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All Episodes Talk: Small World, Big Lives


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Culture Check: How can the tropes and stereotypes we apply to TV personalities impact our fellow posters, and how do we remain mindful of these effects while discussing them? Please review for more on stereotypes and tropes.

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Culture Check: How can we express our opinions and consider the effect our assumptions may have on the people around us? What impact might speculation have on others, especially when we speculate about children or complex issues like neurodiversity?

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Matt's response to Amy that she was not aware of everything that happened in the negotiations was to Amy not to the TV audience. Matt does not owe Amy any information about the negotiations. She has no ownership interest in the farm. She got her payout and if I had been Matt I would have told her to back off none of her business. I don't see why production needs to get involved in the details of the negotiations. Matt has a right to keep this private as does Zack. If Zack has information that he wants to share he can share. What we know is that Zack made an offer, Matt didn't accept the offer and the negotiations fell apart. What more do we need to know? 

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He said that he had not had any comments from the kids about the sale of the property.  He said:  I talk to the kids but I don't see Zack and Tori as much and they have not responded to the text. He was vague but he did not come out and say no one responded to his texts or called. At least that is what he told Amy and Chris at dinner. Maybe he said something later on.  if Jeremy, Jacob and Molly were not involved in the negations  in buying the north side of the farm why would they care if Matt sold it? The impression that I got is that Amy, Zack and Tori are mad about the sale of the family house. The only legacy that Zack and Amy cared about was Zack getting what he wanted. 

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3 hours ago, Redrum said:

if Matt's going to call Amy out in an argument over how there's a lot going on that she doesn't know about - why can't production ask him what that is

Maybe they did ask and he refused to out personal information.  We don’t know what other factors are involved.  There are other children to consider too, especially since J&A also made an offer that was turned down.   I do know one thing, none of it is any of Amy’s and her man’s business.

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Maybe but its an article written about what Matt's realtor who is trying to sell the farm says. You'll forgive me if I think Matt's realtor has a vested interest in making sure Matt's version of events is presented. 

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I don't see how this article would help sell the property. Why would a potential buyer care if his children had been offered the property? Nothing was said other than his children numerous chances to purchase the property.  I thought it was a pretty straight forward article. She mentioned the difficulity of selling a property that has been shown on TV with  all of the prior renovations. If this realtor is lying about this you can bet Zack would be on social media crying foul.

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Zach has gotten on social media once and that was to correct his dad on attempting to paint himself as the victim in selling the house. Zach otherwise has never commented on any article written about the family.

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(edited)
1 hour ago, Redrum said:

Zach has gotten on social media once and that was to correct his dad on attempting to paint himself as the victim in selling the house. Zach otherwise has never commented on any article written about the family.

Zach went on Instagram and said horrible things about his father after the sale fell apart. He has since taken that post down and said he shouldn't have posted it. He is an immature hot head. The only good thing I can say about him is that he did realize that he made a mistake and should not have posted what he did. He has a lot of growing up to do and he is past the age where he can be excused for being a hot head. 

Edited by 65mickey
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Yes, this is the only time Zach has ever posted about the show on social media. Therefore he's not in the habit of crying foul on social media.

Considering Matt was using social media to cry foul on his kids being dumbasses for not being willing to come to some sort of fantasy deal where they share the house and pay Matt a lot of money, I think Zach had a point about Matt using social media to not take responsibility for his own behavior, but certainly mileage may vary.

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Zach has already backed off some of his bad behavior.  He said recently that things were better with his dad and he even made the statement that he and Tori were not innocent in all of this. I am sure that he is still disappointed but either someone got to him or he came to the realization that his and Tori's behavior on the show this past season did not play well with the viewers. He doesn't want to lose that TLC money or fall completely out of Matt's good graces.  The way Tori and Zack acted over not getting the farm was a prime example of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. 

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New to this show, and am going back to old episodes. What a bunch ridiculous people. Am watching S 6. Matt is mean and horrible. Amy is a slob/hoarder. The twins seem like idiots. Jacob is MIA. I like Molly so far. Suggestions for what season(s) are biggest train wrecks? Thanks!

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3 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Zach has already backed off some of his bad behavior.  He said recently that things were better with his dad and he even made the statement that he and Tori were not innocent in all of this. I am sure that he is still disappointed but either someone got to him or he came to the realization that his and Tori's behavior on the show this past season did not play well with the viewers. He doesn't want to lose that TLC money or fall completely out of Matt's good graces.  The way Tori and Zack acted over not getting the farm was a prime example of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. 

