Little Couple, Big Obstacles: Bill Klein and Jen Arnold’s Life Beyond the Cameras

The Little Couple has captured our hearts since appearing on our screen in 2009. The TLC show follows Bill Klein and Dr. Jennifer Arnold, who both have dwarfism.

While the show is positive and uplifting, behind-the-scenes, their journey has been anything but easy. Between their physical and mental health struggles and fertility issues, the family has faced many obstacles.

Let’s take a look at how Bill Klein and Jen Arnold became reality TV stars and the struggles they’ve faced along the way.

Rough Beginnings

The TLC show follows Bill Klein, a businessman, and his wife Dr. Jen Arnold, who both have skeletal dysplasia, a form of dwarfism. The show’s original focus was on living with dwarfism, but as the show went on, it became more about starting a family and finding a dream home, making the family even more relatable.

The couple has faced lots of adversity and challenges due to their medical condition and they’ve been there to support each other along the way.

But Klein and Arnold have been in each other’s lives way before the TLC show debuted in 2009. They actually met as kids!

Hospital Stay

Little people often have lots of reconstructive surgeries and Klein and Arnold started having them when they were just children. In total—he’s had around 20 and she’s had around 35.

And in fact, the two met while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland when they were just 10!

They shared the same doctor but she was there for surgery and he was there for physical therapy. After getting a blood transfusion, Arnold was very sick, but she had a surprise visitor come into her room—Bill Klein!

While she doesn’t remember their first encounter, he sure does.

First Meeting

Even though the little couple’s first encounter was nothing more than a few seconds, Klein remembers it like it was yesterday.

“He remembers coming into my room and thinking that I was really cute and apparently I shooed him out of the room and my mom shooed him out of the room because I was, like, vomiting. But he was cruising the hall for chicks literally in his wheelchair and he remembers meeting me,” Arnold shared with Tampa Bay Times.

“I remember it very, very, well,” Bill told TLC. “I even remember the room that she was in. Nonetheless, she didn’t remember me, at all.”

Separate Ways

After their brief encounter at the hospital, the two went separate ways. But they would reconnect many years later. Their doctors tried to set them up while they were in college, but it never ended up working out.

“Our doctor and nurse practitioner actually tried to set us up a few times, believe it or not. Bill and I were interested in going into medicine, and we both shadowed our surgeon, but I never got to meet him because we did it at different times,” Arnold shared in their book Life Is Short (No Pun Intended).

However, while they were being set up, Klein was going through his own struggles and facing demons.

Dealing With Depression

Growing up different wasn’t easy for the couple, especially Klein. Due to his short stature, he was bullied and called names.

"Unfortunately, my unwanted and unearned celebrity transferred from high school to college seamlessly," he wrote in their book Life Is Short (No Pun Intended).

Klein was driven into a deep depression. "I was tired of hearing the word 'midget'. I was tired of being in a group and yet somehow excluded. I was tired of the stares, the pointing, and the laughing, and I was tired of being alone," he added.

But he wouldn’t be alone for much longer—becuase Klein was about to reconnect with Arnold.

Dating Site

Time passed before the couple reconnected and they happened to meet again on a dating site specifically for little people.

Klein messaged Arnold, but it took her two months to see the message because she wasn’t paying the subscription at the time. He told her that he knew who she was, but she didn’t know who he was because she didn’t remember meeting him.

And so, she messaged him, “Hey, have we met at a [Little Person's] convention?" Arnold recalled to Glamour.

The only thing getting in their way was that they lived 1,500 miles from each other! But this wasn’t going to stop them!

First Date

After speaking on the phone for over a month, Klein knew he was in love with Arnold and he flew out to Pittsburgh to meet her in person. He got on a plane to take her out on their first date! And as many couples do, they went to Starbucks before heading out to dinner.

"That is a big gesture, but when you're a little person and you meet somebody that happens often," Arnold shared with Glamour.

So, what was their first impression of each other?

First Impressions

After meeting online, Klein was nervous to meet Arnold in person because he wasn’t sure if their connection would be as strong in person as it was over the phone. But upon seeing her, all of his nerves went away.

