"If by chance I get to do that again, I would still put everything that I can, as best as I can, to make it work," says Amy Roloff, who finalized her divorce in 2016
Amy Roloff‘s 27-year marriage to Matt Roloff may have ended, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up on the institution.
In PEOPLE’s exclusive sneak peek at Tuesday’s episode of Little People, Big World, Amy and her boyfriend of two and a half years, Chris Marek, broach the topic of longterm commitment while on a camping trip with their friends Ron and Beth.
“Ron and Beth are real good friends. They’ve known each other for several years but they actually started dating just a few months before we did,” Chris explains. “They’re trying to figure out what the future looks like. They’ve discussed marriage and living together, and they’re at that point where they’re trying to work that out.”
Sitting by the fire, the topic turns to marriage, and Chris jokes that Ron “almost lost his finger” from “lack of circulation” due to his ring from a previous union. Amy playfully reprimands him before sharing her own perspective after finalizing her divorce in May 2016.
“I met Matt at a conference. I saw him four times, [then] we were married,” she says. “So dating Chris, I’m calling up my girlfriends and I’m like, ‘What is dating?! I don’t even know what the hell that is.’ “
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Ron asks Chris how he feels about marriage and he pauses, wrapping both arms around Amy before answering.
“I’ve seen a lot of failed marriages, a lot of divorces, in my family. All my siblings, my mother,” he says. “I mean, I saw a lot of examples of people that loved each other but could not live with each other. But I’m certainly not against marriage — I never thought I’d be this age and still single.”
“I’m glad to see that you’re not against marriage, because that would be a problem,” Amy says.
“I’m certainly enjoying our journey,” Chris adds.
“Marriage still works. It is an institution that does work,” Amy insists. “I’ve seen enough where it does give me hope.”
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Later, Amy admits that marriage is still “very, very important” to her.
“Even though I’m divorced, I still value and will hold up high the whole concept, the reason, the purpose that marriage is here,” she tells producers. “And if by chance I get to do that again, I would still put everything that I can, as best as I can, to make it work.”
“Chris doesn’t express commitment. It’s definitely more of an indirect way, so, you know, I was pleasantly surprised that he is open to marriage,” she adds. “I’m not here to push him, I’m not here for him to do something that he is nowhere [near] ready for. But if marriage is meant to happen for me again, the second time, then I would sing ‘Hallelujah.'”
Little People, Big World airs Tuesdays (9 p.m. ET) on TLC.