TLC reality show7 Little Johnstonshas capitvated the world sinceits debut in 2015.
The show features a family of seventhat calls themselves “the real life seven dwarfs.
Trentstands at4'3”, while Amber is 4 feet tall.
Their story isn’t just inspiring, but it’s also refreshingly normal.
Amber and Trent have a long history behind them, and they have stuck together through thick and thin.
Amber was still in high school when they met at a meeting for Little People of America.
“We know that a relationship, parenting, and marriage is a constant work in progress.
With both of us feeling that and knowing that, we don’t give up.”
“I grew up in an all-little-people family,” said Trent.
“[But] we didn’t have a ‘Woe is me’ attitude.
My parents raised us just like every other parent would raise their child.”
Trent and Amber’s upbringing is reflected in their can-do attitude.
I’m not going to do that,'" Amber toldPeople.
“We don’t let size get in the way.”
The couple rarely asks anyone else for help, preferring to do everything on their own.
“Amber and I do everything ourselves,” said Trent.
Jonah spent a long time in an incubator before he could be brought home.
Her second pregnancy with Elizabeth was even more ofa nightmare for her.
Throughout the pregnancy, Amber’s hips would routinely dislocate.
The grueling pregnancy is why the Johnstons ultimately decided to turn to adoption to grow their family.
Anna was adopted from Russia when she was 4 years old.
When the couple adopted Emma, they flew to China to bring her home.
“We’re at a very challenging mark in our family dynamics and home.”
“We’ll figure it out,” said Amber.
“We always do.”
Two of the Johnston kids, Elizabeth and Anna, have been selling their original artwork on Etsy.
Elizabeth had her first art show in 2018, before her junior year of high school.
“We got her an apron,” said Amber.
Starring on7 Little Johnstonsis far from a full time job for the family.
While the Johnstons' net worth isn’t public knowledge, reality show producer Terence Michael shared withE!
To support the family, both Trent and Amber have careers outside of reality television.
Trent is a grounds supervisor at a college, and Amber has beenworking as a real estate agentsince 2016.
Another show,The Little Couple,features a doctor.
“Not everybody lives on [a] big farm,” she said.
“Not everybody is a doctor.”
She continued, “They are things that everybody can relate to, no matter what.”
They want to show what their day-to-day life is like without allowing their new celebrity to alter their lifestyle.
“We’re comfortable showing and sharing our real life.”
“Life still has to be everyday normal life for the kids,” Amber toldPeople.
Trent jokingly added, “Our heads are already big enough.
We don’t need them any bigger.”
One thing that makes it tricky is that their five children are only a few years apart.
Being a teenager isn’t just stressful on the kid, but also on the parents.
How do they keep things together with five teens and a filming schedule?
It all comes down to organization.
“I feel our household is kept fairly organized,” Amber said.
“One thing Trent and I have always strived to ensure is that each kid is individual.
They each have their own likes/dislikes, interests, friends, etc.
Therefore, our house is busy, stressful at times, but fun!!”
The world isn’t always kind to the Johnstons, but they don’t let it get to them.
“Discrimination is absolutely a real issue,” they toldMonsters and Critics.
“It’s not a matter of dealing with it, it’s a matter of overcoming it!”
Elizabeth said that bullying for her started in the third grade with her classmates teasing her about her size.
Instead of yelling at her bullies or crying, she adopted a different tactic.
“I just say, ‘That’s how God made me,'” she said.
“That’s how he loves me.”
“Our goal in this show is social acceptance,” Amber toldFox News.
Amber went on, “This is not about being on TV.
The biggest stigma in society is that little people are still considered like circus characters.”
