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…