Jacob Roloff Reflects on Decision to Quit ‘Little People, Big World’: ‘Disgust for the Show’
Since quitting Little People, Big World a decade ago, Jacob Roloff has not had positive things to say about his time on reality TV. But the TLC personality has taking what he can from his experience, using the money he earned from this show to create a full and vibrant life with his wife and son, he recently said.
Jacob Roloff left ‘Little People, Big World’ a decade ago
Jacob grew up on his family’s TLC series, which chronicled his life with his parents, Matt and Amy Roloff, and siblings Jeremy Roloff, Zach Roloff, and Molly Roloff. He left the show when he turned 18, a decision he has never regretted.
“This spring marks 10 years since I got my money from the show I was on for over 10 years of my life,” Jacob, 28, wrote in a March 2025 Instagram post. “I was 18 and finally had the agency to not sign the contract, so I didn’t, and promptly left home mostly due to disgust for the show and reality TV in general.”
After Jacob walked away from TV, he used the money he’d earned from LPBW “to build my world back again with my wife, rather than capitalize on it for all it was worth, for better or worse,” he added.
Jacob married Isabel Rock in 2019. Their son, Mateo, was born in 2021.
Since exiting Little People, Big World, Jacob has occasionally spoken out about his time on the show. In 2016, he wrote on Instagram that he would “never” return to playing a “character” on LPBW. In a 2020 social media update, he revealed he had been sexually abused by a producer on the show. A few years later, he shared in a Twitter post that he “was paid roughly $6/hr to be filmed for my whole childhood. I’m still called rich derisively lol.”
Little People, Big World was canceled in 2024 after 25 seasons.
Jacob imagines a future for Roloff Farms beyond ‘Little People, Big World’
These days, Jacob is helping his father with the day-to-day business of running Roloff Farms. He lives on the property with his wife and son.
Raising his own child in the place where he grew up has been “insightful,” Jacob shared. It’s also caused him to consider the future of Roloff Farms. “What is the farm, without a tv crew?” he wondered. “What can the farm be, without TV?“
Roloff Farms was featured prominently in Little People, Big World, and a dispute between Matt and Jacob’s brother Zach over a possible sale of the land was a major storyline in the later seasons. In a follow-up comment, Jacob said he’d “never have the money to buy this place at market value.” But he still has a vision for his family’s property. He wants make it a vital part of the local community rather than just an attraction for LPBW fans.
“Pumpkin season is no doubt still huge for us, and we appreciate those loyal folks who make it out every year … my dream would be that our farm can encourage a more localized community space instead of so heavily relying on out of town tourism,” Jacob wrote. “It has been fun meeting people from all over the world but I’d also love to meet some more of our neighbors here in Oregon.”
“Farmland is sacred now,” he wrote. “Especially in a world of nearly lost topsoil and diminishing nutrient density in our foods. And on a larger scale, with farmland all over the country being bought and developed, I am grateful for the opportunity to be where I am to steward this land the best I can.”
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