The Human Beings Known as the Arnold-Klein Family

[EmmeRose]

The New Season of The Little Couple begins Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 at 9:00 PM Eastern time.  TLC has an adorable clip on their website!

[BW Manilowe]

Bill Tweeted a really cute pic of Will he took, using some kind of Star Wars-related app. You gotta see it.

https://twitter.com/reallybillklein/status/676096207660257280

[BW Manilowe]

Bill Tweeted another pic this morning. It's Will & Zoey sitting, BOTH of them HAPPILY, on Santa's lap this year--though I think Santa's actually their Grandbaba on Jen's side. Zoey's NOT afraid of Santa anymore!

https://mobile.twitter.com/ReallyBillKlein/status/680371149499416577?p=v

[eributterfly]

Zoey is a beautiful girl. The Kleins are an attractive family. At the risk of sounding shallow is that why the Little Couple is more successful than other little people shows?

probably because I think they are extremely boring, if they didn't have Will and Zoey it would have ended years ago. They have this life of perfection that is unrealistic to me. They don't argue, they never disagree and that isn't reality. There is no such thing as a perfect couple. I understand not wanting to "air" your dirty laundry but be real. I can remember an episode maybe season 1 or 2 and they were trying to decide whether to buy an existing home or build and they were in this discussion and Bill was adamant that he wasn't going to spend more $ for a smaller lot. In a later episode when they were answering viewer questions Jen made a comment that she was concerned about how that scene would look for them to argue on camera. I think she wants to come across as perfect and that is why I am not as big a fan as I was. If they didn't have the kids and take trips showing her professional life it would be cancelled. To just follow them as a couple day to day wouldn't keep the attention of enough viewers, in my opinion. Edited January 4, 2016 by eributterfly

[eributterfly]

We're discussing their looks because someone suggested that The Little Couple is a more successful show than LPBW or OLF because the people on it are better to look at. Some of us respectfully disagree with that hypothesis but for different reasons. I personally do not like Jen at all but Bill seems nice, and I like the views of Houston and their house, so that's why I watch.

It's okay to admit that looks matter, especially regarding people who choose to be in the public eye. That doesn't make us bad people. Physicality is part of the human experience. (FTR my dislike of Jen is 100% based on her personality, not her face or body.)

I agree, Jens personality is way to much for me to handle and it seems to have gotten worse over the years.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

I agree, Jens personality is way to much for me to handle and it seems to have gotten worse over the years.

Maybe she's playing it up because so many people seem to like it? But yeah, way too much for me, too.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Judy and Dave Arnold are moving to Florida according to the episode description for next week.  The kids will miss them and all the support they have been providing!  

[BitterApple]

Judy and Dave Arnold are moving to Florida according to the episode description for next week. The kids will miss them and all the support they have been providing!

Wow, did they give a reason for the move? I'm a little surprised given how attached they are to Will and Zoe.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Wow, did they give a reason for the move? I'm a little surprised given how attached they are to Will and Zoe.

 

I was just as surprised when I saw the description of next week's episode so no clue.  Judy and Dave moved to Houston to provide support for Jen and Bill's kids and will leave a big hole when they leave.  

[Wellfleet]

Wow, did they give a reason for the move? I'm a little surprised given how attached they are to Will and Zoe.

 

No kidding? Very stunning news, IMO. Jen seems so attached to her Mom. And it didn't last long, did it? In 2011, 2012 - whatever it was - Dave & Judy move to Houston and Rocky & Maggie's is created so Judy'll have something to do while waiting to be a grandmother [something for Bill too]. Now less than 5 years later - tops - they're packing up and heading back to Florida? Very surprising.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I wonder if they will be opening a Rocky and Maggie's franchise in Florida?  I haven't read that connection but do recall reading the store might or is going franchise. Just a thought.

[Snow8585]

I think they decided it was time to go home. Judy "retired" from Rocky and Maggies a year or so ago. She used to own at least one Arabian stallion that she would enter into horse competitions in Florida. She probably misses that life. I doubt they would open a Rocky and Maggies there but who knows ....

