After breaking from their Amish communities to experience a different life, the cast members of TV series Breaking Amish returned to their communities in the continuation spin-off series Return To Amish to try and see if they can return to the Amish lifestyle of simple living and plain dressing. The cast members have tried out different lifestyles and have used modern technology.
However, they face many challenges when they return to their communities. Their lives are centered around scandals, rumors and behind the scenes drama, which TLC would love to keep a secret. Let us explore 20 secrets TLC wants to keep hush-hush.
20 Jeremiah’s Ex-wife Was Offered Money To Keep Quiet
When the show began, it was discovered that Jeremiah Raber was previously married to Naomi Stutzman and they had three kids. According to Screenrant, TLC offered her money to keep quiet about Jeremy’s past history. Jeremy at that time owed her $20,000 in child support and TLC paid some of it. However, TLC denied the claims.
19 Authorities Arrested Jeremiah For Hurting His Wife
Jeremiah seemed to have found love again with Carmela in season three and the two even tied the knot. Unfortunately, they hit a rough patch when Carmela reported that he was being aggressive. According to Ibtimes, he was arrested and later got out on bond but his wife had already acquired a restraining order against him.
18 The Shunning Story Is Not True In The Show
The show’s storyline indicated that families shunned those members who defected away from their Amish ways, which was not entirely true. As TVovermind reports, Jeremy's parents still supported him financially and Kate Stoltz was accepted back after her DUI incident. Young people leaving the community and coming back was pretty common. TLC thought to include this probably for dramatic effect.
17 Chapel’s Cancer Story Was Allegedly False
Cast member Chapel Peace revealed in the show that she was undergoing chemo and even opened a Go Fund Me page when in fact her cancer was in remission. According to Inntouchweekly, Kate Stoltz, one of the co-stars accused Chapel and the producers of faking the cancer story for the sake of the show.
16 Chapel Was Arrested On Possession Charges
The false cancer story was a cover-up for something else. According to Intouchweekly, Chapel was busted in possession of illegal substances and was charged with possession with the intent to distribute. She had been arrested before for faking a urine sample. While in jail, producers went with the false cancer story to cover up her illegal substance possession problem.
15 Sabrina’s Substance Addiction
Sabrina Burkholder’s near-fatal illegal substance overdose is a secret TLC wants to be kept on the down-low. After remaining sober for a year, she even revealed on Facebook that TLC was helping her with her sobriety. However, Sabrina attended a friend's birthday party where she overdosed again as people reports. She had to receive Narcan to reverse the effects of the illegal substance.
14 Kate’s Past Discrepancies
In both Breaking Amish and Return to Amish, the show followed Kate Stolz’s life as she transformed from a modest Amish girl to a wildcard. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this was all for entertainment. According to TVovermind, before joining the show, Kate was already a wildcard, she had already left her community and moved to Florida where she had even been arrested for driving under the influence.
13 Kate’s New Career Was Not So New
Another thing that was portrayed new in Kate’s life after joining the show was her modeling career, which was not true. According to therichest.com, the Amish community has various views on picture taking. Some refuse to be photographed as it is considered a sin. However, it was revealed that before the show, Kate had submitted photos online with a modeling agency before leaving her Amish life; breaking another rule, embracing technology.
12 Caught In A lie
Cast member Rebecca and Abe claimed they met for the first time on the show. However, according to Dailymail, their neighbors did not agree, they revealed that the couple had been staying together while she was pregnant. Even though the show tried to paint her as an innocent girl, she knew Abe before and had a child with him.
11 Some Cast Members Had Been Married Before
Breaking Amish and the spin-off Return to Amish try to portray the cast members as innocent individuals waiting to break out from their Amish lifestyle. However, some of them had left their communities before and had even married. According to Nickiswift, Jeremiah, Rebecca and Sabrina High were all previously married.
10 The Show Is Fake
This reality show focuses on how cast members had never used modern technology as it was forbidden in their strict Amish community. This means they had never used phones, computers, and cars before, they even showed Jeremy taking driving lessons and using a cell phone for the first time, but according to Dailymail, his ex-wife revealed he always had a cell phone and had not one car but two. Most cast members also had various social media accounts before filming.
9 Jeremiah’s Dark Secret
According to Intouchweekly, Jeremiah revealed on YouTube that he used to hurt himself but has since stopped. He revealed that he covered his right arm with many tattoos because that is where he used do it the most. He explained that it was his way of relieving pain and pressure but he quit. He urged people to talk to and encourage any cutters to get help.
8 Never Had A Drink?
Drinking is not something young people in the Amish community are encouraged to do. Therefore, the show aired a scene where the cast members were having a first-time taste of alcohol. However, this was not the first time for most of them. According to Dailymail, several had been arrested for DUI before the show aired.
7 Andrew Is Not So Innocent
Andrew is always portrayed as innocent, which is far from the truth. According to Screenrant, he claimed that he had never used technology before joining the show but it was discovered he had a deleted FB page, which was active a year prior to the show. He has also been arrested several times for illegal substance-related incidents.
6 Sabrina’s TV Debut
TLC producers wanted viewers to believe that cast member Sabrina High’s first television debut was on Breaking Amish and then she went on to star in Return to Amish but according to Blastingnews, she first appeared on a documentary about Amish Weddings where she pretended to be Amish even though she was raised Mennonite.
5 Sabrina Was Once Homeless
When Sabrina was in between her addictions and arrests, she lost her home and had to live on the streets for a while as Blastingnews reports. She was not part of season two because of her scandals and even ended up losing custody of her daughter Oakley. She later joined back in season three where she managed to get her daughter back.
4 Not All Cast Members Were Raised Amish
The show’s storyline is about ex-Amish members returning to their hometowns to try to adjust back to their old life. However, as Blastingnews reveals, not all cast members were raised Amish. Sabrina High was adopted and raised Mennonite; Carmela Raber, Jeremy’s wife, was raised in a cult while Chapel Peace was English.
3 The Amish Community Disputes Some Cases Of How They Are Portrayed
Some ex-Amish members have expressed concerns about how the show portrays the community wrongly. According to therichest.com, the show even had to change its description because many things were pointed out as wrong. They got rid of the part that referenced that the shows cast members were doing things for the first time because a lot of it was false.
2 Jeremiah Admitted The Show Is Mostly Scripted
Return to Amish is supposed to be a reality TV show, which follows the lives of ex-Amish members and should not have specific storylines since it is reality TV, however, according to therichest.com, Jeremiah revealed that the good chunk of it is scripted. He said a lot has to be planned in advance. This is probably done to create juicy storylines and increase viewership.
1 The Show’s Production Team Is Unfair To The Cast
Some cast members have revealed that the production team sometimes flat out intimidates them. According to Worldnation, Kate revealed that they were kept in a room for hours and asked the same questions over and over until they gave them the answers they want to hear. They would cry and would only be released once they gave them the answers they wanted.
Sources: screenrant, ibtimes, tvovermind, intouchweekly, people