The Truth About The Little Couple's Bill Klein
Bill Klein and his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, have been lighting up television screens since 2009 with their hit TLC reality show, "The Little Couple." Along with covering Arnold's work exploits and obligations, the show features her, Klein, and their two children — Will and Zoey Klein — going about their daily lives together. This can include anything from hosting guests in their $2 million canal-front home, adventuring out on their gorgeous boat, or spending time with their friends and family in St. Petersburg, Florida. By the looks of it, this clan has it all.
That's not to say that Klein and his family don't have their own fair share of struggles, as viewers of "The Little Couple" know firsthand. According to Klein and Arnold's book "Think Big: Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism," each family member has faced hardship, including serious medical issues, mental health struggles, prejudice from the outside world, and the demands that come with having special needs. But thanks to the commitment the Klein-Arnold family has for each other, they always make it through.
However, there's more to Klein than the fact that he's a family man. Curious to know more about this kind patriarch? This is the truth about Bill Klein from "The Little Couple."
Bill Klein was bullied growing up
Bill Klein of TLC's "The Little Couple" is a man who has just about everything you could ask for. For one, he has an incredible wife and two beautiful children. Additionally, Klein lives in a gorgeous home in a tropical paradise, as noted by Realtor.
However, Klein went through some real trials and tribulations growing up, and that includes being bullied. And, unfortunately, that cruel treatment was something that he couldn't escape, according to Klein's book "Life is Short (No Pun Intended): Love, Laughter, and Learning to Enjoy Every Moment." "Unfortunately, my unwanted and unearned celebrity transferred from high school to college seamlessly," he wrote. Noting that he was called names, he shared, "I was teased, I was ignored, I was threatened, I was chased, I was beaten up." We're so sorry to hear this, Bill.
Fortunately, Klein came from a stable and loving home, as noted by Dad or Alive, which included parents who were active in his life. He was a cub scout and was raised to be "independent, stubborn to fix things on my own and focused on achievement." So while Klein did experience heartbreaks growing up, he, luckily, still had a solid foundation.
Bill Klein first met his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, when he was 10 years old
Because Bill Klein and his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, both have skeletal dysplasia, as noted by the Tampa Bay Times, they've each spent their fair share of time in hospitals — in fact, Klein's very first memory is being in an operating room.
While being in and out of hospitals isn't exactly anyone's idea of an ideal childhood, it did have one perk: meeting your future wife at age 10. "I used to do laps around the hallways, and I was happy as could be," Klein recalled in an interview with Glamour. "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 them ... so I cruised into her room." Klein didn't stay long, as Arnold "was on major narcotics and getting a blood transfusion," but, clearly, she made an impression on him.
While Arnold was initially skeptical about this story, eventually she was convinced. "All the details he's telling you, when he first told me, I was like, 'No, you didn't,'" she declared. "Then he started rattling it off and it was all right."
In high school, Bill Klein developed a rebellious streak
While Bill Klein of "The Little Couple" definitely comes across as a straight shooter and someone you could trust to watch your kids, he hasn't always been Captain Wholesome. In fact, Klein had quite the rebellious streak in high school, and he freely admits that he pushed his father's boundaries all the time. "One of my most serious offenses was in [ninth] grade. My grades had dipped to ... well, unacceptable lows," he explained in a chat with Dad or Alive. "I disobeyed his many requests and finally he was forced to take away everything I valued ... television, friends, everything outside of school." Ouch.
While being grounded sucks — yes, we've all been there and remember it well — for Klein, it actually had a true silver lining. "For [three] months, I went to school, came home to do homework, ate and went to bed without any distractions," he continued. "Sadly, it worked. I went from a 67% to a 98% in a quarter and never faltered from then on."
Bill Klein had suicidal thoughts while in college
If you've ever been the victim of bullying, or even just on the receiving end of a cruel joke, you know how disheartening and heartbreaking it can be — Bill Klein, unfortunately, knows this all too well. During college, he struggled with suicidal thoughts; he opened up about this difficult time in his book "Life is Short (No Pun Intended): Love, Laughter, and Learning to Enjoy Every Moment." "I was tired of hearing the word 'midget,'" he revealed. "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."
