Amy Roloff ‘Blindsided’ by Matt’s Relationship With Family Assistant Caryn Chandler

Matt Roloff's relationship with longtime girlfriend Caryn Chandler wasn't something ex-wife Amy Roloff was expecting.

The Little People, Big World patriarch's relationship with the longtime family employee began soon after the couple's divorce was officially settled in 2017, leaving Amy "blindsided," a family insider told Radar Online Thursday.

The insider said Amy had no idea that the sparks of a romance were occurring right under her nose.

"Their bond definitely happened over the years," the insider said of Matt and Caryn, who appears to have recently stopped working for Roloff Farms after a decade.

"Caryn became this person that Matt felt understood how important the farm was to him, because she was there helping him run the day to day operations," the insider added. "But it's not fair to Amy, she was there raising his kids and running the house, and doing the other half of the duties."

Last year on the TLC reality show, Amy admitted that she did have hurt feelings about the relationship.

"Caryn has been Matt's personal assistant. Now that they're dating, of course that's hurtful," Amy said.

None of the Roloffs have addressed that Caryn no longer appears to be employed on the farm, but from what has been said on the show, it may have been due to Amy's feelings about having her as an employee.

On a recent episode of Little People, Big World, Caryn admitted that she would be willing to leave the farm if her beau's ex-wife wanted her to.

"I don't want to invade anyone's space, and the moment Amy doesn't want me coming around anymore, I won't," she told the cameras.

Matt and Amy have been butting heads about more than just Caryn. The divorced couple may have ended their romantic relationship, but still live incredibly close on the family farm, which is something that doesn't work for either one.

"[Amy living in the main house] makes sense, but it wasn't supposed to be permanent," Matt admitted earlier this season of the TLC show. "I mean I'm living 500 feet from my ex. It's awkward."

"I'm either at a place now where I need to dig in my roots further on the farm and build a house that suits me, or I need to think about finding real estate off the farm," he continued. "It's not easy. I've been on this farm more than half my life. I don't know what the next step is, so that's the challenge I'm living in."

Little People, Big World airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.

Photo credit: Facebook/Matt Roloff