What drove Klein’s interests? “Her smile—that's probably the thing I love most about her. Aside from the fact that she's a successful woman, doesn't give up, and is outgoing and personable, she's got this incredible smile. It's real, and it just lights up a room. It never gets old,” he shared with Glamour.

Familiar Feeling

What drew Arnold to Klein?

“1) His sense of humor, 2) his baby blue eyes, and 3) when I first talked to Bill on the phone before we met, I didn't know a lot about him, but the first time we talked, I felt like I had known him my entire life. It was the strangest thing, but it was awesome. I told him I could talk to him forever because it felt like I knew him forever,” Arnold told Glamour.

And before long, the couple was ready to take the next steps in their relationship—they were about to make their love official!

Tying the Knot

After starting an online relationship and then meeting in person and falling in love, Klein and Arnold were ready to take the next step in their relationship—getting engaged! The couple got engaged on November 3, 2006, and just a few months later, they tied the knot.

They got married on April 12, 2008, in Florida and the whole thing was captured on TV! Their journey to the altar was broadcast in a one-hour TLC special, Little People: Just Married.

But this special was just Bill Klein and Jen Arnold’s introduction to the world. They were about to become famous!

“The Little Couple”

Following the couple’s introduction to TLC in Little People: Just Married, Season 1 of The Little Couple premiered on May 26, 2009.

The couple made their TV debut in 2009, but they actually turned down producers who wanted to film their wedding for a TV special. Even after producers came back with other ideas, they continued turning them down until they offered to film a series based on their daily lives. But the couple was still hesitant to go be on TV.

TV Famous

During the time producers were pitching ideas, while Arnold was shopping, she came across a girl who changed her mind.

“A little girl came up to me in a store and said, ‘You are a little person,’ very matter-of-factly and I said, ‘Yes, I am, thank you very much,'” Arnold told PEOPLE. “We have an opportunity to raise awareness and that’s wonderful,” she told the outlet.

So, the couple shot a pilot and the rest is history. But while the show was taking off, Klein and Arnold were dealing with other issues.

Fertility Issues

The couple was ready to start a family, but things weren’t easy for them. They spent years trying to have children and when that didn’t work, they turned to a surrogate. But sadly, the surrogate miscarried twice.

Klein struggled with the idea of not having children that were genetically his. “When Jennifer and I first got together, my selfish attitude was I wanted a kid that was genetically mine,” he said to In Touch Weekly, before revealing that he had a change of heart after they struggled with fertility issues.

And so, the couple turned to adoption.

Adoption

After struggling to get pregnant and having two miscarriages, Klein and Arnold decided to go on another route—adoption.

“We talked about how many kids were out there that didn’t have a home, that needed love and support from a family and were relegated to a life of institutionalization. I think that I couldn’t have done any better a job through surrogacy, through the old-fashioned way or anything else,” Klein shared with In Touch Weekly.

And the family was about to have their dreams answered.

Family of Four

On March 5, 2013, the couple adopted their son Will from an orphanage in China. Just a few months later on October 15, 2013, they adopted their two-year-old daughter Zoey, from India. Like their adoptive parents, both Will and Zoey have forms of dwarfism.

And when Klein saw the children’s pictures, it was love at first sight. “When I saw Will’s picture, I fell in love immediately. When I saw Zoey’s picture, I fell in love immediately,” he shared with PEOPLE.

But their happiness was short-lived. Soon after the children’s arrival, Jen announced that she was dealing with a major health struggle.

Tragedy Strikes

In December 2013, Arnold revealed that she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, stage 3 choriocarcinoma, due to a non-viable pregnancy she suffered in September 2013. "The one time I get pregnant, I get cancer," Arnold revealed to PEOPLE.

Because of Arnold’s dwarfism, treatment for the disease was complicated. "We wanted to avoid surgery in her case because of her shortened airway and the difficulties she has had in the past with surgeries," Dr. Concepcion R. Diaz-Arrastia told the magazine. "But we felt we had no choice … We had to do this in order to save her life."

Overcoming Challenges

After months of weekly intensive chemotherapy treatments, Arnold revealed that her cancer was in remission in February 2014.

“I had my official last chemo treatment,” Arnold told PEOPLE. “And while I’m hesitant to say I’m cancer-free – maybe that’s common for people who have had cancer—I’m doing great. Everything is moving in the right direction. I am very excited.”

