?? Instead of putting others down, maybe try to think as to why they are that way, or maybe even ask. I hate that I am a human, I would rather be an animal. The human race is disgusting, rude, and mean. I do not understand why there are so many rich people in the world and so many suffering people. I think that if we all just help our neighbors we all would be doing well and would be a HELL of a lot more educated.

Marsha 2-10-2009 @ 9:26AM

I love this show. Amy is very intelligent in addition to being a hard-working Mom. I just think Jeremy should do more work around the property and Amy should see that he does. Matt is also a very intelligent Dad and I'm amazed at all the hard work they both do.
I really miss the show when the season ends and can't wait for it to come back on. Keep it coming. I really don't see that they are little people. They are as normal as you and I.

day5628 2-09-2009 @ 10:25PM

i love the Roloffs! in the beginning i saw them as little people, but as the show has progressed, i see them as a family, like my own,and as friends!!!
I have tried to get my mother to watch the show, but she says she won't watch a show that exploits people! Try as I might, i can't convince her that this is not the case! This is a great family, who have issues just like all of us! I no longer see little people as different!

jeni 2-09-2009 @ 10:42PM

I liked the show in the beginning, but the last 2 seasons have been all about exotic trips and turning their house into a mansion and showing off.
It has lost it's heart.

patty 2-09-2009 @ 11:15PM

I use to watch the Roloffs a lot, but stopped for awhile when they were building the new part. I hope the new season will be good. Will really miss Mike. I am a person that can not stand how messy their house is and the kids can't even pick up. Why not have a housecleaner with the money they make, if the family doesn't want to clean. Do love the farm they have developed, a fun place to live.

Val 2-10-2009 @ 9:33AM

The Roloffs are awesome! That Amy is a terrific mother and basically the realist of the family. Matt is priceless with all his home renovations - he reminds me of my brother. I really enjoy their show.

Eileen 2-09-2009 @ 11:31PM

I am watching the show right now, and happened to see this about the show. Its the episode when mike has a heart attack, that is sad, but life goes on. I enjoy the show, yep Amy let the kids down by not teaching them from the beginning to clean up their messes, but she does love them and is involved in their lives, she is a good mom, and Matt is not lazy as someone else said, he works to support his family and provide for them and helps little people all over the world. The children love their parents, all in all I think they are a great family.

Annie 2-09-2009 @ 11:30PM

I cannot say enough good things about this show. I think the Matt and Amy are the best parents they can be and a best friend to anyone who needs one. It would be so easy to just stay home and say I have enough problems I do not need anymore. They are awesome. I love their children and recognized children do not walk on water, make mistakes. Quite often these children do excel in both scholastics and sports and when they do not, they admit they could have done it differently and will do it differently if it comes up again.
One thing I did learn from the show is in the past if I wanted to help someone I would just do it. I have learned to ask first. For example, I was at a Greyhound station and a little person was having problems with her luggage and I asked if I could help. She looked at me as if she had found a friend and said yes. Before I would have just reached down and picked up her luggage. I am sure she would have felt like I might be trying to take her luggage. Thanks so much for that lessons.
May God bless whoever reads this message.

Judy 2-09-2009 @ 11:34PM

WOW! Wipe the flecks of foam from your chin and keyboard and relax! What a miserable human being you must be!

TRUDI 2-09-2009 @ 11:48PM

THE ROLOFF'S ARE WONDERFUL, EACH ONE OF THEM. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY TONIGHT WITH MIKE
PASSING AWAY. I LEARNED TO ACCEPT THE PASSING OF
MY BOY FRIEND WHO PASSED IN DECEMBER SUDDENLY.