Inside the Johnston Family: The Largest Little People Family and Their Five Kids on TLC

It’s been a decade since 7 Little Johnstons first premiered on TLC in March 2015.

The reality series — which returns for season 16 in October 2025 — chronicles the lives of Trent and Amber Johnston and their five children, who are the world’s largest known family living with achondroplasia dwarfism.

Trent and Amber wed in 1998, and the couple raised their five kids in Forsyth, Ga. They share five children: Jonah, born in 1999, Anna, who was born in 2000, Elizabeth, who was born in 2001, plus Alex and Emma, who were both born in 2005. The couple welcomed Anna, Alex and Emma via adoption.

“We tell our kids, ‘You’re just like everyone else,’ ” Amber told PEOPLE in May 2017. “‘You can do things, you can go places and you can be whoever you want to be.’ ”

Here’s everything to know about the Johnston family, including parents Trent and Amber, and their five kids, Jonah, Elizabeth, Anna, Alex and Emma.

Trent and Amber Johnston

Trent and Amber have been married since Nov. 21, 1998.

“I grew up in an all-little-people family,” Trent told PEOPLE in 2017. “[But] we didn’t have a ‘Woe is me’ attitude. My parents raised us just like every other parent would raise their child.”

Amber was raised with a similar mindset, even though she was the only person in her family born with achondroplasia dwarfism.

“I was the only little person in a family of average people, but my parents raised me the same as my siblings,” she said. “Plus, I’m the oldest, so even though I was smaller, I was always in charge.”

The pair met as teenagers at a 1995 Little People of America convention.

“I saw a gorgeous blonde-haired, blue-eyed, 16-year-old girl,” Trent recalled of their first encounter in a July 2015 Mirror interview. Amber added, “I saw a very attractive young man with a funny personality … Trent was my first relationship, we soon became best friends and we knew we’d get married.”

In 2014, the couple and their five kids moved to Forsyth, Ga. They purchased a 6,000-sq.-ft. fixer-upper that was originally built as a church in 1891. The family home remains a permanent fixture on 7 Little Johnstons.

When the show kicked off, Trent was working as a grounds supervisor at a local college and Amber was a stay-at-home mom. Amber has since earned her master’s in social work from Louisiana State University (LSU), per the family’s Instagram.

Jonah Johnston

Trent and Amy welcomed their first child together, a son named Jonah, on Dec. 1, 1999.

The couple opened up about Jonah’s birth story in season 15, in which they shared how their firstborn came into the world “five and a half weeks early.” Jonah endured many complications at birth; nurses told them that Jonah’s lungs needed “a jump start” to help him breathe.

“His lungs did not work, and they were not developed all the way. And he was on life support for six and a half weeks,” Trent recalled in a confessional. “Jonah was six and a half, seven weeks old before we ever heard him make a sound.”

Amber added tearfully, “In that moment there, we were literally minute by minute on if we were going to leave a hospital with a baby or without a baby.”

Jonah is now all grown up. He’s been a producer on 7 Little Johnstons since 2014, according to his LinkedIn page; he also previously worked as a sales consultant at local Honda and Toyota dealerships.

In 2021, Jonah earned his F&I certification, which signifies an expertise in vehicle financing as well as automotive insurance and legal compliance. Per his LinkedIn, Jonah is currently studying business at Middle Georgia State University.