Zach Roloff starred on Little People Big World alongside (most of) his family for 25 seasons, but the father of three revealed this week that appearing on the TLC series wasn’t something he always enjoyed.
On a recent episode of his and wife Tori Roloff’s Raising Heights podcast, Zach reflected on the early days of ‘Little People Big World,’ admitting that while it was “fun at times,” it was also “very stressful.”
“It was odd because there was always this expectation that I should be doing something right now,” he said, as reported by Monsters & Critics. “ … When people say reality television, I always think there’s a little caveat there because, at the end of the day, these people are paying for a crew to be here.”
Regarding the early days of ‘Little People Big World,’ Zach said his mom, Amy Roloff, “did a pretty good job” of keeping Zach and his siblings grounded, noting that the Roloff kids continued attending the same school and kept the same close friends as they had before the show began filming. He also admitted that it was “fun at times” getting to travel to different cities to promote the series.
“But it was also very stressful,” he added. “And some of that is the family dynamic, some of it is how I feel the family handled reality television. My mom and dad did a lot of good things, but then there are times where I’m like, we could have done that better, especially in the last, I don’t know, 10 years probably.”
Zach admitted that he “could not stand” filming the show in public– which he compared to being on a movie set in the middle of a public setting– as it would lead to “everyone staring at you.” He also said the dynamic changed as he got older, as filming the series became “more of a business” than it was in the early seasons.
“ … They did not just sit around all day filming, it was, ‘Hey, here are film days, two days a week,’” he said, calling the format “rigid.”
“I always say, it’s real, like what we’re doing was reality, in a sense, but it was like a scheduled reality,” he added.
As The Ashley previously told you, Zach and Tori announced in February that they were stepping away from the TLC series, citing their three children as “a huge reason,” along with the current situation involving Zach’s dad Matt Roloff and Roloff Farm.
As fans of the show know, Zach and Matt began feuding in May 2022 after Matt announced on social media that he was selling a portion of Roloff Farm, despite previously claiming that he wanted to farm to stay in the Roloff family.
Matt’s announcement seemingly blamed his and ex-wife Amy’s twin sons, Zach and Jeremy Roloff, for having to sell the farm, which proceeded to kick off a public feud between Zach and Matt that played out on both social media and the family’s TLC show.
In May, Zach revealed on an episode of his podcast that the situation with his dad had yet to improve since filming the Season 25 finale of ‘Little People Big World’ nearly a year ago. He also hinted that his father’s “narcissism” and inability to admit that he did anything wrong may be a big reason why the father/son relationship had yet to be repaired.
As of now, TLC has not announced whether or not there will be another season of ‘Little People Big World.’
(Photos: YouTube; Instagram; TLC)
7 Responses
Yes, filming things like this, for kids, can be extremely stressful, no one can deny that.
Which is exactly why you SHOULD NOT DO IT! He had, and still has, no issues putting this shit on his own kids though. Being in the public eye is SOOOOOO stressful for him and his wife that, despite claiming they’re stepping away from the show to better protect their kids, they film every waking moment of their children’s lives and plaster them all over social media while selling some to tabloids and other media.
I don’t think people realize just how much he and his wife bank on his (their now) “success in the public eye”, and still use this on a daily basis to parade their own children in front of people. If it was a bad experience for him as a kid (and I don’t doubt this, of course it is!) why in the hell is he doing it to his kids now? Your children aren’t funny little decorations or puppets to parade around for other people/
Zach is just like Amy. All he does is whine and complain. Yeah, you and Tori go ahead and leave the show–and when you run out of money–and you WILL–we will see how quickly you are begging for the show to return. You would have nothing if it wasn’t for your dad. You wouldn’t have your house/property, fancy toys for your kids, no one having to work, etc. It was Matt that promoted and got that show going originally. Okay, things got bad between you and your dad regarding the farm. I’m sure you weren’t perfect during negotiations, either. He is still your dad, and he won’t be around forever. Stop focusing on the bad and think of all the things Matt did right. He isn’t the worst person in the world, so find a way to make amends–obviously your father wants to–and stop denying your children their grandfather and go to the farm so they can also make memories there. I agree with Poor, poor Zach’s comments. This guy would be just like any other person and family struggling day to day. He is so fortunate, and yet bites the hand that feeds him. And Tori needs to get off her high horse. She is detrimental to Zach. I have never understood why people, when they have a good thing going–always have to ruin it with their egos instead of riding the wave while it lasts. Little People probably won’t get renewed because of them leaving the show because there won’t be enough people to film, and that’s a shame.
This guy doesn’t even know what a stressful job is, he’s never had one! Being filmed while playing with your friends in a massive house and your own personal fun land must have been so hard – not. He travelled around the world and had great family vacations. Instead of being grateful for the opportunity we get to hear him whine about stress. Maybe he should speak to his younger brother, I think he has reason to complain! Zack has no idea how stressful it is to have to get to work at a specific time, work with and for difficult people deal with traffic, get home and feed your family, get the children ready for bed and do it all over again. Every day. His bedroom was an absolute pig sty when he was a teenager, he didn’t even have sheets on his bed, gross. He’s never had to worry about money, unless you count that he couldn’t afford his father’s multi million dollar house and property. Life sure is tough for this guy.
True, however I also don’t think he (or anyone) should bother be so careful to select their words to avoid someone taking a cheap easy stab at him. Zach is not stupid. I’m sure he’s well aware he’s caught some lucky breaks and has had some advantages that many don’t. He doesn’t need to live his every waking moment consciously thinking about it, or acknowledge it in every sentence.
PLEASE, no more stories about this creep and his creepy wife. So glad they left the show.
They’re not the ones who are creepy. I like Zach and Tori. Jeremy and Audrey however, are very creepy. Plus the two of them belong to the IBLP and use blanket training on their kids. Mark my words, Jeremy Roloff is Jim Bob Duggar 2.0.
I agree that Jeremy and Audrey are the loonies. Totes Jim Bob 2.0, very disgusting.