Little People, Big World’s Matt Roloff Gifts Son Jacob a Vintage Car Amid Farm Drama: Photo

A modern-day King Lear? Former Little People, Big World star Jacob Roloff received a huge gift from Matt Roloff for his birthday, as well as a shout-out for his “great work,” amid family drama of who will take over Roloff Farms. 

“Happy 25th Birthday to my youngest son Jacob. New super dad to Mateo and devoted hubby to [Isabel Rock],” Matt, 60, captioned a photo of Jacob flashing a peace sign inside a 1967 vintage VW Bug on Monday, January 17. “[Keep] up the great work Jacob. I’m very proud of the man you have become. As you already know, since October.”

Jacob made an impression on fans in October during Roloff Farms’ pumpkin season, the busiest time of the year for the family farm, and has continued to work alongside his dad since. Isabel, 25, also helped during pumpkin season, working alongside Matt’s ex-wife and Jacob’s mother, Amy Roloff.  

The Roloff family are the original owners of the vintage car, and Matt seemed more than happy to pass it down to Jacob. 

“Papa drove this to work in the 1960 and 70s. Then your Aunt Ruth drove me to high school in it … before it was eventually moved to Oregon,” Matt wrote. 

Matt also commented on the post for Jacob not to forget the “dinner celebration” with Caryn and Jacob’s family on Tuesday, January 18. The LPBW star also replied to Isabel’s comment, further praising Jacob: “You picked a winner. And thank you for letting him be such an incredible and constructive presence on the farm the past 6 months.” 

The high praise, and heartfelt gift, comes after both Jeremy Roloff and Zach Roloff spoke about wanting to purchase Amy’s portion of Roloff Farms, which ultimately didn’t pan out. 

Jeremy, 31, has long spoken about wanting to take over the farm with wife Audrey Roloff; however, the couple did not end up purchasing the land. Recently, the former reality TV star has been more candid about the situation via Instagram Stories as he remodels the bathroom of his home.

“Five years ago, we bought this house that we are currently in,” Jeremy shared on January 14. “It was supposed to be [a] one to two-year house as we had plans to purchase a property (at the time it was the family farm).” 

“We often roll our eyes at each other (maybe the occasional cuss word) while we stand in here brushing our teeth because it’s just so cramped and dated and moldy and bad,” Jeremy wrote in a follow-up Story as he looked in the mirror of their current bathroom. “But we didn’t think we’d be living here this long, so we just lived with it … But [now] we are over it.”

Jeremy’s twin brother, Zach, 31, also revealed to his parents in a 2020 episode that he and his wife, Tori Roloff, had an interest in purchasing the property.

“I want Jackson and Lilah to grow up on the property,” Zach said at the time. “Maybe this could be an option for Tori and I. I know Jeremy’s involved, but I don’t see why I couldn’t step up and be in that role too.” 

“I didn’t know he was thinking about that and I know Jeremy has been thinking about it for quite some time. It suddenly changes how Matt and I look at this property,” Amy said in a confessional on the show.  

Matt ended up purchasing Amy’s share of the land as she moved into her new home with now-husband Chris Marek. Jeremy and Audrey, 30, have since moved on and are continuing their search for land elsewhere. Zach and Tori, 30, moved to Battle Ground, Washington, in October 2021.  

Fans of the show were left disappointed by Zach and Tori’s move, as they believed he would be the one taking over the farm. 

“Is taking over the farm still on the table?” a fan asked Tori on January 2 during an Instagram Q&A. 

“Nope. We’re loving this little slice of heaven,” the photographer replied.