Ref, Zach and Tori.  They’ve really shown who they are.  I’m done with them.  The show needs to figure out a way to move on without them.  Perhaps, give them their own show and then I can completely avoid them like The Family Chantel.  

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1 hour ago, BAForever said:

New to this show, and am going back to old episodes. What a bunch ridiculous people. Am watching S 6. Matt is mean and horrible. Amy is a slob/hoarder. The twins seem like idiots. Jacob is MIA. I like Molly so far. Suggestions for what season(s) are biggest train wrecks? Thanks!

I don’t recall Matt being mean, but everyone has their own perspective.  I’d start with Season 1.  I’ve watched all seasons and think you get the whole picture if you see it from the beginning.  it’s sort of painful to watch Amy and Matt, so it gets better after they separate, though Amy gets more miserable after separation.  🥴

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2 hours ago, BAForever said:

New to this show, and am going back to old episodes. What a bunch ridiculous people. Am watching S 6. Matt is mean and horrible. Amy is a slob/hoarder. The twins seem like idiots. Jacob is MIA. I like Molly so far. Suggestions for what season(s) are biggest train wrecks? Thanks!

That about sums it up for the people on this show. I wish I could find the very first episode before it became a series. 

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2 hours ago, BAForever said:

New to this show, and am going back to old episodes. What a bunch ridiculous people. Am watching S 6. Matt is mean and horrible. Amy is a slob/hoarder. The twins seem like idiots. Jacob is MIA. I like Molly so far. Suggestions for what season(s) are biggest train wrecks? Thanks!

It gradually gets worse watch them all lol.

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1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don’t recall Matt being mean, but everyone has their own perspective.  I’d start with Season 1.  I’ve watched all seasons and think you get the whole picture if you see it from the beginning.  it’s sort of painful to watch Amy and Matt, so it gets better after they separate, though Amy gets more miserable after separation.  🥴

I don't think Matt was ever mean.  He was frustrated to the limit the way the house was run.  He tried to make things better but Amy was always so off putting he just hobbled to the office and thought of something else to make money. 

Taming of the shrew was not easy.

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1 hour ago, Jeanne222 said:

I don't think Matt was ever mean.  He was frustrated to the limit the way the house was run.  He tried to make things better but Amy was always so off putting he just hobbled to the office and thought of something else to make money. 

Taming of the shrew was not easy.

I'd say Matt had little interest in actually enforcing any of his rules. He liked laying down the law and then heading off to his office to play at dreaming. 

I mean, Amy wasn't doing it, right? So Matt had two choices. Going into the living room, turning off the games etc and telling everyone to pick up or go to their rooms and friends go home. Or hobble off to his office and ignore it.

Matt wanted to be the kids pal who buys them stuff, not the disciplinarian who says no. He'll fight Amy tooth and nail for his precious farm but his kids? He just walked away and plays to the audience how mistreated he was. Sorry, not buying that Matt was too weak to override Amy. When it mattered to him, he would. How his kids were raised didn't matter.

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10 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

Those boys need to be very careful.  Matt doesn't play around.  He could decide enough and change his trust to exclude all of them and leave all his money to Molly!

Spite parenting?

1 hour ago, Redrum said:

I'd say Matt had little interest in actually enforcing any of his rules. He liked laying down the law and then heading off to his office to play at dreaming. 

I mean, Amy wasn't doing it, right? So Matt had two choices. Going into the living room, turning off the games etc and telling everyone to pick up or go to their rooms and friends go home. Or hobble off to his office and ignore it.

Matt wanted to be the kids pal who buys them stuff, not the disciplinarian who says no. He'll fight Amy tooth and nail for his precious farm but his kids? He just walked away and plays to the audience how mistreated he was. Sorry, not buying that Matt was too weak to override Amy. When it mattered to him, he would. How his kids were raised didn't matter.

Exactly! For Matt, his parenting style was to tell the kids to pick up empty soda cans and retreat to the pig pen he called an office.

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3 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

I don't think Matt was ever mean.  He was frustrated to the limit the way the house was run.  He tried to make things better but Amy was always so off putting he just hobbled to the office and thought of something else to make money. 

Taming of the shrew was not easy.

And Matt's stubborness and inability to engage with his kids as a parent and take some interest in their activities and school work was problematic. It wasn't ALL on Amy...both of them were guilty of not trying hard enough or disciplining their kids...and Matt was quite the slob himself..that "office" of his was a pig sty.

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6 minutes ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

And Matt's stubborness and inability to engage with his kids as a parent and take some interest in their activities and school work was problematic. It wasn't ALL on Amy...both of them were guilty of not trying hard enough or disciplining their kids...and Matt was quite the slob himself..that "office" of his was a pig sty.

