If you concentrate, close your eyes and listen closely, you can hear them. The sound is not overpowering. At least not just yet.
It remains somewhat faint. But make no mistake:
When it comes to Little People, Big World star Amy Roloff and her long-time boyfriend Chris Marek, they are very much there.
We write, of course, about wedding bells.
More specifically, about the sound of them ringing and how we’re more convinced than ever before that they will be doing precisely this.
The notion of Amy and Chris taking their relationship to the next, serious, permanent level is not a new sentiment, really.
Roloff and Marek have been very serious for awhile now, making her marriage to Matt Roloff feel like a distant memory.
They took a particularly major step over this past weekend when Amy took Chris to her native state of Michigan.
(As all fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette know well, such hometown visits often preclude a proposal.)
"So happy I got to show Chris my favorite place to go to in Michigan, besides my folks cabin," wrote the TLC personality as a caption to the image above, adding:
"Had the best time and made such a memory together. We’ll be back! #puremichigan #homestate #amyrandchrism #amyssecondactcontinues."
Hmm. You’ll be back, huh?
Like… for a wedding?!?
After not featuring Chris in a few Instagram photos for a bit, Amy was forced to address break-up rumors recently.
In short, her response was simple: the happy couple is anything but broken up. They are very much still together.
For whatever reason, however, many Little People, Big World fans refuse to accept this relationship for what it is.
They think Marek somehow has sinister motives; that he’s only dating Amy for her fame and her fortune, even though:
1. He has never given us any reason to believe this;
2. Let’s face it: she isn’t that rich or that famous.
If he were digging for gold, or longing for fame, he’d be going about it all wrong. He genuinely likes Amy for Amy. It’s nice.
But irrational social media users do not care.
They continue to warn Roloff about how Marek is a "wolf" and how his interest in her is all about "[money.]" See above.
Amy and hr ex-husband Matt divorced well over two years ago at this point, following about 27 years of marriage.
Obviously, there were a lot of ups and downs, ultimately enough of the latter for them to go their separate ways.
But they have four wonderful adult children together and will always be part of each other’s lives as a result.
Moreover, they still star on Little People, Big World together, and still run their family business together in Oregon.
Both have moved on, too. It’s not one-sided.
Matt is dating Caryn Chandler and may also soon get engaged. Admittedly, this has led to some tension between exes.
But the Roloffs remain pretty darn amicable just the same, all complicated relationships and awkward situations side.
"I never thought I’d be dating as a grandma," Amy said during the most recent season of her popular TLC reality series.
While she’d love a "lifetime" relationship, she says she isn’t looking to make things so permanent with Marek just yet.
She is in no rush to walk down the aisle again, not should she be. In fact, it’s certainly possible that day never comes.
That doesn’t mean Amy won’t stick it to Marek haters, though, when people overstep and bully the couple online.
And, for the record, Amy’s kids approve, saying Marek is not only someone who makes their mom happy, but them too.
To make a long story short, he is who he is – not the villain some "fans" would like him to be – and that’s just a real guy.
"Chris seems like a good guy," said son Zach said on a Little People, Big World episode earlier this spring, adding:
"He seems pretty straight, level-headed, not fake."
Adds Zach, who’s married with a young son:
"That’s why I like him, because he doesn’t try to be my best friend. He’s not overly aggressive. He’s cordial, and he’s just a normal dude."
We concur.