[Absolom]

Don't they have other family in Florida also?  I admit though that I am surprised.  Maybe the plan was for a temporary move all along until the kids were school age.

[jnymph]

I think the move may be driven by Dave. When the children were in their grandparents car, heading to their sleepover, during Zoey's b'day episode, Dave didn't look thrilled.

I don't think that hanging out with little kids is considered a good time by a man Dave's age. While I'm sure he loves his grandchildren, I would doubt that they fill the bill for him. I am sure that Dave and Judy have friends their own age in Florida. They lived there for years. I would think that Dave would like to enjoy his retirement years with friends his own age.

 

Agree.  Judy maybe be a bit over the kids too, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  Some people reach a certain age and just don't have the energy anymore.  I'm sure they'd like to spend time with them, then HAND THEM BACK. LOL!

I'm sure they will pay many visits to Houston to see them AND vice versa.  

 

[Wellfleet]

Don't they have other family in Florida also?  I admit though that I am surprised.  Maybe the plan was for a temporary move all along until the kids were school age.

 

Maybe the move was supposed to be temporary all along, although IMO there was nothing said at the time that made it sound anything but permanent while they were planning it. My guess is that Judy and Dave DID miss their Florida life, and that Jen has begun to realize that between herself, Bill and the babysitter, they can manage pretty well without on-call grandparents.

[eributterfly]

The episode tomorrow is trick or treating and Zoey's hair is short. Hopefully we will see what lead to the pixie cut. I do remember Bill stating he wanted her with the pixie so I'm sure he influenced the cut. I've seen pictures since the initial cut and it, IMO, looks really bad. It's shorter and uneven. Her bangs are extremely short as if they have been cut with a razor, it's not soft at all. I wish I could attach a picture. If interested either go to Jens Instagram or Twitter.

[eributterfly]

Maybe their son is starting a family and now they want to do for him what they did for Jen. But now that I think about it, when they moved to Texas they stated that since Jen and her brother were no longer in Florida it didn't seem like home anymore. When I look at them with the kids I see nothing but total love and I don't think they are tired of them but more that they simply aren't needed day to day as they thought they would be. Remember initially they were going to have a newborn through surrogacy and that was when they moved. So the kids are older sooner and with Kate they may feel comfortable going back. The heat alone would make me leave, it's ridiculous in Texas. Totally off topic, do any of you think it's odd that Bill and Jen don't show any little people friends? I remember years ago when Jen was thinking of carrying a baby she said some of her friends that are smaller than she had carried babies. Maybe they don't want to be in the show. I have also noticed that they have no affiliation with the little people of America. As a doctor and businessman I would think they would partipate to let teens know they can work hard and be whatever they choose to be. I truly believe that Bill thinks he is just short and doesn't identify with little person or dwarf. I also notice in the interview scenes they always show them from chest up as The Johnstons and The Hamils are shown together on a couch or loveseat where clearly their feet just come to the end of the cushion. Maybe I'm just over analyzing and this is a fault of mine. But I notice little things like this. Also, Bill never sits back in a chair he always sits on the edge so his feet touch the floor even if it's just the tip of his toe.

Edited February 2, 2016 by eributterfly

[eributterfly]

I'm sorry to say I think this is definitely a possibility. The Arnold-Kleins aren't exactly struggling financially either. This may be an even greater factor. In general, I believe the public likes to observe the details of the lives of wealthy people - whether attractive or not.

