Little People, Big Problems: The Sad Truth Behind the Roloff Family’s Story

The show Little People, Big World has been on TLC since 2006. The show is about the lives of the Roloff family, who have different versions of a gene that makes them short.

The show features Amy and Matthew Roloff, a mother and father who are both short due to dwarfism. They have three children: twin boys Zach and Jeremy and a daughter named Molly. Zach is also brief, but Jeremy and Molly are not.

The Roloffs own and run a farm, and as anyone who has worked on a farm knows, working the land can be hard physical labor.

Dwarfism can’t always cause health problems, but Zach and his father, Matthew, have had to have a lot of operations because of their dwarfism, which makes it harder for them to work on their land.

When TLC first contacted the Roloff family about filming a reality show about their family, Amy, the mother, was very excited.

After a conversation with the rest of the family, they accepted.

In 2010, a new face appeared on the Roloffs’ farm. Victoria Elizabeth “Tori” Patton started working part-time for the family, not knowing that this would change her life.

Zach, one of the Roloffs’ children, immediately liked her. It took him four months, but he eventually worked up the courage to ask for the beautiful new farm handout. Tori said yes, and since then, the two have been very close.

They married on the family farm in 2014, and both say the show deserves much credit for their marriage.

In July 2015, Tori and Zach held a wedding ceremony on the Roloff farm, with the camera crew from Little People, Big World, and 100 of their closest friends and relatives there. Their wedding was shown on TV not long after Jeremy, Zach’s twin brother, married in his TV show. In that show, he married his girlfriend, Audrey.

Zach was born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism, but his children might not have the same condition. But when he and his wife were told their child would also have dwarfism, they were able to accept this, thanks to their supportive family and friends, and because they had already had experience dealing with the condition themselves.

Their new baby boy, Jackson, was born on 12 May 2017.

Although Jackson did inherit his father’s dwarfism, his parents were still thrilled to welcome him into their family. 

Tori used her popularity to raise awareness of this problem.

Tori kept her fans updated with Jackson’s development.

On 13 May 2019, Tori made a special announcement on Instagram.

“Zachary and I are pleased to announce that Jackson will have a new brother or sister! We are expecting a sweet baby girl this November! Thank you so much for always supporting our family and loving us!”