Jacob Roloff chose to take control of his life just over a year ago.
And the former Little People, Big World star could not be more proud of himself for doing so.
In December 2020, Roloff revealed his biggest secret to Instagram following, admitting that he had been molested by a TLC producer while a cast member on the aforementioned reality show.
It was a stunning and sad confession.
But Jacob also says now it was a necessary one.
Wrote Roloff on Monday night:
1 year and 11 days ago I posted my statement about my experience with CSA. I said, “I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.” I’m happy to say that I meant it.
(CSA is an acronym for Child Sexual Abuse.)
Continued Jeremy, who became a father for the first time this month:
I felt so free of a useless burden, felt so much closer to my ever-supportive wife, so much more open and confident to myself.
On some level it allowed me to become a dad, to finally open that door. I’m so, so happy that I did and I love Mateo more than I could have guessed or hoped or dreamed.
Jacob concluded by saying his son was the “Best Christmas present” he could ever have asked for.
Back on December 16, 2020, Jacob wrote the following:
As a child, after what I realize now was a long grooming process, I was molested by an executive field producer for ‘Little People, Big World,’ Chris Cardamone.
As far as we know, Cardamone was never investigated for this allleged crime.
Jacob — who left Little People, Big World in 2016 — went on to say that he was not going to share any details about this encounter at any point.
But he hopes that Cardamone is “never allowed around children again.”
“I first began contemplating this statement when he texted me years later in November 2015,” he added.
“I choose to disclose it now as it remains a traumatic memory that needs to be exorcized of any further power over my development.”
Continued Roloff in his statement last year:
“By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly.
“Although, I would have to add that this experience has not solely defined my point of view on any of these issues, nor as it defined my worldview in general.”
Jacob stated his hope that this reveal would serve as a reminder that sexual assault, “in all of its iterations,” can “happen to anyone at anytime and is a far more prevalent reality than our current social stigma allows us to talk about.”
He also made it clear that he didn’t blame anyone in his family for what happened.
What about reality television, however?
Well, Jacob mused…
“I continue my own contemplation on the voyeurism involved in the entire enterprise of reality television — a massive spectacle of drama and pain and argument and invasion, with a little joy sprinkled over, that viewers watch completely disassociated from the complex humans inside the simplistic “characters” they see on TV.
“Yet, there is no inherent causal connection between reality television production and childhood trauma.
“We are still sprinting ahead with the enterprise deaf, dumb, and blind, asking for forgiveness later, instead of asking harder preliminary questions of ourselves.
“The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated.”
And he concluded with the words he reiterated again this week:
“It must finally be emphasized that all fault lies with the predator, and no fault lies with any of my family,” explained Roloff.
“I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.”
We’re so glad to hear he was correct.