I completely agree seeing people with money is always more interesting. I also,think their popularity stems from the fact that they along with the Roloffs were the first show highlighting little people and then for them to be so impressive with their accomplishments drew you in. Honestly, I like the Hamils and Johnstons better because you see reality,,they disagree, have scenarios that we can all relate to. Whether to buy furniture or a TV because of the budget, where as all of a sudden you see an, IMO, unnecessary suv on the little couple. They can do whatever they want with their $ but if I want to see rich folks I'll tune into Bravo and watch the Housewives franchises. Edited February 2, 2016 by eributterfly

[BW Manilowe]

Maybe their son is starting a family and now they want to do for him what they did for Jen. But now that I think about it, when they moved to Texas they stated that since Jen and her brother were no longer in Florida it didn't seem like home anymore. When I look at them with the kids I see nothing but total love and I don't think they are tired of them but more that they simply aren't needed day to day as they thought they would be. Remember initially they were going to have a newborn through surrogacy and that was when they moved. So the kids are older sooner and with Kate they may feel comfortable going back. The heat alone would make me leave, it's ridiculous in Texas. Totally off topic, do any of you think it's odd that Bill and Jen don't show any little people friends? I remember years ago when Jen was thinking of carrying a baby she said some of her friends that are smaller than she had carried babies. Maybe they don't want to be in the show. I have also noticed that they have no affiliation with the little people of America. As a doctor and businessman I would think they would partipate to let teens know they can work hard and be whatever they choose to be. I truly believe that Bill thinks he is just short and doesn't identify with little person or dwarf. I also notice in the interview scenes they always show them from chest up as The Johnstons and The Hamils are shown together on a couch or loveseat where clearly their feet just come to the end of the cushion. Maybe I'm just over analyzing and this is a fault of mine. But I notice little things like this. Also, Bill never sits back in a chair he always sits on the edge so his feet touch the floor even if it's just the tip of his toe.

When they began the adoption stuff, where they were looking specifically for "little" children, they signed up to do it through 2 different agencies (I guess that's what you'd call it). I think 1 was Rainbow something or other, & the other was Little People of America. Jen mentioned this in 1 or more episodes where they visited the placement agencies in the ep(s) before they were matched with the boy they eventually adopted & renamed Will (William).

In my opinion, just because they aren't mentioning LPA on the show in every/every other scene, that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't involved with the organization.

[gunderda]

I think the reason they don't show any little people friends is because they probably don't have any in Texas. I feel like they even mentioned something like that once, that the only time they really see their little people friends (when they were growing up) are at the conventions. 

I live in a fairly large city, I have never seen a little person here.  So no matter where you live (except LA probably) there probably aren't a whole lot of little people to befriend.

 

On all the other shows if they have little people friends they are either relatives or a family visiting from far away.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

There are several chapters of LPA in Texas including one in Houston.  

[ZoloftBlob]

Per the LPA website, the Houston chapter has 10 members. Overall, Texas has 71... with 44 of them being in the West Texas inactive chapter.

 

They're allowed to *not* be active in the LPA, aren't they? I mean, are we really saying "all little people should be friends since they all have something in common"?

 

I have many friends who look nothing like me... because I am allowed to choose my friends without them needing to physically resemble me.

Edited February 3, 2016 by ZoloftBlob

[Absolom]

That seems to be the chapter number rather than the number of members.  I looked up Dallas-Ft Worth and that is chapter 2.  Their FB page has over 140 members although that does not mean that is the number of members of the chapter. 

[ZoloftBlob]

Absolom - I'll take that criticism - I can be wrong - however the LPA also says on out of every 40000 people is a dwarf. Houston has a population of 2,239,000 aprox according to wiki. That means there are 56 dwarfs in the Greater Houston area. How many do Bill and Jen need to be seen with to make their interactions with other little people not a source of worry?

 

I'd also point out that the Roloffs haven't had any little people friends show up on their show in several years, including even in the background. Is it because they aren't active in the LPA? Maybe not as much but it's more likely that they have friends who don't want to be on tv

Edited February 4, 2016 by ZoloftBlob

[Absolom]

Oh I didn't mean it critically but more as information.  A few years ago I tried to get membership for our local chapter and couldn't so i was surprised it was so easily found.  :)  I'm in the camp of let the Kleins pick their friends.  They probably pick from neighbors or co-workers or people from church like a lot of people do. 

[Wellfleet]

I think that Jen's favortism toward Zoey is abundantly clear again this season. Jen plays with Zoey more, talks to Zoey more, gives Zoey more elaborate birthday parties, punishes Will, but doesn't punish Zoey. Jen doesn't even attempt to hide her extreme preference for one child over the other. It makes me feel sorry for Will. Bill seems to be more even handed with the children to me.

