Open any of the weeklies or turn on the TV and you can't avoid the recent controversies surrounding some of TV's well-known reality-show families (we needn't name names). So by all accounts, The Little Couple on TLC should not be as headline-grabbing and addictive as it is. A happily married couple with two thriving, adorable children, meaningful careers, and a gorgeous home? You mean happiness is worth watching? Of course, as fans of the show can attest, the couple has had their share of difficulties (numerous surgeries, cancer, fertility issues). The reason that The Little Couple thrives is that it's a show we can all relate to, regardless of size or stature. Even when Dr. Jen Arnold and Bill Klein face hardships, they do it together, just as committed to each other as the day they said their vows.

On a personal note, getting to know Bill and Jen (and Will and Zoey) has been such a pleasure. They aren't some couple on a TV show to me; they're friends. And so, on a recent afternoon, I met up with Bill and Jen to chitchat about our personal lives, get an update on Bill's back (he's doing better), and discuss their new book, Life Is Short (No Pun Intended). And stay tuned for an exclusive clip at the end!


Glamour: Congratulations on the book! Given that you have two young kids, two dogs, your professional lives, and Bill's recovery from back surgery, how on earth did you have the time to write a book? What inspired you?

Bill Klein: A lot of people have a good idea of our present life [from the show] and how we handle situations today. The idea was to connect the dots for people that knew us, and obviously we wanted the viewership [of our show] to read the book to explain why we are the way we are today. We wanted to illustrate that in the best way possible and thought that the book would do it. That was part of it. The other part from a legacy perspective, I would like for my kids to take a couple of notes from our pages and maybe say, "You know what? My dad got bullied too. And my mom got bullied also. We saw obstacles in their lives and they turned out to be fine." Chances are, by the time they're old enough to appreciate that, we'll be too old to recall it otherwise. [Laughs]

Dr. Jennifer Arnold: [Finding] time to write the book was hard. It started much later than it should have! [Laughs] I feel like I wrote the book in a weekend!

Glamour: Viewers have known that you and Bill had some run-ins before you officially dated—you shared the same doctor—but to hear about it in detail was truly fascinating. Based on these near misses, what life lesson did that teach you?

Jen: What do you think, Bill? I'm curious how he's going to answer that question, so I'll let him answer it first. [Laughs]

Bill: Well, it's a tough question. I'm appreciative of the circumstances that brought us together. People have asked us, "Would you change your circumstances if you could? If you could be tall?" We say no. Back then, in college or when [I was] contemplating suicide, yeah, in a second I would change. But now that I know that things will work out, I wouldn't change it for the world. So those chance was almost like these brushes with greatness. You can almost see your future in a moment of time and then it passes you by and you don't appreciate it and then it happens again and you still missed it. Finally, it happens and you grab hold. And all of the sudden you go for the ride, and it's the most amazing journey of your life and it will last forever. That's what happened.


Glamour: Bill, you go into detail about your first time meeting Jen, when you were only 10. The encounter was literally less than a minute. How on earth did you remember that?

Bill: Yes, she was post-op! I remember it very well.

Jen: He has this insane memory.

Bill: You're right, it wasn't much more than a few seconds. [Jen laughs] I don't exactly know how [I remember], but I do know a lot of things from then. My first memory overall was in the hospital, and it was in the OR. I remember the lights over my head. She was at the end of the hallway, and I was in room like 302, and I had...

Jen: I know, I know, it's weird.

Bill: I used to do laps around the hallways, and I was happy as could be. I was cut out of my cast, I was sitting up, listening to my Walkman, my parents were 200 miles away, so I couldn't get in trouble by I cruised into her room.

Glamour: Jen, do you remember Bill coming in your room?

Jen: I don't, actually. I was on major narcotics and getting a blood transfusion. But all the details he's telling you, when he first told me, I was like, "No, you didn't!" Then he started rattling it off and it was all right.

Glamour: The other story I love in the book is that Bill actually got on a plane to take you out on your first date. Did that gesture freak you out?

Jen: That is a big gesture, but when you're a little person and you meet somebody that happens often.

Bill: When Jen and her best friend first registered for the dating website, her best friend said her radius [to find a guy] was 15 miles, while Jen's was 1,500!

Jen: I was looking at the little person site, and the chances of finding one is harder! So that wasn't that unusual, but I think what surprised me the most was when he told me he knew who I was. I didn't realize that, because I didn't know who he was! When I first emailed him [after he wrote me], it was like a cold call...well, not a cold call, but a cold email! [Laughs] It was a lame pickup line like, "Hey, have we met at a [Little Person's] convention?" I had never done that before!

