A popular new show called ‘Breaking Amish’ on TLC, might not be as real as advertised. People who live and work in the Amish community in Lancaster, where two of the cast members are from, are a little skeptical and they say they have proof.
There are a lot of people that are skeptical about this show. There’s even a Facebook page called “Breaking Amish The Truth”. It has more than 1200 likes. Many of the members are questioning if this reality TV is really real.
It’s a show about four Amish and one Mennonite, breaking away from their faith and traveling to New York City for the first time. By the end, they’ll be forced to decide whether to return home or start a new life.
But how much of Breaking Amish is actually true?
“We have to always look at entertainment and movies and shows and understand that that’s not the best way if we really care about getting accurate information,” explained Brad Igou of the Amish Experience.
Igou says the information in Breaking Amish, may not be all that accurate. The show states that all the individuals are leaving the Amish for the first time.
But Igou points to articles and court records that say many of the cast members left the faith almost 14 years ago. Some have already been married, divorced and have kids.
Igou was contacted by the production company about an upcoming episode where two of the cast members get married. A letter from the production company asks for guests and costumes for a “real” wedding.
“You can take any culture or any religious group and if you’re going to pick one, dissatisfied element of that group and wrap a show around it, you’re probably not going to be painting a very true picture of what that culture or religion is like,” Igou continued.
It's also been reported that some of the cast members had social media accounts and deleted them before the show started.
We did reach out to the production company and an associate producer of the show, but we did not receive a call back.