“It’s official. ME 1 vs. CANCER 0 … I WIN! Thank you for all the prayers, thoughts and support!” she tweeted.

While Arnold was dealing with health struggles, the children were struggling to adjust to their life after being adopted.

Adjustment Issues

While Jen Arnold was busy dealing with cancer, introducing Zoey into their lives didn’t go as smoothly as the family hoped for.

At first, they had trouble connecting with their daughter because she was raised in an orphanage and wasn’t exposed to other little people.

“She wanted nothing to do with us,” Arnold told PEOPLE. “It was months before she really came around.”

Will also had his own challenges. “He had hearing difficulties and has undergone surgeries,” Klein added.

Happy Children

Despite the challenges, Will and Zoey are now happy and well adjusted. They’ve made tons of progress and Klein and Arnold can’t get over how different they've become.

“Not too long ago, these guys were not as dynamic. They weren’t as independent. They weren’t as imaginative,” Klein shared with PEOPLE. “Now, they’re just kids.”

“They’re getting to an interesting age and finding their real passions … It’s fun to watch them grow,” he added.

Now, with their children happy and healthy, Jen and Bill were ready to make a big change.

New Home

The family was living in Houston, Texas where Arnold was the medical director of the Simulation Center at Texas Children’s Hospital and the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine, but they were about to have a big move!

She was offered a position at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, and she couldn’t say no.

While the family was house hunting, they were dealing with a huge legal battle with their show.

Legal Battle

Back in 2016, LMNO, the production company behind The Little Couple, filed a $7 million lawsuit claiming that Discovery tried to “steal” The Little Couple by falsifying records to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in embezzled money.

Discovery ended up countersuing claiming that LMNO maintained two sets of books on its shows to shortchange the participants and overcharge Discovery, as The Hollywood Reporter reported.

It didn’t take long for Klein and Arnold to file their own lawsuit against LMNO.

Little Couple’s Lawsuit

In June 2017, Klein and Arnold filed their own lawsuit against LMNO claiming fraud and conversion, asking for "compensatory damages, punitive damages, and emotional-distress damages."

But the couple lost a huge chunk of their lawsuit and they weren’t able to rescind intellectual property rights, as The Hollywood Reported claimed.

But that wasn’t the only battle the family would face. The couple was about to have another major health scare.

Another Surgery

Jen Arnold prepared to undergo a hip replacement surgery in August 2019, which was her 35th surgery to date. Her husband Bill Klein, was very worried about the procedure and the risks associated with it.

“There’s different sets of risks associated with any major surgery, and skeletal dysplasia complicates things,” he shared with PEOPLE. “Part of me knows exactly what it feels like, and part of me is just sick to my stomach that I’m watching her have to go through it.”

Thankfully, the surgery went well, but Klein was about to deal with his own hospitalization.

Hospitalization

Jen Arnold gave fans some scary news in October 2021, revealing that her husband was in the hospital after breaking his elbow over the summer.

Klein underwent arm surgery and Arnold shared a photo of him lying on a hospital stretcher with his head on a pillow lifting one arm up and giving a “thumbs up”.

“You’ve got this @reallybillklein, we’ve got this. Pre-op testing thumbs up. Thank you @hspecialsurgery for always taking good care of us. Can’t wait to get Bill’s arm back to better!” Arnold captioned the photo.

With their health taken care of, Arnold was about to have a huge step in her career, which meant another big move for the family.

Big Move

Arnold has some great news to ring in the new year—she was offered a huge career opportunity in January 2022—a position at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Simulator Program and a position on Harvard’s staff as part of the institution’s medical school teaching hospital.

She made the announcement on Instagram posting a photo of a notebook that read “Make Things Happen”, captioning the photo, “This”.

While big things were happening for the family, they’ve been absent from our TV screens. So, what happened to The Little Couple show?

Season 15?

The show aired for 14 seasons on TLC with the last episode being in August 2019. So, what happened to the show—has it been canceled, or is it being renewed for Season 15? Will there be new episodes?

Even though there has been no word, it’s speculated that the lawsuit may have contributed to delays and the pandemic impacted the show’s filming and production.

