"Little People, Big World" star Matt Roloff and fiancée Caryn Chandler have officially called it quits. On July 22, Matt took to Instagram to share the news in a simple text post, writing, "Hi everyone, I have some tough news to share. Caryn and I have decided to part ways & end our engagement. Life's a continued journey and this is the right step for us at this time." He added, "We remain amicable and will always appreciate the many wonderful memories we have shared. Your support means the World to me and I'm
committed to moving forward with positivity and trust in the path ahead. Much love to all." The couple had originally planned to tie the knot in 2024 after Matt announced their engagement the year prior after six years together.
It goes without saying that the Roloff family has changed quite a bit since the series premiered back in 2006. And, Matt's split from Chandler will surely begin a new era for the Roloffs. Yet, for many fans of the series, this news likely doesn't actually come as much of a surprise. The couple was far from without their own set of red flags that indicated to many that they weren't built to last forever.
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Their Relationship Seemingly Started As An Affair
Before their romance began, Caryn Chandler was working for the Roloffs at Roloff Farms. Matt Roloff and Amy Roloff divorced in 2015 after being married for nearly three decades. Less than a year later, Matt and Chandler announced that they were a couple. Since then, Amy has opened up about her belief that Matt had been cheating on her. In her 2019 memoir "A Little Me," Amy recalled noticing that Matt was going out more and more at night toward the end of their marriage. "Then it dawned on me. Matt and our farm manager, who had been working for us a number of years by then, seemed to have more than just a working relationship or friendship," she wrote, adding, "I saw messages, pictures, and other things that should not have been shared between people who just worked together and were still married to other people. I was devastated."
Matt and Chandler certainly wouldn't have been the first couple in history to start off a lasting romance this way. More often than not, though, an affair is a shaky foundation on which to build a lifelong romance. Furthermore, this kept Matt from having time and space to adapt to the end of his long marriage before starting something new, which can be another recipe for trouble.
Caryn Chandler Had A Fraught Relationship With Matt Roloff's Kids
When one parent moves on quickly after their divorce, this can be a difficult thing for the family to deal with. And, this is often exacerbated when cheating was involved. When Matt and Amy Roloff's son Zach Roloff was asked how he felt about his dad getting engaged to Caryn Chandler, he said a lot by simply responding, "I don't wanna talk about it," per Us Weekly. This already clear bad blood was made much worse when Matt made the surprising decision to sell the Roloff Family's Farm.
Amy and all four of the children she shares with Matt were reportedly saddened by his decision against keeping the farm in the family. Zach and his wife Tori, in particular, were hoping that they could buy the farm and seemingly blame Caryn for getting in the way of this plan. "Caryn is ready to just have Matt hand the farm over and they can go to Arizona and retire," an insider told The U.S. Sun, adding, "That would be her dream scenario, but whether Matt agrees is yet to be decided." This led Zach and Tori to become estranged from Matt and Chandler, even revealing that they did not want their son, who was born in 2022, to meet her.
The Former Couple Seemingly Disagreed About The Future
News broke in November 2024 that "Little People, Big World," wouldn't return for a 26th season. Two years prior, a source told The U.S. Sun that Caryn Chandler was ready to leave the show despite Matt Roloff's desire for it to continue. "Matt really wants another season, but Caryn is completely done," they said, adding, "She thinks there are too many disagreements with what they want to say and do on air, and too much family drama. She feels as though she's the one always caught in the middle trying to mediate ... she doesn't want to be a part of it anymore." Another source echoed this sentiment to the outlet when the show was ultimately canceled, claiming, "Matt has this workaholic don't stop attitude and couldn't stop himself from doing more seasons, but Caryn is mostly happy it's now done."
It seems clear that the couple didn't agree about the future of their reality show, and their conflicting ideas about the future, in general, seemed to stretch beyond that. An insider told The U.S. Sun that the couple "... had been talking about the wedding for so long, it was pushed back more than once, but they still hadn't set a date." They added, "The split was instigated by [Caryn,] but publicly, they are saying it was mutual after having issues for a while." Evidently, disagreement about where their lives were headed likely played a role in the split.
Read the original article on The List.
