Amy Roloff and her husband Matt, the stars of the popular TLC reality TV show "Little People, Big World," have separated after 26 years of marriage.
The separation was confirmed by
a joint statement released to People on Wednesday, in which the couple told the entertainment magazine, "Though we have weathered many storms together, we recently made the tough decision to engage in a trial separation."
The announcement will be made on-the-air via a special episode of the family's TLC reality show scheduled for March 25,
the Los Angeles Times reported.
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"Last year it was long and tough," Matt Roloff says in a video clip previewing the segment. "Amy and I had a lot of tension, so right around Thanksgiving, I thought I would move over to the bridal house for a little bit and we'll try that," Matt continued. "Amy and I stuck it out for years and years when maybe we shouldn't have. I never quite felt at home in my own home so something needed to change."
"We needed to try something different," he added.
The reality TV show revolves round the six family members of the Roloff clan who run a farm near Portland, Ore. Both parents and one of their children have forms of dwarfism, which is a focus of the show. The series recently completed its seventh season on the air.
The separation appears to have been foreshadowed via a December press release that suggested the couple was having relationship problems,
the Huffington Post reported.
"I think what Matt and I failed to do over many, many years is learned to live together," Amy Roloff said in the preview clip. "It's not my choice for him to leave. I am saddened by it; it's been 26 years."
"We don't have a plan as far as how we are going to work this out, so it's not going to be easy," she added.
According to the joint statement, Matt Roloff will continue to live close by, planning to remain in the family's guest house on the farm, and will continue to work with the family on a daily basis as well as be actively involved in raising their four children.
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