But Arnold posted a photo to Instagram, hinting at the show’s possible return and it sent fans into a frenzy.

Dropping Hints

"Guess who's back, back again," Jen Arnold captioned a photo on Instagram, grinning with her husband Bill Klein that has various hashtags including “health” and “checkup”.

While the photo seems to be health-related, fans took her caption as a clue that the TLC series may be coming back soon.

And after over a decade on air, the couple has done what they set off to do—raise awareness of little people.

Raising Awareness

When the couple decided to finally allow cameras to follow their everyday lives, they chose to do it because they wanted to raise awareness about little people and they’ve done just that.

"When we started the show, our goal was to raise awareness and we've had an opportunity to do that with many different issues that we've experienced personally and professionally," Arnold told E! News.

So, when will they stop doing the show?

Positive Impact

Klein and Arnold are constantly talking about how long they will continue doing the show, so what did they decide?

“As long as it's a positive show, as long as our kids are having fun with it and it's not negatively impacting them, then maybe it's an OK thing to continue on," Arnold shared with E! News.

But the moment that the children are no longer having fun, things may change. "And the moment that changes, that's when we'll have to make that decision," she continued.

Happy Marriage

Bill Klein and Jen Arnold have had their ups and downs, but throughout it all, they’ve been there for each other. In April 2021, the two celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary and Klein wrote the sweetest post on Instagram.

“For the longest time, I didn’t think I would find true love (you know, like Princess Bride). Then it happened. We chatted, we met, we fell in love and (with her parents permission), I asked (on 11/3/2006 at 8:30p) and she said Yes! I remember it like yesterday… I was such a dork :) thank goodness we didn’t have cameras following us back then or they would’ve discovered I didn’t make any plans for dinner that night! I was too nervous!!”

So, what’s the secret to their happy marriage?

The Secret

The couple has been married for over thirteen years and they have a few secrets to a happy marriage.

Klein revealed to PEOPLE that they never go to bed angry. “We, like everyone else, have arguments, but we don’t let it go to the morning. Everything is resolvable, even if someone has to say they’re sorry.”

As for Arnold, she has three rules: “knowing when to give in, the wife is always right and the importance of making time for each other,” she shared with the news outlet.

While the couple has found the secret to a happy marriage, televising their family life hasn’t been easy—and at times, it’s come with public scrutiny.

Public Scrutiny

Like other families who have opened the world up to their lives by starring on TV, Klein and Arnold’s have been the subject to scrutiny, especially when it comes to raising their children, but they don’t let it bother them.

"We are certainly fallible we make plenty of mistakes. We try to do our best with our kids. We try to provide guidance and discipline and all of those things. Sometimes, I think people see a snippet of television and they infer a great deal more insight into how we manage our family," Klein shared with E! News.

Even still, you may have noticed that the children aren’t on camera much. So, why is that?

Why the Kids Aren’t on Camera

While the children are a huge part of why the show is successful, they purposely aren’t featured on camera often. But they don’t mind the cameras.

“They are pretty whatever about it. In fact, if a camera gets in the way of what they're trying to do, they'll go, "Move! Move, move, you're in my way," Arnold told Glamour.

Even still, a lot of what happens with the family happens when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“The large majority of what we do is off-camera because we want them to grow up in a normal, comfortable environment and experience what they want to experience without it being something that they have to do in front of an audience,” Klein added.

The Price of Fame

As they’ve become more famous, the little couple has become increasingly popular with fans, and sometimes they stop by their home uninvited.

"We've had people come to the door or tear pages out of books and write full-length notes and stick them in our mailbox," Klein told Glamour.

"I actually almost gave one lady a heart attack because I went to get the mail, and she was on my doorstep. I opened up the door while she was right there writing her note, and she fell over and all that stuff. We've had people come on Christmas Eve and all sorts of occasions."

Looking to the Future

Bill Klein and Jen Arnold have won us over with their positive and uplifting attitudes, even when life has presented them with tons of challenges. From mental and physical health struggles to fertility issues and miscarriages, it’s truly inspirational how they’ve dealt with what life has thrown at them and we’ve enjoyed following their story on The Little Couple.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for the little couple and we’re hoping for a new season soon! We wish them tons of happiness in the future.

Edited by Vishal Subramanian