 

I'm not sure I'd call it favoritism. IMO, mothers just interact with their daughters more, and fathers with their sons. They share more of the same interests generally, and of course moms are role-models for girls. I don't think Jen is as interested in what Will likes [cars, trains etc] and she knows he's getting plenty of parental attention from Bill. Our family had 3 girls and 3 boys and we definitely were the typical 'girls-in-kitchen-with-Mom' and 'boys-in-the-garage-with Dad' family. I'd disagree on the discipline issue too. I've actually seen Jen be firm and carryout what she said she'd do [when Will used the word "stupid"]. But I haven't seen the same for Bill. I'm not saying he doesn't do it, but he has avoided doing it on camera up to now. He manages to chuckle-off every instance where I personally would have applied some discipline. Either that or he finds some sort of usually-lame reason for not being firm. The it's-the-first-day-of-school-and-we-don't-want-to-upset-the-apple-cart scenario comes to mind. In that instance, a parent should have taken whatever Will scarfed from the pantry away from him. Will of course would have been royally-steamed. No smiling for the camera, pouting all the way in the car. But all that would have evaporated once he arrived at the excitement of school. End of issue. Kids get over things and at that age, usually pretty quickly. Bill seems to be unwilling to have his kids mad at him, even for a little time. Daddy is always your best buddy, is what he wants them thinking. And parents are not supposed to be buddies - not all the time. Overall though I think the Kleins are fairly-typical American parents for this time. Too much stuff, too much $ being spent, too much activity. Too little discipline and too little "alone-self-undirected" time. Just my opinion however.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Wellfleet

[CousinAmy]

I think we don't see the quiet, self-directed times because that is their private time - time they don't have to get dressed up just to play or hang around the house. I certainly don't begrudge their right to have free time; that isn't something that has to be documented on camera.

[eributterfly]

When they began the adoption stuff, where they were looking specifically for "little" children, they signed up to do it through 2 different agencies (I guess that's what you'd call it). I think 1 was Rainbow something or other, & the other was Little People of America. Jen mentioned this in 1 or more episodes where they visited the placement agencies in the ep(s) before they were matched with the boy they eventually adopted & renamed Will (William).

In my opinion, just because they aren't mentioning LPA on the show in every/every other scene, that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't involved with the organization.

That is true and I remember that as well, but maybe I'm comparing the Roloffs involvement and how outspoken they were about it and being on the board and actually their participation so that Zach, their only little person child could meet other little people. I remember in an episode years ago Jen stating that because of school and how busy she was she didn't have time to attend LPA conventions and that they were only dances and not really what she was interested in as a young adult. I thought this was really strange at the time. I still think it's odd that we have never seen any of their little people friends but she's said in reference to having kids that some of her friends that are smaller than she have had successful pregnancies. I just hope that they allow Will and Zoey to attend the conventions if they show interest. I believe Will and Zoey will be more athletic as to where Bill and Jen were not and the LPA provides fair participation in all sports without risk of getting hurt. I think that their parents didn't want Bill and Jen to feel anymore different than they already did so they didn't encourage going. But also dealing with 30+ surgeries would make going to conventions low on their priority list as well.

[EmmeRose]

I often wonder when Jen and Bill will talk to Will and Zoey about being adopted.  Soon, both will begin to notice that they do not resemble their parents and will wonder why.  One friend of ours adopted a little girl from Mexico (when she was a baby) and when she was about 4 years-old and both were at the beach, the little girl noticed another little Mexican girl like herself and said something to the effect that ' that little girl has skin like mine.'  Her mother is blond and very fair.   So I expect that to come soon.  Also, will Will and Zoey feel that they were not wanted by their birth parents?  That conversation has to be very delicately and sensitively discussed. Also, I wonder if their birth parents could ever be contacted if the children want to know who their biological parents are.

[BitterApple]

Also, will Will and Zoey feel that they were not wanted by their birth parents?

