Tag Archives: Abe and Rebecca

TLC’s Breaking Amish: Timeline of a Scandal

07 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

, , , ,


It all started several months ago when I found some articles about an upcoming television series called “Breaking Amish”. It sounded interesting, so I read the articles and discovered some pictures. Immediately, I recognized Jeremiah, and thought, “Well he hasn’t been Amish for years.”

Now, thanks to international awareness of TLC’s deception, most people probably know that Breaking Amish is not entirely true. But how exactly, did the scandal evolve from a handful of pissed off ex-Amish people posting their displeasure on Facebook, to a scandal heard around the world? Here I take a look back at how it all started, and attempt to construct a timeline. Need to take down the latest lying television network? Hopefully you’ll find some tips here. Okay, so we didn’t exactly take them down… but at least we caused some headaches for them.

September 9, 2012 (31 pageviews)

Episode 1 plays at 10:00 PM EST. In this episode, we are introduced to the cast and they talk about the Amish and how they have been given the opportunity to break away and visit New York City.

I didn’t watch the episode when it ran the first time, but I watched it when it came back on at midnight. I wasn’t really that interested in watching it at all since most television shows about the Amish are way off and we mostly just make fun of them when they do come on. But, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to write a review and perhaps boost the viewers on this little blog (I was averaging from 30-60 page views a day on here). So I guess in that sense I was seeking attention when I posted my angry thoughts about Breaking Amish.

Watching the first episode made me angry. I had no idea the extent to which Breaking Amish was going to be deceiving its viewers. On the show they were being billed as “Amish” and thinking of leaving “for the first time”. In reality, I had met Jeremiah several years ago and he hadn’t been Amish for years. He was driving a pretty nice SUV for Christ’s sake!

September 10, 2012 (1,793 pageviews)

Today Facebook came alive with hopping mad ex-Amish people. They knew that Breaking Amish was fake and they rightfully believed that the show was putting the Amish in an unfairly negative light. A lot of ex-Amish are talking to each other (wall-to-wall) and also on a page titled “Breaking Amish” that was promoting the show.

Today I wrote a review of the first episode (TLC’s Breaking Amish: An Analysis of Episode 1 by a Former Amish) and posted it to this blog.

Then, because I wanted to reveal to the world that Jeremiah wasn’t who he was claiming to be on the show, I spent several hours looking for evidence to back me up. I looked through my old photos thinking I might find some of him (I didn’t) and I scoured the internet. Finally, I found his deleted Myspace page in Google’s cache. It showed thumbnail pictures of him back in 2007, and he wasn’t dressed Amish.

A former roommate of Jeremiah’s posted on Facebook, and suggested that we might be able to find court records for him in several Ohio counties, so I searched high and low for those. I finally found his divorce records from 2011 which showed that he had married in 2005 and has three children.

I wrote up a post (TLC’s Breaking Amish: The Scandal of Jeremiah Raber) detailing the evidence I had found and posted it to the blog. Note to anyone wanting to expose the truth; Choice of words is important when trying to get the attention of the internet. Notice that I made sure to add “TLC” and “Breaking Amish” to the page title. Those are highly searched keywords. Also, I added “Scandal” to the title, thinking that it would bring in a lot of traffic once the truth became widely known. In retrospect, I should have used something along the lines of “Breaking Amish is Fake” since that brought in a lot more traffic.

After publishing those two posts, I started commenting on news articles about Breaking Amish. Hoping to reveal the truth and generate some traffic, I would include a link back to one of my articles. It worked. People started coming in and also telling other people about my damning posts.

September 11, 2012 (4,193 pageviews)

The Facebook page (Breaking Amish) is still very active with angry ex-Amish. I write and publish a post about it (Ex-Amish Unite in Vicious Protests Against TLC’s “Breaking Amish”).

Somebody starts a new page on Facebook (Breaking Amish the Truth) and they proceed to post evidence of Breaking Amish’s deceptions. The start with a picture of Abe and Rebecca together with a baby, a picture of Sabrina looking decidedly non-Mennonite, and some information about Jeremiah’s past that was listed in one of my posts.

