Tag Archives: ex-amish

Update on Breaking Amish: The Scandal

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

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Over the last several days I have found more reasons to believe that Breaking Amish isn’t being upfront and is actually outright deceptive.

Two Facebook pages have popped up recently, dedicated to revealing Breaking Amish’s deceptions:

Breaking Amish the Truth
Breaking Amish the Exposè

Crushable has finally come out with an article that questions the authenticity of the show. Hopefully the lies will be revealed by mainstream media before too many people get false impressions about the Amish.

Below I have some specific information on Abe, Rebecca, Andy, and the two Bens.

Abe and Rebecca

Abe and Rebecca are allegedly a couple, have been for quite some time, and apparently have a child together. The picture below seems to support that allegation (source: https://www.facebook.com/BreakingAmishTheTruth). Click on the image to see the full-size version.

Abe and Rebecca with Child

Abe and Rebecca with Child

This picture of Abe and Rebecca was apparently on his brother Andy’s Facebook profile and it was taken sometime in 2011.

Abe’s Brother Andy

This Facebook profile appears to be Abe’s brother Andy. Below is a screenshot of his public photos as shown on Sept. 11, 2012. Click on the thumbnail to view the full size.

On Breaking Amish, Andy is portrayed as being Amish, he’s not one of the five leaving for New York. In his Facebook photos, however, he doesn’t appear to be Amish (assuming it really is his profile). Some of the photos were uploaded in 2011.

Andy from Breaking Amish?

Andy from Breaking Amish?

The two Bens (Rebeccas Cousins)

On Breaking Amish, two men, both named Ben, are portrayed as Rebecca’s Amish cousins.

I found a Facebook profile for someone that looks like one of the Bens. He also looks like the creepy relative who hid behind the curtains in an upstairs window after Rebecca spoke with the person portraying her grandfather. Here is a screen shot of that guy’s public pictures, taken on Sept. 11, 2012, before he hid or deleted his profile. In these pictures he does not appear to be Amish. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size version.

Ben from Breaking Amish episode 1?

Ben from Breaking Amish episode 1?

I found a Facebook profile for a guy who appears to be the other Ben. He doesn’t look Amish either. For a quick look, check out the image below:

Ben from Breaking Amish episode 1?

Ben from Breaking Amish episode 1?

We Demand an Apology, TLC

On TLC’s description of Breaking Amish, they say the following;

“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. The groundbreaking series features nine hour-long episodes.

Breaking Amish will shed light on many firsts for the cast members. From flying in a plane and wearing jeans, to using a cell phone and electricity, the show will highlight their transition into city culture and the basic amenities that come with it.”

I have bolded and underlined the part which is definitely not true. The rest of it is suspect. Come on TLC! Just admit that you made a mistake. Revise the description on your website, make a public apology, and preface each showing of Breaking Amish with the disclaimer that it is staged and scripted and that it is played by actors who left the Amish some time ago.

Check out my other posts on Breaking Amish:

TLC’s Breaking Amish: The Scandal of Jeremiah Raber
TLC’s Breaking Amish: An Analysis of Episode 1 by a Former Amish
Ex-Amish Unite in Vicious Protests Against TLC’s Breaking Amish

The last couple days this blog has received 3000 to 4000 views per day which is significantly higher than normal. Of course, WordPress promptly puts advertisements on my page. Sorry about having to put up with those. I just wish I’d be the one making money with them.

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

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Breaking Amish

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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…

Blogs by Amish and ex-Amish Writers

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Other, The Amish

≈ 5 Comments

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If you really want to learn about the Amish and what it’s like to leave the Amish, a great place to start is reading blogs by Amish (some progressive communities allow computers) and ex-Amish writers. On this page I will show a list of some of these blogs. Be sure to favorite the page as I will be adding to the list as time goes on. If you know of a relevant blog that is not listed, please leave a comment with the link and I will add it to the list.

Please be respectful of these writers. Many of them are not atheist like I am and some of them are beginning writers.

Here they are, not in any particular order:

Thoughts on God by an ex-Amish Heathen

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in The Conversion

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The following are some thoughts that I noted in my handheld over the past year or so. It is interesting to wonder what I was going through at the time… The most recent notes are at the top.

March 12, 2012, 7:45 PM

I wish God would stay the f*** out of my life.

November 17, 2011, 1:47 AM

Shouldn’t the Army also have chaplains for all the other religions?

September 10, 2011, 6:46 PM

Amish boy to atheist man: On the one hand, life becomes less meaningful and less serious. On the other hand, there can be no more afterlife goals.

August 3, 2011, 3:34 AM

Which is more important, truth or belief?

July 13, 2011, 12:13 AM

Very few statements make less sense than, “I wasn’t hallucinating!”

(I bet I was thinking about the religious visions that some people claim to experience.)

June 12, 2011, 10:25 PM

Conventional behavior bears no resemblance to rational behavior.

April 19, 2011, 2:53 AM

The difference between the theist and the agnostic: The agnostic accepts the unknown simply as the unknown while the theist anthropomorphizes the unknown for a variety of reasons ranging from 1) a lack of independent thought, 2) a need for companionship, and 3) a fear of the unknown… Even false hope is comforting.

Date and Time Unknown

I do not believe a supreme being would design a universe that operates according to rules of logic… and then hide from logic.

I also do not believe a good supreme being would punish someone for reaching a logically valid conclusion given the available information.

A God that punishes its subjects for a logically valid conclusion… is an evil God that I want no part of!