Was the graduation he was late for the twins?  They were both lazy horrible students so maybe he saw it for the farce it was.  Social promotion.  Remember when they couldn’t even fill out applications for community college lol?

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27 minutes ago, MrBuhBye said:

Was the graduation he was late for the twins?  They were both lazy horrible students so maybe he saw it for the farce it was.  Social promotion.  Remember when they couldn’t even fill out applications for community college lol?

So it wasn't even worth his time to try and help them out?  Yep, real Father of the Year material.  🙄

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14 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Have to comment on the creepy cringey re-creation of the pottery scene from “Ghost” with Caryn playing the Patrick Swayze role…eccchhh. 

Maybe next season they can recreate the lift from Dirty Dancing. 

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7 hours ago, MrBuhBye said:

Was the graduation he was late for the twins?  They were both lazy horrible students so maybe he saw it for the farce it was.  Social promotion.  Remember when they couldn’t even fill out applications for community college lol?

Yeah...that was special wasn't it? The best one was when Matt took the twins on some "Father/sons" road trip and over lunch was talking up that they should go to Wharton...I think I had to replay it to make sure he actually said that.

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It was just Jeremy that he thought should go to Wharton. Remember when the boys were in high school and Jeremy hadn't escaped to the Botti family by marrying up, Matt only cared about what Jeremy's future looked like. 

If Matt decided to show his displeasure with the boys laziness by showing up late to their graduation, well... it just goes to his whole petty nature of doing nothing for years and then airing his grievances. Does nothing to discipline for years and shows up late to graduation to show how pissed he is over their lack of performance. Does nothing for actual decades and then tells the world he's decided his kids are too incompetant to rake over the farm because they tore up the yard and broke windows when they were teens.

Makes me wonder if Jackson will get a bill at 18 for Teeter's upkeep. 

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The most interesting conversation I have ever seen on this show was in this most recent ep between Matt and Amy at the farm, where they debated how they raised their kids. The "farm for sale" tension is *not* about the farm being for sale or how Matt or Zach handled it.

Instead, It seems to be about a long-standing issue within the family where Matt, who built the farm and house and (as far as I know) was the catalyst for their financial success (in addition to TV stardom) was also the one who constantly hounded the kids (and Amy) about taking better care of their surroundings. Any one instance was unimportant, but if Matt really felt that his children - from birth through adulthood - were entitled brats who didn't take care of the things he provided them, then the kids (and Amy) knew it even if he never said it that way. It built up a lifetime of resentment that exploded into the divorce and the issue over the farm sale. Matt even commented separately about it while making pottery, and how "the kids" broke all the coffee cups except one that his mom bought Matt when he struck out on his own.

It's a startling admission to me, as someone who has occasionally watched this show over the years. Matt seems to be the parent who provides all these fantastic settings for his children, and yet he resents the wear and tear on them that comes from having children. We all feel that to a degree, but this conversation shows it is deep within Matt and it is a battle he fights every day. And apparently constantly leaks out and, over time, has hugely impacted his family and how they view him emotionally.

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I  do not get that Matt resents the wear and tear on material things that comes with having and raising children. I watched that scene with Amy and felt like Matt had had it up to here with Amy butting in about the sale of the farm when she no longer has an interest in it. She is quick to tell Matt how he mishandled things but of course she was OK  selling her share to Matt to get her money. If she were so concerned about the family legacy for "the boys" she is the one who mishandled things. She should have bought Matt out and handed the property over to "the boys."  I wish that Matt had the guts to tell Amy to shut up and stay out of things that are not her business. Amy and Chris keep stiring the pot. I don't know what pleasure she gets out of this. But I think she is a nasty bitter woman. 

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She has an interest in it in that it is hurting her kids and tearing the kids apart.

I don't think Matt was ever willing to sell his share of the property to Amy so not sure Amy ever had the option to just buy Matt out. The endless argument between them was that neither wanted to move after all.

As for the arguing, Matt seems to give as good as he gets and does fight back. 

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39 minutes ago, Redrum said:

She has an interest in it in that it is hurting her kids and tearing the kids apart.

I don't think Matt was ever willing to sell his share of the property to Amy so not sure Amy ever had the option to just buy Matt out. The endless argument between them was that neither wanted to move after all.

As for the arguing, Matt seems to give as good as he gets and does fight back. 

Would be funny if one of the kids worked with Amy to buy it from him and then sell it to her to spite him.  But she wouldn’t know what to do with the property once she had it.