September 12, 2012 (4,121 pageviews)

The first Facebook page (Breaking Amish) disappears. I’m guessing it was kicked off of Facebook because of some of the vicious attacks and counter-attacks going on between ex-Amish and fans of the show.

A picture of Jeremiah surrounded by beer-drinking buddies emerges on Facebook.

September 13, 2012 (3,110 pageviews)

Another Facebook page (Breaking Amish the Exposé) that’s very similar to Breaking Amish the Truth, is created.

Sabrina’s marriage license from 2009 pops up on Facebook.

Crushable.com runs a story suggesting that Breaking Amish might not be as real as they’d like you to think. They refer to this blog and the Breaking Amish the Truth Facebook page as their sources. It is encouraging to see that are websites are starting to take notice.

September 14, 2012 (1,678 pageviews)

CBS Philly runs a story on Breaking Amish. They interview a Mennonite man who took offense of Breaking Amish’s false claim that these kids wouldn’t be allowed back in the Amish. The show’s production company rebuts by saying they never claimed the cast would be permanently shunned.

Today I found Facebook pages for the Abe’s brother Andy and for the two Bens that appeared on the show. None of them appear to have been Amish for some time. I wrote up another post (Update on Breaking Amish: The Scandal) and published it to this blog.

September 15, 2012 (1,580 pageviews)

The Niagara Gazette publishes an opinion piece calling Breaking Amish “ignorant and disrespectful”.

September 16, 2012 (11,267 pageviews)

Episode 2 of Breaking Amish played tonight for the first time. In this episode, the cast leave the Amish “for the first time” and go to New York where they pretend to experience showers and microwave ovens for the first time.

Abe’s arrest record from 2008 for public intoxication in Kentucky, is revealed on Facebook.

A photo of Kate that was submitted to a modeling website in 2010, appears on Facebook.

September 17, 2012 (29,819 pageviews)

CBS 21, a small television news station in Pennsylvania runs a story questioning the show’s authenticity. One of the people interviewed, thanked me for my posts and said he used some of my findings in the interview. I am glad that a news station has finally picked up the story.

I published TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 2 Brings us More Lies on this blog.

September 18, 2012 (26,232 pageviews)

Examiner.com, starts posting a ridiculous number of articles about the possibility that Breaking Amish is fake. As is typical of “news” sites that pay their “writers” based on page views and barrage you with irritating popups, they post half a dozen articles about other articles whenever a bona fide news news site runs an article about Breaking Amish. As you might guess from my word choices, I’m not fond of websites that, instead of doing real journalism, simply grab the work of other journalists and re-package it in half a dozen different ways for the sake of making money. Anyway, I digress…

WetPaint.com and Starcasm.com publish articles about the allegations of fakery and cite this blog as one of the sources.

I published TLC’s Breaking Amish: Is Kate Fake too? on this blog.

Someone from a post-production company that worked on Breaking Amish, attacked this blog with false comments, using multiple names and email addresses.

September 19, 2012 (16,995 pageviews)

CBS 21 runs another story about Breaking Amish. This time they get TLC to respond to the allegations. TLC has the following to say; “There is a lot of information floating around about the group featured on ‘Breaking Amish’. Much of it is not true, but some of it is – and is addressed in upcoming episodes.”

September 20, 2012 (15,655 pageviews)

Variety runs a story about the fakery. In the article they say that TLC claimed it does not advertise that the cast of Breaking Amish is leaving the community for the first time.

In reality, TLC advertises the show on its website as, “Breaking Amish, premiering Sunday, Sept. 9 at 10|9c, provides a never-before-seen look inside the lives of young men and women as they, for the first time, trade horse and buggy with taxi cabs to break out from their respective Amish/Mennonite communities in their pursuit to chase big dreams in the Big Apple.” (emphasis is mine) It was also explicitly stated at the beginning of episode 2, that the cast are leaving their Amish communities for the first time.

