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Fans of Little People, Big World have been watching the show for years — and now, the Roloff family is going through some major changes. While Matt and Amy Roloff’s divorce was huge and shook up the household, the fate of Roloff Farms is still totally up in the air. And the tension between Matt and Amy is seemingly reaching an all-time high.

From watching the four Roloff kids grow up to viewing how Matt and Amy’s marriage fell apart, the Roloffs certainly seem genuine — but just how real is the show? Are there any aspects that appear to be way realer than they actually are during filming? Here’s what we’ve gathered.

Jacob Roloff has said before that the show turned his family into ‘characters’

If there’s any member of the Roloff household who’s been outspoken regarding his time on the show, it’s the youngest member of the family, Jacob. Several years ago, Jacob chose to leave the show — and he did so with a bang. He posted his thoughts and feelings about growing up on reality TV on both his blog and his Instagram, and it clued fans in that Little People, Big World may not be as real as we want to believe.

Back in 2016, Jacob wrote on his Instagram, “For the sake of ‘the episode’ and ratings I’ve seen a lot of STORYLINES drawn up (loosely) about our lives.” He also added that “the family that is filmed is not my family. They are the Roloff Characters and I have scarcely anything in common with them, nor do I want to be a character myself.”

This isn’t the only time he clued viewers in on the scripted aspects of the show, either. On his blog, Rock & Roloff, he again spoke of how producers were creating caricatures out of his family that were “incomplete or untruthful but can be harmful as well.” He recalled how his parents would film certain “candid” conversations over and over again, and even when he was a child, he noted the producers would ask him “silly repetitive questions” in hopes of an interesting answer.

Amy Roloff recently admitted that production seemed to push her into dating again

Jacob is the only member of the family to seemingly slam the show, but even the other Roloffs have made small slips that production does deeply impact what goes on on the show. Recently, Matt and Amy Roloff had an interview with Access, and they discussed what it’s like working together as a divorced couple and how they began getting back out into the dating scene. And it was here that Amy clued everyone in on the truth: She probably never would have started dating again and met her boyfriend, Chris, without a push from the show’s producers.

“I met Chris because of the show,” Amy said during the interview. “After divorce, you know, production’s like, ‘You gotta date! Date!’ and I’m like, wait a minute, I need to breathe, I need to be by myself for a moment.” Even if the show producers were the first ones to push Amy back into the dating scene, she’s certainly happy she met Chris, though — so perhaps it was all for the best.

Is it totally fake? It doesn’t seem so, though aspects may be dramatized

All in all, is the show totally fake? While Jacob notes many aspects of it are certainly scripted, Matt and Amy’s separation and everything going on with the farm appears to be quite real. For those who follow Matt and Amy on social media, the two stars are frequently referencing aspects of the show in their posts, which also adds a realer element to it all.

Reality TV is still a business, of course — and we can guarantee that the show’s producers will initiate some drama for the Roloffs if things get stale. But Matt, Amy, Jacob, Zach, and Molly seem like quite the genuine bunch, so we have serious doubts that they’d allow the show to be completely untruthful.

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