It is the end of a precious, lovely and very long era.
On Tuesday night, TLC aired the season finale of Little People, Big World.
And while the fate of the show is still in limbo, the fate of two main characters has already been decided:
Zach and Tori Roloff will not be returning to the reality series.
“We’re done. This part of our lives, this chapter is closed,” Tori Roloff said on a recent episode of her and her husband’s podcast, confirming her departure from Little People, Big World.
Zach later made it sound like the couple’s contracts had expired… and neither the couple themselves nor the network’s executives were interested in renewing them.
“We made it pretty clear,” Zach added on the same podcast. “They technically didn’t ask us back.”
To their credit, both Zach and Tori have been very open about the reasons for their departure, with the former explaining just a few weeks ago:
“This last cycle was tough between the family and the farm deal, and we were done with it. We’ve moved on.”
Zach was referring to a feud with his father Matt Roloff that dates back almost two years.
The rivalry began in May 2022 when Matt put 14 acres of his Oregon farm up for sale, which angered Zach because the father of three felt his own father hadn’t given him a fair chance to buy that property.
Zach went on to smear him as a coward and a manipulator after Matt pushed back against this summary of events.
Since then, the relationship hasn’t been nearly the same.
In this season (series?!?) finale, Zach reaffirmed his hesitation to pursue another relationship with his father.
“When it comes to my dad, like yeah, I don’t know, dude, like that ship has completely sailed. Like there’s no big relationship. It’s just about doing our own thing. It may be time to even it out, but everything will be healed. It’s just going to be – it’s going to be different,” he said.
Overall, however, he seemed more focused on his immediate family: wife Tori and especially his three young children, all of whom were born with the same type of dwarfism.
Our family will stand out throughout our lives. You know, Tori is my wife and I’m her husband, I’m short, she’s tall and our kids are short,” Zach explained in a confessional.
“Our family will probably always stand out, but you just get used to it. Sometimes it’s annoying.
“Sometimes we get touchy, we make sure our children are well behaved because we feel like we’re being watched.”
Tori admitted that everything can be “hard” sometimes.
Of course it was worth it for the couple.
“Growing up on the farm meant I spent a lot of time outdoors and I definitely want our kids to have the same experience,” Zach lamented on air.
“The [family] The farm has been a part of my life and will not be a part of our children’s lives like it is mine. Nobody holds grudges, nobody intentionally doesn’t go to the farm. There is simply no interest. The children don’t ask.”
On the occasion of the couple’s final scene in the series, which made them famous and quite rich, Tori noted:
“I think we’ve created a life here that I don’t think could have been created anywhere else.
“I think we have found an independence and just our own space. This is all ours and has nothing to do with anyone else.”
For the record, TLC has not yet revealed the fate of Little People, Big World.