The scandal appears to have gone viral as Google’s top search results for “breaking amish” are peppered with keywords like “fake” and “fraud”.

September 21, 2012 (19,024 pageviews)

The New York Daily News gives us a few more details and a person associated with the show claims that as filming progressed, it became clear that at least one of the cast members had misrepresented themselves.

Great! Let’s blame it all on the cast!

In the same article, TLC says that the issues will be addressed in future episodes.

Time to start re-writing and re-editing.

The Daily Mail Online (a British news site) questions the authenticity of Breaking Amish. The link back to one of my posts. It’s a good feeling to see the truth going international for the first time. It only took 12 days.

September 22, 2012 (10,636 pageviews)

News of the fakery appears on Good Morning America (ABC).

A private investigator with veiled threats of a lawsuit, pays a visit to the person that they believed was responsible for this blog. Did they think they could just scare these scandalous revelations into disappearing?

September 23, 2012 (27,871 pageviews)

Episode 3 airs on TV. Jeremiah admits that he was kicked out of the Amish three times before. Remember how, TLC stated that they are leaving their Amish communities for the first time? The said this at the beginning of the second (and maybe the first) episode, and also advertise it online as such.

September 24, 2012 (42, 030 pageviews)

A picture of Rebecca in a skimpy two-piece bikini from 2010, pops up on Facebook.

I published TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 3 Brings us Fewer Lies.

September 25, 2012 (20,765 pageviews)

CBS 21 gets hold of Jeremiah’s ex-wife, who says the show is fake, and runs a story about it.

September 26, 2012 (18,184 pageviews)

Evidence that Sabrina and another person from Breaking Amish appeared in Amish at the Altar, a National Geographic show that aired in 2010, emerges on Facebook.

September 27, 2012 (12,320 pageviews)

Pictures from two of Sabrina’s deleted Twitter accounts, appear online. Included are pictures of her non-Mennonite wedding.

Summary

At this point, Breaking Amish has been thoroughly debunked and shown to be fake on a number of levels. It has also been demonstrated that TLC lied to its viewers when they explicitly said, on screen, “They’ll leave their community for the first time.“

Advertisement

TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 5 is all About Sex

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,


The latest episode of Breaking Amish slides still deeper into what appears to be TLC’s bottomless pit of depravity. This episode is all about sex and they start off by accusing Amish everywhere of being perverts and happily engaging in bestiality. It is starting to look like TLC has some kind of vendetta against the Amish as episode after episode portrays the Amish as being pure evil.

First of all, do Amish men f*** animals? Unfortunately, it has happened. I know of two cases in which an Amish man allegedly (I believe it given the evidence I was presented with at the time) had sex with or attempted to have sex with farm animals. Is it common or widespread like the cast of Breaking Amish would have you believe? I don’t think so.

We see more fake dating by Abe and Rebecca (I say “fake” because they’ve been a couple for a long time and apparently even have a child. Rebecca was apparently married to another guy when she ran off with Abe. Rebecca and the other guy divorced in July of 2012. Apparently there is no limit to how low TLC will stoop when doing a “reality” show.

Jeremiah’s sexism reaches even more appalling lows in this episode as he calls a bunch of women “bitches”, visits a strip club and questions Abe’s masculinity for refusing to be there, and is adamant that women have to do all the laundry and other household chores. Jeremiah is a chauvinist pig. I cannot stress enough that Jeremiah is evil on his own–that kind of evil is not representative of Amish men in general.

In the latest episode of Breaking Amish, we see more melodrama as people cry, people make allegations, people get indignant, people fight (literally), people lie, people whine and complain, etc. These melodrama techniques are unfortunately, pretty common in today’s “reality” television programming which is why I almost never watch reality television. I just find it sickening to watch this kind of brain-rotting crap in which attention-seeking imbeciles engage in ridiculous antics intended to hold the attention of the morons of society so that they will eventually buy useless shit they don’t need and make morally bankrupt people a little more money (yes I know that I just insulted most people). Nevertheless, given my knowledge of the Amish, I feel morally compelled to continue watching in order to give my opinion so that people not so knowledgeable about the Amish aren’t completely deceived.

TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 4 and Still no Explanations

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 47 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,


Last night I watched episode 4 of Breaking Amish. I should just stop writing now. At first it was exciting to point out the lies and fakery spewing forth from TLC’s latest farce but as the onslaught continues, writing about it just starts getting depressing.

Some people find it hard to understand why I want to defend the Amish against exploitative shows like Breaking Amish. Am I not an atheist after all? Do I not hate the Amish? Well yes I am an atheist but no I do not hate the Amish. The first eighteen years of my life were spent (sometimes, depending on my mood, I might say “wasted”) as an Amish kid. However, my entire family and almost all of my friends are Amish, and I love them. The Amish culture was a large part of my life and while I do not want that life for myself any longer, I will defend it with all the power of my pen from people wishing to make money by lying or otherwise exploiting them. The Amish, in my opinion, are philosophically misguided (as any religious group is) but as a group, they are the nicest people you will likely encounter.

This episode brings us more pretending. Jeremiah pretends to learn driving again. We know that’s not true. They pretend to have cellphones for the first time. “What is texting?” asks Kate. Yeah, right! The girls pretend to get makeovers for the first time. We have plenty of pictures that proves that just plain false. Oh, look! Here’s Sabrina with her hair down at her non-Mennonite wedding years ago: (source)

Sabrina Wedding Photo

Sabrina Wedding Photo

“We just had our first date last night,” Rebecca proudly tells us after a night out with Abe. Apparently when they started hanging out years ago and conceived a child, they called it something other than “dates”.

A lot of people probably have questions about Rebecca’s teeth, or lack thereof. I don’t know why she had all her teeth pulled, so don’t ask me. I can tell you that the barbaric dentistry that she spoke of could be true. I know that in some of the very conservative Amish communities they really have Amish dentists armed with nothing more than a pair of pliers. Many of the Amish are not too great when it comes to their teeth. I for one, never went to the dentist in all the 18 years that I was Amish. My baby teeth either fell out on their own or I wiggled them out with my fingers (and who says Amish boys don’t cry). We brushed our teeth regularly and that was pretty much it. There were exceptions when things got really bad. I remember my sister going to a dentist for a root canal several times but other than that, I don’t remember any of my family ever visiting a dentist.

My biggest beef with the latest episode is the lack of the promised and long-awaited explanations from TLC. When are they going to explain to us why they claimed that the cast members are leaving the Amish for the first time when in reality they haven’t been Amish for up to fourteen years? When will they explain to us that these kids have encountered plenty of showers, and microwaves before? When will they tell us how photos of Kate appeared on a modelling website years ago? When will they tell us about Abe and Rebecca’s baby? When will they tell us about Sabrina’s non-Mennonite wedding that happened years ago? When will they tell us about Jeremiah’s ex-wife and three kids from years ago? Do they think we’ve forgotten? Why do they keep insulting their viewers’ intelligence?

TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 3 Brings us Fewer Lies

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

, , ,


I thought I was done writing about Breaking Amish. Turns out, it just doesn’t feel right to stop now. Episode 3 was pretty boring for me. There are significantly fewer lies in this episode but the false implications (e.g. just leaving the Amish, experiencing these things for the first time, etc.) remain. I wonder if somebody in some production studio had to work overtime rewriting the episode because of the huge backlash against the show.

The first thing I noticed was the absence of the written introduction. When the first two episodes played on TV, one of the first frames showed the line, “They’ll leave their community for the first time”. That introduction is gone in episode 3 and I thank TLC for that.

In this episode, Jeremiah drives a car under the watchful eye of an instructor. He makes a grand show of being an inexperienced driver and even knocks over a traffic cone to complete the illusion. Jeremiah says that he has driven before but only on country roads. Lie! I know for a fact that Jeremiah has driven quite a bit in a city with a population of more than 50,000 people. While it might not have been NYC, it was definitely more than a country road. I know this fact because I saw it with my own eyes and I could find a dozen witnesses who would agree with me. He drove just fine then and that was about four or five years ago. I suspect that he got to that city by driving more than a thousand miles on the interstate highway system.

