Audrey Roloff hoped to put to bed any further speculation about why she and her husband Jeremy Roloff left Little People, Big World five years ago. The couple announced plans to leave the series in July 2018 and made their final appearance in 2019. In an Instagram Q&A session with fans earlier this week, Audrey said the difficult filming schedule, “controlling” contracts, and Jeremy’s desire to move on led to their decision.
Audrey said there were “many reasons” for leaving the TLC series, including out of respect for Jeremy, who “was just ready to move on from this chapter of his life,” reports The Ashely’s Reality Roundup. By the time they said they were leaving, Jeremy had already been on the series for 11 seasons. Audrey had also been a part of the show for many years since she became Jeremy’s girlfriend in 2013.
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In her since-expired response, Audrey criticized the show for “crazy” and “very controlling” contracts. She said the stories audiences saw did not reflect reality and the filming schedule was intense.
“TV contracts are crazy and very controlling,” Audrey wrote. “Same with [filming] schedules. We also didn’t like the storylines being portrayed that weren’t actually true … Ultimately reality TV is all about the drama … and we didn’t like the pressure to create or speak to the drama, or perform for the cameras.” Audrey added that it was “so hard” for her to re-do things with a newborn just for the camera.
The couple’s decision to leave the series still hasn’t sat well with some fans who find it hypocritical for Audrey to leave the reality show while still continuing to share every family update on social media. However, Audrey defended her use of Instagram, noting that it grants her much more freedom compared to television. Social media and television are two very different platforms, she wrote.
“TV and social media are very different even though they have lots of similarities,” Audrey explained. “I have so much freedom here to post and say what I want and share how I want about what I want (even if IG tries to censor certain things). We also have freedom to pursue different work opportunities that we were not able to with our TV contracts.” The former TLC star went on to say that they made their decision at the “right time,” and are “so thankful” for what the show gave them.
LPBW is one of the longest-running reality shows of its kind, with more than 380 episodes produced and 24 seasons. Only Matt Roloff, Amy Roloff, their son Zach Roloff, and Zach’s wife Tori Roloff remain in the series. In November, Matt’s fiance Caryn Chandler reportedly dropped out of the series. There have also been rumors that Zach and Tori might leave as well, following Zach’s dispute with Matt over his father’s ill-fated attempt to sell parts of Roloff Farms last year.
“Zach and Tori have really started a new chapter in Washington with their family, and they don’t care for the drama of feuding on camera,” a source recently told The U.S. Sun. “They just want to cherish the time they had on the show and move on, focus on themselves and their careers.”