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If Amy feels like it's hurting her kids and tearing the kids apart then she should stop stiring the pot, whispering to Tori and bring it up to Zach that  Matt was listing the farm on 5/1. It appears that  she is  doing it to keep Tori and Zack mad and upset with Matt. The best thing that Amy could do to help Zack is to stop bringing up the sale and let him and Matt work things out. That's what a supportive mother does when the child is an adult. 

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2 hours ago, Ottis said:

The most interesting conversation I have ever seen on this show was in this most recent ep between Matt and Amy at the farm, where they debated how they raised their kids. The "farm for sale" tension is *not* about the farm being for sale or how Matt or Zach handled it.

Instead, It seems to be about a long-standing issue within the family where Matt, who built the farm and house and (as far as I know) was the catalyst for their financial success (in addition to TV stardom) was also the one who constantly hounded the kids (and Amy) about taking better care of their surroundings. Any one instance was unimportant, but if Matt really felt that his children - from birth through adulthood - were entitled brats who didn't take care of the things he provided them, then the kids (and Amy) knew it even if he never said it that way. It built up a lifetime of resentment that exploded into the divorce and the issue over the farm sale. Matt even commented separately about it while making pottery, and how "the kids" broke all the coffee cups except one that his mom bought Matt when he struck out on his own.

It's a startling admission to me, as someone who has occasionally watched this show over the years. Matt seems to be the parent who provides all these fantastic settings for his children, and yet he resents the wear and tear on them that comes from having children. We all feel that to a degree, but this conversation shows it is deep within Matt and it is a battle he fights every day. And apparently constantly leaks out and, over time, has hugely impacted his family and how they view him emotionally.

Matt worked his whole life to see that his family had nice things.

I think it broke his heart to see everything broken and ruined by boys and their mother that never cared for anything.

What you saw leaking out was Matt's tears for what could have been!  😪

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5 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Matt worked his whole life to see that his family had nice things.

I think it broke his heart to see everything broken and ruined by boys and their mother that never cared for anything.

What you saw leaking out was Matt's tears for what could have been!  😪

Do dwarves have a shorter life span?  Maybe the kids just assumed they would inherit fairly young and that was one of the reasons they never applied themselves.

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1 hour ago, MrBuhBye said:

Would be funny if one of the kids worked with Amy to buy it from him and then sell it to her to spite him.  But she wouldn’t know what to do with the property once she had it.

How would that spite him? She owned it once and he didn't force her to sell so I doubt he would care as long as he gets the money. And the half price he offered it to Zac is still more than double what he paid Amy for it. He would love that deal. LOL

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2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

If she were so concerned about the family legacy for "the boys" she is the one who mishandled things. She should have bought Matt out and handed the property over to "the boys."

Well again, I don't think this was about who did what to whom regarding the planned sale of the house. I personally believe that Matt seemed to handle his end fine (emails and all), though I don't think we know the value of what he was selling or what he wanted Zach to pay.

But none of that matters, because this was about a lifetime of nagging and resentment and comments. Mat's offer may well have been fair to most people, but Zach (and apparently the rest of the family) had reached a point where pretty much anything he did wouldn't be good enough. I wonder if they actually didn't want the house and surrounding areas, because it would make them remember their childhoods - and for them that included a lot of unpleasant memories.

20 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Matt worked his whole life to see that his family had nice things.

I think it broke his heart to see everything broken and ruined by boys and their mother that never cared for anything.

What you saw leaking out was Matt's tears for what could have been!  😪

I can't tell if that is sarcasm, but if it isn't ... as a father who often despaired at what our kids did to our house and things, I get Matt's view. I do. But I also realized they were kids. And my SO had her hands full. So as much as it pained me at times, I learned pretty quickly to let go my dream of a perfect "Todd and Margo" home once we had kids. It doesn't sound like Matt ever did.

Of course, now my problem is our kids are grown and I am enjoying the peace and lack of damage ... and my SO has her niece and nephews over and it happens all over again. Today I fight Matt's battle (in my head) pretty much 2-3 times a week. Ugh!

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3 hours ago, Ottis said:

It built up a lifetime of resentment that exploded into the divorce and the issue over the farm sale. Matt even commented separately about it while making pottery, and how "the kids" broke all the coffee cups except one that his mom bought Matt when he struck out on his own.

It's a startling admission to me, as someone who has occasionally watched this show over the years. Matt seems to be the parent who provides all these fantastic settings for his children, and yet he resents the wear and tear on them that comes from having children. We all feel that to a degree, but this conversation shows it is deep within Matt and it is a battle he fights every day. And apparently constantly leaks out and, over time, has hugely impacted his family and how they view him emotionally.