That was the only outright lie that I caught on last night’s episode (definitely a significant drop in the number of lies) but there are plenty of false implications there that are just not explicitly voiced. The implication is still there that these kids are leaving the Amish for the first time (well, except for Jeremiah who admits to being kicked out of the Amish three times already), and experiencing these “English” things for the first time.

As for TLC’s promise to bring light to the controversy… well, I didn’t see any in this episode. There are no explanations for the lies that we’ve uncovered. All that TLC gives us in this episode is several allusions to an explanation. These are when Jeremiah admits that he’s been kicked out of the Amish three times already and when he reveals that he’s worn “English” clothes before.

In this episode, Kate and Rebecca visit a modeling agency and they are asked pose in swimsuits. Rebecca tells us, “I believe in modesty, and spreading yourself out for the world to see you naked, that is not modesty to me, at all.” It sounds like she’s talking about a Penthouse spread but from the context I think she’s talking about wearing a swimsuit. Check out this photo taken about two years before filming began and judge for yourself whether Rebecca is really too modest to wear a swimsuit. Click to enlarge.

Rebecca at a Pool Party

Rebecca at a Pool Party

The above photo is courtesy of Shannon Marie Edwards via https://www.facebook.com/BreakingAmishTheExpose

I found the original on Facebook and it was uploaded on June 12, 2010 so the date on the photo is accurate.

In this episode, Rebecca’s grandfather visits her in New York City. This man is quite a bit heavier than the grandfather that Rebecca chased into the house back in episode one. Sources tell us that this second grandfather really is her grandfather but the first one was not. Funny thing is, both grandfathers say the exact same sentence with voices that sound exactly the same to me. I think the same soundbite might have been used for both people.

The only other gripe I have with this episode is the rude and cruel language used by some of the cast. Rebecca likens the French lady from the modeling agency to a heel-biting Chihuahua. Jeremiah says he would have told his mom to get the f*** out. These are the words of a-holes no matter what the cultural background.

The one part of this episode that I liked was the reference to Amish home cooking when Abe and his mom are chatting in the restaurant. Amish home cooking really is the best. You won’t find a better pie, or better mashed potatoes, or even better cereal, than what my Amish mom makes.

TLC’s Breaking Amish: Episode 2 Brings us More Lies

17 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,


Last night I watched episode 2 of TLC’s Breaking Amish. I didn’t like it anymore than the first one.

The first lie occurs just seconds into the show as the following words display on the screen; “They’ll leave their community for the first time”. It has already been firmly established that that is just not true. Why does TLC keep lying to us? Do they think we’re just going to take it?

One of the biggest differences between this episode and the first one, is the soundtrack. You might not even notice it unless you consciously think about it while watching, but there’s a big difference between the two episodes. During the first episode, the cast members were leaving the sinister (that’s what they’d have you think) Amish, and the soundtrack was laden with ominous music as fast-moving clouds raced across the screen. In contrast, the second episode has an upbeat and exciting soundtrack, completing the illusion that these kids have grasped onto an exciting and life-changing opportunity.

Something else that I noticed was the cast’s language. I’ve heard many people (that aren’t all that familiar with the Amish) claim that the excessive use of the words “like” and “freaking” and the one occurrence of “skank” are proof that these kids haven’t been Amish for a long time. That’s not necessarily true. Many Amish kids pick up these terms during their occasional interactions with “English” kids and it spreads throughout Amish youth culture. It is nothing new to hear real Amish kids use words like that. There is, however, another aspect of their language use that indicates that Pennsylvania Dutch hasn’t been their primary spoken language for quite some time–and that is fluency. These cast members speak English fluently and comfortably, and that’s just not something that a fresh-off-the-farm Amish kid is able to do. One exception to this is when the Amish parents encourage English language use at home. It’s not common but it does happen.