It can go either way. My uncle has a set of adopted twins who are 13. One is adamant that my aunt and uncle are her "real" parents and doesn't given it a second thought and the other has struggled with feelings of abandonment to the point of needing therapy. I can't guess as to which way Will and Zoe will go, but Bill and Jen seem to be pretty realistic about the challenges adopted children can face.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

The kids didn't comprehend a lemonade stand so the "hmmm am I adopted?" talk is not at hand yet!  They will likely start with reading them a children's book about adoption.  Will was found starving and abandoned so doubtful his parents are biting their fingernails wondering how he is doing or stepping up to the plate to admit they did this to a baby!  I don't recall hearing about Zoey's parentage. 

[BitterApple]

The kids didn't comprehend a lemonade stand so the "hmmm am I adopted?" talk is not at hand yet!

How old was Will in that episode? When I was seven, my friend and I set up a lemonade stand at the end of our street. We made the signs, the lemonade, organized the display and handled all the money. It's kind of odd to me that Will couldn't grasp the concept of how the whole thing worked.

[Fostersmom]

I'm highly doubting the kids adoption is a giant secret to them. Haven't we seen them celebrating Gotcha Day with Will before and he obviously went to India to get Zoey. In all reality, they probably have talked about adoption with the kids from day one without it seeming like some sort of thing that needed explaining as a big serious discussion. Certainly no reason to tell a kindergartener he was left starved to death on a doorstep. I honestly wish I didn't know that about Will and I appreciate the fact we don't know the backstory of Zoey's arrival at the orphanage. 

[xldb2004]

I am an adopted child and I've always known. I don't remember when u was told I was told so young. We always celebrated "my day" the day my parents brought me home. I have an older sister who is my parents bio child, but I always felt special because I was chosen. BTW I have had 59 "my day" celebrations. Hopefully Bill and Jen will embrace it.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

How old was Will in that episode? When I was seven, my friend and I set up a lemonade stand at the end of our street. We made the signs, the lemonade, organized the display and handled all the money. It's kind of odd to me that Will couldn't grasp the concept of how the whole thing worked.

 

Will turned 6 this month and I agree his comprehension skills are lagging.  

[Absolom]

At 5 a child should be able to comprehend preparing food and/or drink for other people and that we don't taste or drink part of it.  Most children in pre-school understand that.  There is an alternative explanation here of that was all set up by production for filming and Judy didn't really expect the shoppers at the yard sale to drink the lemonade poured by the kids. 

[BW Manilowe]

Considering Will & Zoey have different skin colors from Bill & Jen (& also from each other... & Will should also remember going to India with Bill, Jen, & Kate to get Zoey), I would think they could already understand Jen didn't give birth to them/there's no other biological relationship among/between them.

[Wellfleet]

I think we don't see the quiet, self-directed times because that is their private time - time they don't have to get dressed up just to play or hang around the house. I certainly don't begrudge their right to have free time; that isn't something that has to be documented on camera.

 

This is a very valid point. I doubt TLC is enamored with the idea of showing Will and Zoey coloring for 15 minutes, or looking at books on the floor in their rooms etc. They only want to show the big productions - the birthday parties, field trips, vow renewals, trick-or-treating etc. Another good reason why none of these shows should be called reality. Because they're not. They show big moments, or just plain scripted activities.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Considering Will & Zoey have different skin colors from Bill & Jen (& also from each other... & Will should also remember going to India with Bill, Jen, & Kate to get Zoey), I would think they could already understand Jen didn't give birth to them/there's no other biological relationship among/between them.

 

I am pretty sure neither Will nor Zoey know where babies come from yet!  Let's get them to understand how a lemonade stand works first!  Will goes on so many airplanes one place is the same as the other but I agree he likely remembers getting Zoey because his ears are still ringing from her wailing!

[ginger90]

Will turned 6 this month and I agree his comprehension skills are lagging.  

Bill asked him to pour half a cup, and he poured a half cup. I thought that was pretty darn good!

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Bill asked him to pour half a cup, and he poured a half cup. I thought that was pretty darn good!

