The Roloff family is opening up about the tense nature of their relationship. ET's Cassie DiLaura visited both Roloff Farms and Zach Roloff's home in Oregon to talk about the upcoming season of Little People, Big World and what their status is today.
Patriarch Matt Roloff and his son, Zach, have been at odds in recent years after a dispute over Roloff Farms that ended in Zach choosing to leave town with his wife, Tori, and their children.
"I would say that the status of the relationship, if I had to summarize it, it's on the right path," Matt tells ET. "We've had some setbacks in recent years. We've shared all of those on the upcoming season and before. Our real life is always a little bit ahead of when things are released. But we're definitely working."
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‘Little People, Big World’: Matt Roloff on Son Zach and Caryn Chandler (Exclusive)The 61-year-old reality star says that he talks with his 32-year-old son "every day" and that they've been planning his father's memorial, which the whole family has been a part of.
"It's not easy, but it's going in the right direction," he says of the relationship. "We don't have big expectations."
Zach seems somewhat less optimistic when asked about the nature of his relationship with his father.
"It's still pretty tough, yeah, it's a tough situation," he says. "I think a lot has happened. It's gonna take a long time. I don't think responsibility has been taken, but, again, we're just raising our family."
Zach and Tori decided to move away from the farm after negotiations for a piece of the property between Zach and Matt broke down.
"I think it's presented a good opportunity though for all of us to kind of step back and just remember that we're family and that's all that truly matters," Tori says of the move. "Putting our businesses and things aside for one another is, I feel like, the most important thing."
Zach remains disappointed in the situation and how it has affected his family.
"It's just unfortunate the way things went down, but I think a lot of the siblings have kinda had enough of it and separated, which is totally sad and it's unfortunate," he says. "In my opinion, we should be enjoying the time with the grandkids and enjoying this season of life as a family, lots of cousins, but we're all kind of separated. It is what it is, though."
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Why Amy Roloff Doesn't Watch 'Little People, Big World' (Exclusive)Zach's mom, Amy Roloff, who is divorced from Matt, also spoke with ET about the strained relationship between her ex and their son.
"I think this is a situation that's not Hollywood and it's definitely not driven by episodes. I think people just have to watch and see, but in the long run, my hope is that whatever works for them, they'll come to something so that the kids and them can at least have some kind of relationship," she says. "They'll never be the same, they'll never be what it could have been ever, ever, ever, but to work on what can it be? What does that look like moving forward in the future?"
As the show enters its 24th season, how much longer is the Roloff family open to filming their lives?
"We take that day by day or week by week or month by month, so we take that one step at a time," Matt says. "Every year, we kind of reevaluate where we're at and if we have more positive things to share, we take it as it goes."
He says that it's really the fans who have inspired him to keep going.
"Just about the time we say, 'Ah, man, we can't do this anymore. It's too embarrassing, it's too hard,' then somebody comes up to us in public and says how touched they are and how their family is going through some of the stuff," he shares.
Little People, Big World premieres Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
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