When the cast first reaches New York, I get the feeling that they’re acting a little too much like fish out of the water. They react more strongly to these “new” sights and experiences than the typical emotionally-reserved Amish person does. Perhaps it is because they are overcompensating for having to act like they just left the Amish. There’s a recent interview on Time.com in which an ex-Old Order Mennonite man, Tim Sauder, explains the true reactions of Amish and Old Order Mennonite upon visiting the Big Apple for the first time. Read that interview here.

In this episode, Abe and Rebecca begin to like each other. Or do they? In real life they’ve been a non-Amish couple for years and even have a kid. Rebecca says she’s never lived with electricity. You mean, not even after leaving the Amish years ago? Abe claims to have never experienced a shower and doesn’t know for sure what a microwave is. You mean to say he’s so stupid that after leaving the Amish years ago, he still hasn’t encountered a microwave?

Rebecca is used to an outhouse for a bathroom, and is supposedly just off the farm. She sure doesn’t have any trouble figuring out how to get a cot into their room. She claims to have never slept in the same bed with anyone else and yet evidence suggests that she gave birth to Abe’s child.

Abe says he’s never really partied before. This mugshot and arrest record says otherwise. This arrest record shows that Abe was arrested in Kentucky in April 2008 for alcohol intoxication in a public place. Source

Abe's 2008 Arrest in Kentucky for Public Intoxication

Abe’s 2008 Arrest in Kentucky for Public Intoxication

All three girls appear to have had their eyebrows plucked before leaving the Amish. Wouldn’t that have been vain? Kate and Jeremiah appear to have pierced ears. That’s definitely not allowed in the Amish. Click on the images to enlarge them:

Jeremiah's Pierced Ears

Jeremiah’s Pierced Ears

Kate's Pierced Ears

Kate’s Pierced Ears

Kate carries a pink, striped, Victoria’s Secret bag that is probably not allowed by the Amish.

Sabrina claims Mennonites aren’t allowed to stay in hotels because they have bars. I know several Beachy Mennonite (very conservative) and they have no problem with hotels. Sabrina also wears a lot of makeup. How is that not vain?

One of the cast claims that Amish guys don’t shop. Jeremiah, in a blatant show of sexism, wonders which of the girls is going to cook the food for them. I know plenty of Amish men who cook and go grocery shopping.

Jeremiah implies that he’s never driven a vehicle before. So in all the years he hasn’t been Amish, he’s never driven? I know from personal experience with Jeremiah that he has driven plenty.

Last but not least, the cast was incredibly mean to each other. Abe and Jeremiah insult each other behind each others backs. Rebecca is a complete bi***, and then the other girls steal her teeth. Real Amish wouldn’t fight like this, especially when put in a new environment such as New York City. Rather than fighting, they would band together and form a clique to protect each other even if they’re from different communities.

One young lady on Facebook had this to say; “Those amish are mean and bullies. I thougt the amish were all about kindness and helping each other, boy I was wrong…” No! No! No! The Amish are not like this. It only happens when a few bad apples do it for the money. This show is spinning off misconceptions about the Amish left and right and that’s why I will continue spending hours and hours of my time, proving that Breaking Amish is fake.

Ex-Amish Unite in Vicious Protests Against TLC’s “Breaking Amish”

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,


World War III has broken out on Facebook and it’s between the ex-Amish and fans of TLC’s Breaking Amish. Almost every time a fan comments on the Breaking Amish Facebook page, one or more members of the large ex-Amish community on Facebook retorts with a vicious comment about the show or one of the cast members.

Why? It’s because Breaking Amish appears to be largely staged and scripted and its cast members left the Amish a long time ago. This would be fine if the show was promoted as such but most people have the false assumption that it is real and that these kids are leaving the Amish for the first time.

