They say you should never mix business with pleasure.
But Matt Roloff and Amy Roloff have been attempting to do just this for about two years now.
The reality stars got divorced in 2016, yet both still live on the same property and both still run Roloff Farms together.
This arrangement has worked reasonably well so far, although we doubt either Matt or Amy would label is as pleasureful.
On Tuesday night’s episode of Little People, Big World, viewers were taken behind the scenes of this unusual business relationship, while also witnessing even more tension between the exes.
(Matt and Amy have clashed all season; the former even admitted that he may move far away from her this year.)
The tension stemmed from this installment being filmed during pumpkin season on the farm, which is when the business rakes in a significant share of its annual revenue.
“Even though Matt and I are divorced, we are still business partners,” Amy explained early on, adding:
“And our pumpkin store during pumpkin season has a lot of items in it. We sell pumpkin butter, pumpkin salsa; but you know obviously with the divorce, we definitely have our own individual finances.”
Why was this an issue last night?
Because Amy baked her own pumpkin bread and wanted to sell it in the store.
This meant she had to talk to only her ex-husband about it, but also his girlfriend, Caryn Chandler, because she serves as the farm’s manager.
“Caryn thought to put [your bread] right front in center, [so] it’s the first thing you see when you walk in the store,” Matt told Amy, seemingly offering her a great deal to which she initially agreed.
HOWEVER, Matt then brought up his children’s book and explained the caveat:
“With my book I’m going to pay the farm fee, you guys can figure out whether you want to do some percentage thing or some flat fee per transaction.”
“Why?” asked Amy.
“I need to compensate the farm,” Matt replied.
The idea behind this fee is that the store is meant to make money for the farm; for the business as a whole.
If someone wants to sell his or her own product there, he or she must give a percentage of the profits to the farm. Or just pay the farm a flat fee for stocking his or her item(s).
Amy didn’t seem to totally grasp this notion.
Or perhaps, as a co-owners, figured she would be exempt from such a policy.
“Having a conversation with Matt, he will bring up something that totally catches me off guard,” she told the cameras. “So I always feel less confident and definitely at a disadvantage.”
Matt tried to explain that it’s a bad “business model” to sell anything at the store for which the farm doesn’t get a cut…
… before turning sort of mean and personal.
“Amy doesn’t have a good sense of what it takes to run the farm. Amy can be very, very insecure. I try to be as patient and easy as possible,” he told the camera.
Previously, Matt has taken issue with how producers edited series footage to make it appear as if he and his relatives didn’t get along.
But that complaint falls a little flat when he comes right out and says this sort of thing about Amy, don’t you think?
“When it comes to Amy and I, it’s just one day at a time. One day it feels like it’s working and another day it feels like it’s not working.” Matt added.
And this is perfectly understandable.
No divorced couple could work so closely together without a few ups and downs.
“There is a lot riding on pumpkin season,” Amy later admitted.
“Because what we make during pumpkin season sustains the farm all year long… working with Caryn or Matt, I have to put aside what personal feelings I may have because pumpkin season is a family business and I want it to continue to be around for the kids and the grandkids.
“So I definitely want things to go well.”
To see how this issue was resolved, and to see how Jeremy Roloff fared taking care of his daughter all alone, click below to watch Little People, Big World online.