 

I am sure Will is used to that rule of only pouring half a cup/glass so they don't spill it or overfill the container like most kids do when learning.

[Wellfleet]

I am an adopted child and I've always known. I don't remember when u was told I was told so young. We always celebrated "my day" the day my parents brought me home. I have an older sister who is my parents bio child, but I always felt special because I was chosen. BTW I have had 59 "my day" celebrations. Hopefully Bill and Jen will embrace it.

 

I believe that this has been the prevailing view among professionals for many years now. To begin broaching the idea of adoption, in terms a child can comprehend, as soon as possible. As young as 1 or 2, so it is always part of the child's stream of consciousness. Clearly children that little won't actually understand the definition of adoption and all it entails, but it will also not ever be a catastrophic event in the child's life. It will just be part of his story. Celebrating the child's adoption day is a wonderful idea too, I think. Before the 60s, many adoptive parents actively held back the fact that a child had been adopted - and this almost never worked out well. I have an adopted cousin - older than me - who found out from kids on the school bus, and he literally was never the same since then - lots of problems with drugs etc. When I was teaching I had a little guy in my class one year who'd been adopted from Poland. Cutest little tigger you ever saw. He was in the first grade and still didn't know. It was close to the end of the term, and his mom told me she & her husband had no plans to tell him. As gently as I could, I pointed out to her that other children in our room knew. That there are ALWAYS other people who know, and that eventually, virtually all adoptees do find out. She was very adamant about not telling him however, so that was that. I've often wondered what happened to him. 

Edited February 7, 2016 by Wellfleet

[BW Manilowe]

I am pretty sure neither Will nor Zoey know where babies come from yet! Let's get them to understand how a lemonade stand works first! Will goes on so many airplanes one place is the same as the other but I agree he likely remembers getting Zoey because his ears are still ringing from her wailing!

I was merely trying to say I think Will & Zoey would already (at least somehow) understand they aren't biologically related to each other, or to Jen & Bill, because of the visible differences in their skin colors (in response to whomever originally brought up whether or not their being adopted has already been brought up with the kids). Sheesh!

[gunderda]

Also, will Will and Zoey feel that they were not wanted by their birth parents?  That conversation has to be very delicately and sensitively discussed. Also, I wonder if their birth parents could ever be contacted if the children want to know who their biological parents are.

 

I'm sure kids in orphanages in those countries don't even have records for the bio parents. Most are just dropped off or found abandoned. 

I have wondered how my cousin will handle this.  She adopted 2 kids from the congo a few years ago. One is 6 and one is 3 or 4.  It's pretty common for adoptive parents to go through the situation where the kids want to find their bio parents, but how do you tell a kid that there is no way for them to find their bio parents and that they will never know?  That would be an incredibly hard conversation to have I think. 

[eributterfly]

I think the reason they don't show any little people friends is because they probably don't have any in Texas. I feel like they even mentioned something like that once, that the only time they really see their little people friends (when they were growing up) are at the conventions. 

I live in a fairly large city, I have never seen a little person here.  So no matter where you live (except LA probably) there probably aren't a whole lot of little people to befriend.

 

On all the other shows if they have little people friends they are either relatives or a family visiting from far away.

I don't think they have little people friends at all. Jen has stated that her little people friends that are smaller than she have had children, which I find extremely hard to fathom. A person the size of a 3 year old carrying a child seems impossible but if she's wider with bigger hips or torso maybe so. Also I remember Jen kind of putting her nose up at conventions stating that she was busy with school and all they had were dances and she wasn't into that sort of thing. I don't think Bill has any little people friends because I don't think he believes he's a little person like others. I truly think he thinks he's just short. They don't have the "look" that you normally associate with little people.

