What The Cameras Never Showed You On TLC's Breaking Amish

Debuting on TLC in 2012, "Breaking Amish" purported to show five Amish young adults (well, four and one Mennonite) who were left the confines of their self-sufficient, clean-living society for a taste of the Big Apple. The show proved to be a huge success, spawning four seasons and a spinoff. But from the very first episode, suspicions grew that not all was as it seemed.

Indeed, "Breaking Amish" constantly faced accusations that it embellished, twisted, or downright fabricated the truth about its apparent wide-eyed participants, the most common being that the majority had already experienced the wider world long before reality television came calling. But what else did producers hide from the viewers? How many cast members had previously walked down the aisle, for example? Which apparent teetotallers had been arrested for alcohol-related offenses? And did someone really lie about having cancer? Here's a look at 11 behind-the-scenes jawdroppers. 

In the opening episode of "Breaking Amish," Jeremiah Raber told his other half that he was heading to the Big Apple for what was depicted as his first-ever venture away from his Amish neighborhood. But thanks to some online sleuthing from one skeptical viewer, it was later discovered that he wasn't exactly a stranger to the secular world.

Indeed, a blogger with experience of the Amish community himself dug around the far corners of the internet, unable to shake off the feeling that he'd already seen Raber in All-American attire several years previously. And he eventually stumbled across deleted-but-cached Facebook and MySpace photos which backed up his theory. In fact, the reality TV star was pictured posing in 'regular' clothes a full five years before the "Breaking Amish" premiere.

Speaking to Blast Zone Online in 2015, Raber admitted that he'd first left the Amish community at 19. He was 30 when he made his TLC debut. And so he was already more than familiar with modern gadgetry, contradicting the scene where he tries to get to grips with the concept of the mobile phone. "Where I'm from there are 13 kinds of Amish," he tried to explain. "The strictest ones are just like the movie 'Witness.' The more modern ones have electricity, cell phones, computers, etc. so they have to realize not all Amish are the same."

"Breaking Amish" appeared to turn into a dating show when it depicted Abe Schmucker and Rebecca Byler going out for the first time. However, the plot thickened when the couple, who went on to marry at the end of the first season, were seen playing happy families with the latter's daughter in pictures taken a year before the show's premiere.

A Facebook page determined to expose "Breaking Amish" as pure reality TV deception was responsible for finding the snaps uploaded by Schmucker's older brother. And they soon cast doubt on her baby's father. In fact, the TLC hit tried to hide that there was even a baby at all until the first season finale.

"I'm sorry that I'm a mom and trying to protecting my kid," Byler explained to the cameras (via TODAY) about why there hadn't been a mention of her first-born. "I'm very sensitive when it comes to my daughter because I'm trying to be a good mom. I don't have to answer to anybody." She also revealed that she'd split with the dad before discovering she was pregnant and that he'd denied paternity. But rumors still continued to swirl that Schmucker was the real father figure. Here's a look at what the couple has been up to since leaving reality TV.

We all know that reality television plays fast and loose with reality. But it's rare for its participants to reveal exactly how much. The cast of "Breaking Amish," however, have been more than happy to spill the beans over the years.

In a 2015 chat with Blast Zone Online, for example, Jeremiah Raber admitted that in all honesty he couldn't vouch for the show's 100 percent authenticity: "Every place we go to has to be set up in advance meaning that the owner of every place has to sign a release prior to us filming at that location. Yes there are parts that are scripted. Every reality show is that way to make things juicy and interesting for the viewers."

And in a series of exposing tweets in which she seemed determined to burn all bridges with the show, Kate Stoltz accused the production team of fabricating stories they then leaked to the press in order to ensure maximum drama for spinoff "Return to Amish."

As well as keeping the fact that she had a baby daughter a secret in the first season of "Breaking Amish," Rebecca Byler also decided not to disclose the fact that she'd also been married before. And once word got out, the show's armchair detectives soon got to work to determine her first husband's identity.