Bill: She was trying to hit on me. [Laughs]

Jen: I was trying to be brave!


Glamour: What was the toughest part of the book to write?

Jen: My aunt's suicide. Losing her was really hard because she was a really important person in my life. That is very hard to talk about.

Bill: My high school and college years. I don't think that anybody really has an awesome high-school experience, so I knew it wasn't exclusive [to me], but that was the good and bad of it. It was a risk to take [by writing about those struggles]. I could keep it locked away and never speak of it again, so while cathartic in some ways, it was painful in others.

Glamour: At what point will you talk to Will and Zoey about the struggles you went through, such as contemplating suicide?

Bill: I think some of it will be in anticipation of them experiencing [bullying], which will be soon, unfortunately.

Jen: At an age-appropriate level where they can understand.

Bill: I don't think we'll talk about suicide until they are old enough to understand, so maybe preteen years. I don't think it's too early at that level because I don't want to not know that my kids are being bullied in some way and it's something I can't fix. Not that I'll be able to, but I'd rather they know that if they are having those feelings, they need to talk to me and we can address those things. I don't want to wait till they are 17. It will be worse before then.

Jen: It will probably come in stages.

Glamour: I have to say, what you guys have done by showcasing your lives on television is such a service to others. Although social media didn't exist when we were growing up, I would like to believe that now we're a more accepting, open, and kinder society because people are actually opening up the conversation. My hope is that it won't be as tough for Will and Zoey because of what you have done as parents to prepare them for it and educate people along the way.

Jen: Well, thank you.

Glamour: When the show is filming, how aware are Will and Zoey of the cameras? When they're not there, do they wonder where the cameras have gone?

Bill: No, they could care less. [Laughs]

Jen: 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." [Laughs]


Bill: So the idea that forgetting that the camera is there to produce good reality television...they pretty much have adapted to it when the cameras are around. I think they prefer freedom to do whatever it is they want to do and not have everybody in front of them—the kind of unabated access to the cookie jar kind of thing.

Jen: But they can't do that anyway! [Laughs]



Glamour: How long do you think you guys will stay in Houston? Is this your forever home?

Jen: We're very happy in Houston, but who knows where the future might lead.

Glamour: Let's play some rapid-fire questions. What's your news source of choice?

Jen: CBS. We also like CBS Sunday Morning.

Bill: CBS. We're such fans of Charles Osgood. He's nice and makes you feel more comfortable when you wake up in the morning! [Laughs]

Glamour: Favorite sitcom and drama?

Jen: Parenthood for drama. Do we watch a sitcom? Bill watches The Simpsons. Oh, and I love Grey's Anatomy.

Bill: That's animated, but it's Family Guy for me. That's really funny to me.

Glamour: Current event you're fascinated by?

Bill: Probably the Ebola thing.

Jen: It's kind of ending, but we're still dealing with Ebola in my world.

Bill: Also, what's going to happen with the presidential race. Jen knows [Dr.] Ben Carson because...

Jen: He operated on me!

Bill: So if we get him in [office]...

Jen: Not that I'm vying for surgeon general or anything! [Laughs]

Glamour: Favorite food splurge?

Jen: Mine is popcorn.

Bill: That's not a splurge! Ice cream!

Glamour: Favorite room in your house?

Bill: The bathroom.

Jen: [Laughs] That is so horrible! I love the kitchen even though I hardly ever use it!


Glamour: The word or term you overuse?

Jen: Say mine! Say each other's.

Bill: This is funny.

Jen: His is "idiot!" Our son said it for the first time today in the car.

Bill: I say idiot when I'm driving.

Jen: Or he says "moron" but pronounces it "maroon." He says, "You're a maroon!"

Bill: It's what Bugs Bunny used to say.

Jen: Mine might be "sorry."

Glamour: The store you spend the most money at?

Jen: Crew Cuts by J.Crew.

Bill: I have to confess now it's J. Crew.

Glamour: The celeb you'd most want to have over for a dinner party?

Jen: Oooh, this is pressure!

Bill: It's not like they're going to actually come over, so just throw a name out!

Jen: [Laughs] You answer first!

Bill: Seth MacFarlane.

Jen: Patrick Dempsey.

Glamour: The reality show you'd most want to join for an episode?

Bill: The Little Couple.

Glamour: You can't say that!

Jen: Let's say The Amazing Race.

Bill: Breaking Amish! [Laughs]

Glamour: The vacation spot allows you to really get away?

Jen: Pass-a-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg.

Bill: That's a very nice place, and I have to go where she goes. We're married.

Check out the most adorable (and exclusive!) clip from tonight's all-new episode of The Little Couple on TLC!