[eributterfly]

I find inconsistencies in a lot of what Jen says. I don't want to say she's lying but it's kind of lying. But the thing is it's not necessary and I don't know why she does it. I've mentioned this on another thread but Bill had mentioned he liked the pixie cut for Zoey to Jen and the hair stylist and in the next episode when the pixie was mentioned Jen put her finger on her chin and kind of looked up and said oh I'd never thought of that, when clearly she knew Bill preferred it. It's just little things like that. Also, totally off this topic, I reply to things the little couple FB page posts and I mean these people are die hard fans and will come at you with claws out if you say anything not complementary towards them. I love to go head to head with them, they put them on a pedestal and find no fault in anything they do. It's hilarious. I was giving my opinion about how they could have handled the lemonade stand a bit better for the kids to run, oh my Lord this woman came after me as if I sent a death threat. I basically told her to find another hobby, I doubt they need body guards. She would probably have a heart attack if she read some of these comments. I am not sure if they have told them they are adopted but they did get books to prepare Will for Zoey and I think it showed her coming from another country but it may not have been specific about her not coming out of moms belly but they are still pretty young to understand that. I think the only time younger kids get that is when you constantly point to the bump and refer to it as the baby.

[Snow8585]

I kind of wondered what Dave did for a living anyway. All the LIttle Couple Ba Ba and Nai Nai merchandise looks like it can only be purchased on Ebay these days. Dave probably got in trouble with TLC legal folks for that website. Family members on other TLC reality shows make about $15k per episode so I would be willing to bet that Dave and Judy were paid to be on the show. Another poster hinted that Judy maybe was not the greatest manager or whatever at Rocky and Maggies which may be one of the reasons she "retired." And now Rocky and Maggies has a new manager and CEO, and Dave and Judy and Bill and Jen are not officially or legally involved anymore. My guess is things just were not working out for them in Texas as they had hoped and it was time to go back to Florida.

[BitterApple]

As close as Judy and Jen are, they're very similar in personality and I can see them butting heads. As the kids get older and become more involved in school and hobbies, there's less of a need for constant supervision. I don't get the vibe that Dave and Judy had an established circle of friends in Houston, so they may have been feeling restless and decided it was time to go.

[Wellfleet]

I don't think they have little people friends at all. Jen has stated that her little people friends that are smaller than she have had children, which I find extremely hard to fathom. A person the size of a 3 year old carrying a child seems impossible but if she's wider with bigger hips or torso maybe so. Also I remember Jen kind of putting her nose up at conventions stating that she was busy with school and all they had were dances and she wasn't into that sort of thing. I don't think Bill has any little people friends because I don't think he believes he's a little person like others. I truly think he thinks he's just short. They don't have the "look" that you normally associate with little people.

 

I agree and thought that statement of Jen's was very odd. Extremely difficult to fathom. IIRC, Jen is ultra-petite. Even among little people, she's considered little. The MDs have already determined that her size virtually precluded her from being able to carry a baby for 9 months, which is why they switched to pursuing surrogacy, and then ultimately adoption. How could there be other little women out there, even smaller than her, who DID successfully carry and birth babies?

[Wellfleet]

I don't think they have little people friends at all. Jen has stated that her little people friends that are smaller than she have had children, which I find extremely hard to fathom. A person the size of a 3 year old carrying a child seems impossible but if she's wider with bigger hips or torso maybe so. Also I remember Jen kind of putting her nose up at conventions stating that she was busy with school and all they had were dances and she wasn't into that sort of thing. I don't think Bill has any little people friends because I don't think he believes he's a little person like others. I truly think he thinks he's just short. They don't have the "look" that you normally associate with little people.

 

I wouldn't say that Bill and Jen have NO little-people friends, but I do agree that they don't define themselves - basically - as little people. And this is as it should be. I get the impression that they were both raised to believe - and rightly so - that they're no different than anyone else - just smaller. I think they were encouraged as children to try whatever activities they could - size notwithstanding. I remember Jen being a cheerleader, I think. They both went to college, have successful careers etc - all in the average-statured world. I'm willing to bet Jen is probably the only MD in the US who's also a little person. I just think they don't "run into" little people very often, if ever - and don't get the opportunity to strike up little people friendships. Maybe even don't have time for LPA conventions or other gatherings. They might be in denial about being little people - sure - but if so, it only seems to have helped.