‘Little People, Big World’: Matt Roloff Reveals Secret Brother Who Died Prior To Reality TV


Little People, Big World patriarch Matt Roloff revealed in a book authored by the entire Roloff family that he had a brother never before mentioned on the TLC reality TV series. Matt explained in the book titled Little Family, Big Values that his younger brother, Josh, passed away seven years prior to the filming of Little People, Big World. According to Radar Online on Tuesday, Josh suffered from a heart and lung defect at birth, which eventually led to his death.

Josh was apparently two years younger than Matt, who was born with a rare form of dwarfism. In the book, Little Family, Big Values, that was originally published in 2007 and reprinted in 2008, Matt shared that his parents went through even more childbirth drama when his younger brother, Joshua, was born with a congenital defect of the heart and lungs. Matt, who’s now 54, also gave his parents a scare with his own complicated birth when he was born with dwarfism in 1961.

Matt Roloff was able to overcome his own medical condition that gave him slow growth and short stature, but his brother, Josh, wasn’t so lucky, according to the report. Matt gained fame and recognition for his dwarfism through TLC’s long-running series Little People, Big World that premiered in 2006, several years after Josh passed away from complications due to his own physical abnormalities. The Roloff family dedicated one section of the book, that’s nearly 200 pages long, to Uncle Josh, who only lived for 34 years.

Josh has never been mentioned on Little People, Big World in any of the show’s previous seasons, so learning that Matt has a deceased younger brother was truly a secret for fans of the Roloff family, who live on a 36-acre farm in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, called Helvetia. The Roloffs describe Josh as a great son, brother, uncle, and friend who lived for far too short a time. Matt called his brother’s disease “severe,” and said in Little Family, Big Values that all six members of the Roloff family think of him every day.

“We all miss you and think of you every day, and we look forward to being reunited with you one day in the presence of our Lord.”

The Roloffs are a religious family, but don’t speak about their Christian beliefs on Little People, Big World. However, youngest son to Matt and Amy, Jacob, recently announced to the online community that he doesn’t at all share in his family’s religious beliefs. This revelation was another shocker for loyal followers of Little People, Big World. Jacob Roloff, who’s now 19, but was only 9-years-old when Little People, Big World first premiered on TLC 10 years ago, said on his Ask.fm page that he has no ties to the Christian religion, saying he calls himself agnostic, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

Jacob not only abandoned his parents’ religion, but he also abandoned Little People, Big World after Season 9 when he only appeared on a few episodes. Fans were disappointed to learn that Jacob did not renew his contract with TLC to appear on any current or upcoming seasons of Little People, Big World. However, the rest of the Roloff family clan, including Matt, Amy, 51, Jeremy, 26, Zach, 26, and Molly, 23, continue to live out their lives on the small screen in the newest season of Little People, Big World, with new episodes on TLC every Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. This season is called the Roloff’s second act since Matt and Amy are now divorced, Molly is graduated from college, and fraternal twin brothers, Jeremy and Zach, are both newlyweds and often appear with their wives, Audrey and Tori.

[Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images]

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