Ten days from now, six Johnstons will sit down for a Season 18 premiere that was supposed to have seven. The empty chair is only the newest turning point in a story that has been turning for eleven years — and no single moment explains how they got here. You have to walk it season by season.
2015, Season 1: Seven Chairs Around One Table in Forsyth
When 7 Little Johnstons premiered in March 2015, the pitch was simple: Trent and Amber Johnston, parents of five children — Jonah, Elizabeth, Anna, Alex and Emma — billed as the world’s largest family of little people. Liz was 13 years old. Emma, the baby of the family, was 9.
The early seasons were school runs and sibling squabbles, with two parents raising five kids to be independent in a world not built for them.
2021, Season 9: Liz Leaves the Nest — and the Door Swings Open
Season 9, which aired in the summer of 2021, was built around a question Trent and Amber could no longer avoid: their adult children were still living at home. Jonah turned 21 that season, the first Johnston to do so, and the parents laid down an ultimatum — find a full-time job and move out.
The finale, “Liz Leaves the Nest,” aired July 13, 2021, and delivered exactly what the title promised: Elizabeth became the first Johnston child to move out into her own house. Anna hoped to follow her out the door, but she had not yet convinced her parents she was responsible enough.
2022–2023: The Scare, the House and the Baby
The next two years came at the family fast. In 2022, Jonah’s Delta 8 health scare shook the whole household — the low point he spent the years after climbing out of, rebuilding himself into a working car salesman and eventually earning his Finance Manager Training certification. Then February 2023 brought the milestone nobody saw coming from the middle daughter: Anna Johnston bought a house at 22, with money from her own bracelet business, Fizz4Passion — the first Johnston kid to own a home. Amber celebrated it with the hashtag #annagotacrib.
YOU MAY LIKEEverything We Know About 7 Little Johnstons Season 18 — Wedding Bells, New Homes, and One Big Question MarkNine months later, on November 3, 2023, Liz Johnston and Brice Bolden welcomed daughter Leighton, and Trent and Amber became grandparents — Lolli and Boppa to the newest Johnston. Leighton turned three on November 3 of this year.
2024–2025: Graduations, a Wedding and a Goodbye
In 2024, Alex and Emma Johnston graduated high school together, and Emma — who had launched her handmade jewelry line, Emma’s Rings ‘n Things, back in 2019 — landed her first real job at a local boutique as a high school junior in Season 14. Then came November 8, 2025: Liz Johnston married Brice Bolden, the first Johnston wedding. The younger sister got married while her older brother Jonah — seven years with girlfriend Ashley, still living at home — had no ring and no move-out plan. Trent and Amber have openly worried about the lack of progress, according to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.
The same era delivered the timeline’s hardest turn: Anna Johnston departed the series after Season 16, did not appear in Season 17, and will not appear in Season 18. She has said she stepped away to protect her mental health. Then, on October 10, 2026, Anna was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Georgia, according to reports.
2026: Six Johnstons, a New Baby and the November 17 Comeback
Real life, as always, has already moved past what the cameras are about to show. Liz and Brice are now parents of two, with son Coleman born September 8, 2026. Season 18 follows Liz’s second pregnancy on screen — with Liz facing a C-section under general anesthesia, a fear she voices on camera. The trailer, released October 23, packs the rest of the season into two minutes: Trent turns 50 and marks it by trying 50 new things, including dude-ranch work and jousting; Amber faces a quieter chapter as she explores ways to manage the challenges of perimenopause; Alex hopes to get engaged to Allie Smith next year; and Emma, who turns 21 this season, admits she wants a boyfriend.
Season 18 premieres Tuesday, November 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TLC. So which season changed the Johnstons most — Season 9, when Liz carried her boxes out the door first, or the season Anna walked away for good? Pick your turning point, and tell us which season you would rewatch first.