To that end, Klein found himself wondering if it would be best for him to end his life. Fortunately, some serious thinking led him to see a light on the other side. "I remember thinking my mom would be pissed and my dad disappointed," he continued. "I thought a bit more about how I'd miss my brothers. And then I realized I had a lot more to live for." And, indeed, he did.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
This is how Bill Klein and Dr. Jen Arnold got together
Although Bill Klein first met his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, when they were children in the hospital, he didn't leave the encounter with her phone number. In fact, it wasn't until years later that they actually met on an online dating site, though they didn't exactly live close to each other. "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," Klein revealed in an interview with Glamour. Clearly, it's a good thing she kept her options so open!
To that end, when Klein went to meet Arnold for their first date, he legit had to get on a plane to do so — but that didn't weird Arnold out in the least. "That is a big gesture, but when you're a little person and you meet somebody that happens often," she explained.
The rest is history, of course, as Arnold and Klein were destined to be together. The pair tied the knot on April 12, 2008, as noted by a post on her Instagram page. Congrats, lovebirds!
What does Bill Klein do for a living?
Pretty much everyone knows that Dr. Jen Arnold is the medical director of the Simulation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, but what exactly does Bill Klein do for a living? Well, for starters, Klein graduated from New York University in 1996 with a biology degree, according to his LinkedIn profile. However, after graduation, he went in a different direction.
Starting in 2000, Klein worked for two different corporations as the director of sales, before becoming the COO/owner of a third company. Then, in 2009, he and Arnold co-founded Candu, the company that provides The Little Couple's services, such as motivational speaking and public appearances. And, in 2011, Klein founded Rocky and Maggie's, Inc., the pet store in Houston that caters to clientele in the Highland Village area.
Add to that Klein's work as a reality star on "The Little Couple" and his credit as the co-author of two books, and you have one busy bee! We'll try to keep up.
Bill Klein is sometimes called Mr. Arnold by accident
Since "The Little Couple" has been a reality television staple for over a decade, it's safe to say that the public knows who Bill Klein and Dr. Jen Arnold are. However, one thing that folks don't always get right is Klein's name, funny enough. "I was at Restoration Hardware and the lady came up and said, 'Oh my god, I was hoping I'd meet you guys, it's very nice to meet you Bill Arnold,'" he recalled in a chat with HuffPost. Oops!
Fortunately, Klein understands that it's an easy mistake to make, and he doesn't take the misidentification as an insult in any way. "It's actually a running joke [now. It's] happened so often that people just presume that my last name is Arnold," he continued. "It's perfectly fine by me, there's no ego or harm done." We love to see it!
Being a celebrity made Bill Klein a better communicator
By all accounts, Bill Klein from "The Little Couple" genuinely seems to enjoy being on television. After all, the show has given both him and his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, the chance to educate people about little people; this, in turn, has helped to dispel stereotypes and restore dignity to many folks with skeletal dysplasia. That's actually the main reason that Klein and Arnold agreed to star on "The Little Couple" in the first place, as noted by the Tampa Bay Times.
But "The Little Couple" hasn't just helped the general public understand little people better and communicate about them with less prejudice. In fact, Klein says that starring on "The Little Couple" has sharpened his personal communication skills, too. "On occasion, we have to expand upon a topic that we otherwise would have skimmed across because of time, because our days and our jobs are busy," he told HuffPost. "It gives us a chance to communicate in more detail." That certainly makes sense!
Bill Klein loves watching himself and his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, on television
Have you ever watched yourself on television, or even just heard your voice on a recording and recoiled? We certainly have — it can honestly be somewhat painful at times! However, that's not the case for Bill Klein, who genuinely enjoys watching himself on "The Little Couple." "I enjoy seeing that because it's an interesting perspective to see you and your spouse interacting in a way where you're smiling all the time and happy and all that sort of stuff," he revealed in an interview with Glamour. Awww.
The main reason that Klein is super into watching his own show isn't selfish or vain, either. Rather, he truly revels in seeing him and his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, be themselves together. "It's nice to see that we're truly happy and putting a smile on each other's face," he continued. "I get a little giddy when I see those things." That is so sweet!