Here are some comments by ex-Amish people on the Breaking Amish Facebook page: (UPDATE: The Official Breaking Amish fanpage appears to be gone as of Sept. 12, 2012)

“This show is seriously messed up!!! It’s fake as it could ever get!! I helped Abe get out of a rut when he left the Amish got him a job even Andy worked with me a couple days and I helped Andy out with a car…”

“how cute. your show is so damn fake. they havent been amish for years. and yeah i know them and i know when you filmed its not a block from my house. FYI this is rebecca abe and their kid. Rebecca and Abe got together when Rebecca was married to Rufus who both left the amish years ago. Mystery solved, lies exposed fake freaking show. And if you are so shunned why do I see you at your parents house all the time?!”

“I agree with <person above>! I had to dvr the show. Plan on watching it tonight. But after seeing bits and pieces last week on the today show I figured it would be fake. My husband used to be amish and I knew that Abe and Rebecca had not been amish for some time and on the today show they made it sound as if they were just now leaving the amish.”

“That the truth alot of the stuff thay said was not the truth”

“jeremiah is like 32. if he was really living the amish life before this show he would have joined the amish church way back when he was 18 to 20 not 32 and divorced. these shows p**s me off because the only reason they can get away with the lies about the amish and the way they portray them is because true amish ppl wont be watching the show. my husband comes from the amish community and has a wonderful family that I consider my own. I am very protective of the Amish because they have accepted me the way I am and have helped make my life so much better. Every Amish community is diff but the one my husband comes from only shuns u if u join church and then leave. They do this because they feel when u join church u are making a commitment to God to live ur life this way and when u leave after doing this it is like breaking ur promise and lying to God”

“jolene, u dont have 2 feel sorry at all. these adults left on their own. I know some of these youth personally & the whole show is a big fib. its all about the $$$$”

“yea, very hard. but, bahaha, fake as crap..” <referring to Jeremiah separating from his “girlfriend”>

“sorry guys but I think the only thing hard for him in this scene is keeping a straight face. he does have a gf but this is def not her. his gf is english and always has been.” <referring to Jeremiah separating from his “girlfriend”>

“Well guys i hate to BREAK IT to you this is his payed movie girlfriend it is staged .I grew up neighbors to him he left the Amish back in like 04 might have been before even i know his parents and siblings.They are nice and caring people.I grew up Amish to i left when i was 18 my dad is a pastor and i can go and visit then when i please so not all Amish are like what they say they are.”

“And iva isn’t Amish either anymore she left awhile back…
And I don’t miss it myself….”

“Fake! He’s divorced with 3 kids. Hasn’t been Amish for at least 10 yrs!”

“I’ve known him since before he left and the whole thing is scripted. The HYSTERICAL part is people believing Reality TV is real!!!”

“Breaking Amish what a joke Jeremiah has not been Amish for at least 14 years I know this because he was my roommate for a year and a half he has 3 children that he don’t take care of and he claims all he left was a girlfriend. If you want to know who Jeremiah raber really is search public records for Holmes and tuscarawas county Ohio…“

“By the way he hasn’t been Amish for 20 yrs. he was English and married… You ppl are stupid for watching this crap!”

I can’t attest to the accuracy of all the comments above but the ones I’ve listed are just a small portion of the emotionally-laden comments you can find on Facebook and other sites by ex-Amish. There are few things that will cause a lot of ex-Amish to come out of the woodwork, but lying about the Amish is one of them.

UPDATE (Sept. 12, 2012): A new moderated Facebook community page has gone up where people familiar with the show or its cast are posting proof of the show’s deception. See Breaking Amish the Truth

Here’s a recap of what we do know:

Jeremiah is divorced, has 3 kids, and hasn’t been Amish for years.

I also have reason to believe that Abe and Rebecca are dating or married, have a child together, and have not been Amish for a long time. As soon as I can dig up proof of these allegations, I will post it. So far, I’ve found Facebook pages for Andy (Abe’s brother) and the two Bens (cousins of Rebecca). On those pages are pictures which indicate that these guys haven’t been Amish for some time.

Since posting about Breaking Amish, the views for my blog have jumped about 5000% so I guess these revelations are getting out to people. I see no reason to stop digging…