This. I was stunned that he was genuinely ticked off about cups from a thrift store being broken years earlier.  Likewise the public griping over the soda cans not being picked up, the broken windows when they were kids etc. A part of me is all "Matt, I wonder how you would like it if your dad got on tv and vented every petty frustration he had with you as a kid?"

Because I doubt - based on Matt's ordering his dad around etc, that Matt would meek and mild be all "yes sir, I was bad at 16 and my nose needs to be rubbed in my dog dirt for it as an adult. I sinned as a child to you and I respect that you will never forgive these things".

Yet I feel Matt would be well pleased to leave "and you're getting nothing because of the windows you broke at 16" in the will. I often think Matt could really benefit from some therapy. There's a lot of bitter, petty anger in that man. 

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57 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

How would that spite him? She owned it once and he didn't force her to sell so I doubt he would care as long as he gets the money. And the half price he offered it to Zac is still more than double what he paid Amy for it. He would love that deal. LOL

I meant if what others have said that he didn’t want her to have it under any conditions.

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I’m kind of surprised Since Amy thought the farm the kids legacy she didn’t give her half to her children. 

Amy has more than enough money from the show and adds more every season. 

There’s a saying. “Put your money where your mouth is”!

Amy took her share and ran. She has nada to say about Matt’s farm. 

Shut up Amy!

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3 hours ago, MrBuhBye said:

I meant if what others have said that he didn’t want her to have it under any conditions.

I don't think that was the case. As I remember and I could be wrong but after the divorce Amy stayed and stayed in the house. They owned it jointly and Matt did not live there and probably wanted some settlement because the house was being soley used by Amy. Amy could have bought the farm just like Matt did. But she didn't want to part with money. She has no one to blame but herself for the way things turn out. 

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1 hour ago, 65mickey said:

As I remember and I could be wrong but after the divorce Amy stayed and stayed in the house.

This was part of the divorce settlement, actually, that Amy could stay in the house.  In the divorce agreement, each partner owned fifty percent of the property and had to give the other the right to buy their half first. So as long as Matt was interested in buying the property from her at an amount other purchasers couldn't or wouldn't match, she had to sell to Matt first. So she couldn't for example, write a bill of sale for one dollar and sell it to Jeremy or Zach - Matt had to be offered the opportunity to buy at that price point first. She could only sell to someone else if Matt specifically said he was no longer interested in buying. Likewise Matt could't simply sell to strangers unless Amy was offered the opportunity to buy him out first.

That was why Matt was harping for years for Amy to sell to him - he basically couldn't do any of his plans until he fully owned the property, and he was restricted from selling his half out from under her. 

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On 7/22/2022 at 10:12 AM, BAForever said:

New to this show, and am going back to old episodes. What a bunch ridiculous people. Am watching S 6. Matt is mean and horrible. Amy is a slob/hoarder. The twins seem like idiots. Jacob is MIA. I like Molly so far. Suggestions for what season(s) are biggest train wrecks? Thanks!

Well, Matt eventually starts screwing the hired help (Caryn), he gets all giddy thinking he found his soul mate, while Caryn practices the "Matt, you are so interesting smart and sexy" act until he puts a ring on it.  Eventually she's going to get tired of her constant fawning of her prince.   I mean, she'll be elevated to wifey, but that leaves a space for a new understanding side piece.

Amy is busy doing a happy dance, knowing she finally got away from the narcissistic Matt.  Her kids prefer her....duh...it doesn't take much to see the real Matt and she'll probably live happily ever after with her new man, as long as she can cook and collect rocks.

The kids don't get any more interesting.  You may puke watching Jeremy and whats her face.  I can't remember his wife's name, but she seems to rule the roost.  Tori likes having kids and Zack enjoys making them.  

Honestly, other than being shorter than normal, they all seem like most boring messed up families you will see at the grocery store.  I don't know why I watched the show, so I would recommend you get out while you can and find a better way to spend your evening.

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2 hours ago, watcherwoman said:

Honestly, other than being shorter than normal, they all seem like most boring messed up families you will see at the grocery store.  I don't know why I watched the show, so I would recommend you get out while you can and find a better way to spend your evening.

Ha! Watcherwoman! Too late! Love seeing the hoarded house. Love watching Matt bark orders. Love Amy scurrying around her cluttered kitchen. Love watching kids with no sheets on their beds sleeping till noon. I'm hooked.

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