When Bill Klein first met his son, Will, he nearly burst into tears
If you've been watching "The Little Couple" since it debuted in 2009, then you're no doubt aware of what Bill Klein and Dr. Jen Arnold went through to have a family. They spent years trying to have children, including working with a surrogate who miscarried twice (via Bustle), and even had a pregnancy the old-fashioned way, though it was sadly nonviable (via HuffPost).
It's not surprising then that Klein and Arnold turned to adoption in order to have children, which was, ultimately, what worked for them. To that end, when Klein first met his son, Will Klein, he was extremely emotional. "Needless to say, I was nearly in tears," he revealed in an interview with Dad or Alive. "While I wouldn't change a thing, our journey to parenthood had a lot of difficult moments."
Indeed, after all of the tears, time, and heartbreak, becoming a father was a dream come true for Klein. "To see our efforts culminate with meeting William in a hotel conference room on the other side of the world was simply amazing," he continued. "We fell in love with Will when we saw his picture — and again when we met him for the very first time."
Bill Klein and his daughter, Zoey, had a rocky start for this reason
Another thing that longtime viewers of "The Little Couple" know is that when Bill Klein and Dr. Jen Arnold made the decision to adopt, their son and daughter came home around the same time — that's just how it worked out. However, when it was time to bring Zoey Klein home, things got turned upside-down due to the cancer diagnosis Arnold received at the same time.
This meant that Arnold couldn't be around the family (due to her compromised immune system) when Zoey first arrived — and Bill had a lot to contend with without her. "I had just introduced Zoey to her new home for the first time, and she didn't want anything to do with it, and she didn't want to be near her new daddy," Klein wrote in "Think Big: Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism." "Zoey had bonded with Jen, but not with me, and without her new mommy she was inconsolable." Ouch.
Fortunately, Zoey eventually adjusted to both of her parents and her new home and made the Klein-Arnold family complete. Oh, and Arnold beat that cancer, too!
Bill Klein says he's won the Powerball of life
While Bill Klein has been on television for a long time and has enjoyed all of the incredible things that have come along with it, he's not jaded or complacent. Rather, there are times when he's watching "The Little Couple" when he'll experience a bolt of immediate, intense joy. "I'll suddenly see our family doing something and it will strike me: 'how did I get here?'" he wrote in "Think Big: Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism."
That wonderful feeling that overcomes Klein is 100% due to the utter love and appreciation he has for his wife and children. "I will see Jen's beautiful smile and Will's never-ending joy and Zoey enthusiastically hopping and skipping along and just think, 'When did I win the Powerball of life?'" he added. It's awesome to see a family living the dream, all while setting the most wholesome example possible. No wonder "The Little Couple" is so popular!
Bill Klein genuinely appreciates his fans
While being a famous reality star sounds like a fun proposition for some, others might find the constant attention to be a bit much. And while Bill Klein and Dr. Jen Arnold have some intense fans — including some who drop by their house unannounced — Klein, honestly, doesn't mind the admiration and attention. "It's not like people come up to the door and tell us they don't like us," he explained in a chat with Glamour. "People genuinely like us, which is very nice."
That's not to say that Klein is prone to inviting people in when they drop by, or that it's not ever inconvenient. "The timing might be off sometimes, so it's hard to tell people, 'Oh, hey, we're having Christmas dinner,'" he continued. "But sometimes you have to." And, again, Klein said that people are usually nice about that.
What Klein does actually enjoy are the people who would come to his store eager to talk about fertility issues or adoption, as he knows people are just looking for connection. "It's a welcome thing," he added.
Bill Klein hopes his children will learn from his legacy
With all that Bill Klein has both overcome and accomplished in life, you may be tempted to think that he's content to just chill on his boat or spend all of his time kicking back at the beach. He certainly lives in the right place for it!
But that's not the case, as Klein has his sights set on the future. Specifically, he wants his children to learn from his example and look to him for his legacy — which is why he and Dr. Jen Arnold wrote not one, but two books. "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,'" he told Glamour.
So while Klein isn't quite ready to talk to Will or Zoey Klein about the tough stuff, when the time is right, his sagely advice will be there. "Chances are, by the time they're old enough to appreciate that, we'll be too old to recall it otherwise," he quipped. Aww, such is life.