They eventually stumbled across court records which proved that Byler had walked down the aisle with North Dakota native Rufus Hostetler. And the man himself confirmed (via Daily Mail) the news with a Facebook post which, for those of us who don't read text speak, translates as "I am trying to figure out why in the world Abe Schmucker would want to be a friend on Facebook. After all, he left with my wife." Fair comment.

In further proof that Byler wasn't the picture of wide-eyed innocence presented on screen, online sleuths also found a 2010 snap of her sporting a bikini at a pool party: this despite the fact she'd told cameras she was too demure for such revealing swimwear.

Rebecca Byler wasn't the only "Breaking Amish" cast member, however, to have already tied the knot before gracing the crazy world of reality TV. Sabrina High had also gotten hitched in 2009, as she was forced to address in the first season finale once pictures from the occasion had resurfaced online.

"I'm not ashamed I was married," High told reunion host Michelle Beadle (via TODAY) in the midst of her divorce proceedings. "I still love (my ex) — he's a good man and he's honorable. I have nothing but good things to say about him." She also claimed that by avoiding both dancing and alcohol, the wedding ceremony in question didn't contract the Mennonite way or life.

And then there's Jeremiah Raber. In fact, the show's bad boy also had three kids with the woman he'd walked down the aisle with, Naomi Stutzman, back in 2005. Unlike High, however, she had nothing but bad things to say about her ex.

Indeed, Naomi Stutzman sure didn't hold back while speaking to CBS 21 about the six-year marriage to Jeremiah Raber, which ended in 2011. "The kids and I suffered for years at the hands of this man," she said (via Daily Mail) while blasting the network for platforming him in the first place.

According to official reports, Stutzman had contacted the police about no fewer than eight separate incidents — one of which led to an arrest for domestic violence — while wed to Raber, including the time she was punched in the stomach when she was carrying one of their three kids. She later cited 'extreme cruelty' and 'gross neglect of duty' after filing for divorce from the future reality TV star.

"My family is livid because they took him in and cared for him, now he is doing this?" Stutzman continued. "I'm not surprised at him. What surprised me was TLC. My kids and I watch TLC. They are supposed to be a family channel. For them to do this is appalling." She also alleged that the channel had offered to give her $10,000 in hush money if she didn't publicly discuss his police record, a claim which bosses spuriously denied. If that wasn't enough, Raber was also arrested for domestic abuse shortly before the fourth season premiere after deliberately throwing a cup of hot coffee on his second wife, Carmela. Here's a closer look at their marriage.

Jeremiah Raber is far from the only "Breaking Amish" cast member with a criminal record, however. Abe Schmucker also got into trouble with the police for an offence which completely contradicts his clean-living persona.

Indeed, despite insisting that he'd never been a party animal or even touched a single drop of alcohol before heading to New York, Schmucker was arrested in Kentucky for being intoxicated in a public place at the age of just 18: this was four years, of course, before the TLC show first premiered.

You might have expected Schmucker to be left embarrassed by the mug shot which surfaced once he found reality television fame. However, during the show's first season reunion, he seemed strangely proud of his brush with the law. "I spent eight hours in the drunk tank," he said (via Us Weekly) . "It was pretty cool actually, because my mom and dad didn't have to know about it."

In the same year that "Breaking Amish" premiered on TLC, another cast member, Kate Stoltzfus, found herself on the wrong side of the law for alcohol-related reasons: on this occasion, it was driving under the influence. Unsurprisingly, the show didn't cover the offence which saw the bishop's daughter put on probation.

"I got charged with a D.U.I., so it was like the worst thing in my life," Stoltzfus later admitted to "TODAY" (via Starcasm). "I'm pretty sure my dad's gonna freak out. My mom's gonna cry. It makes me feel like a horrible person." When Savannah Guthrie questioned whether her Amish upbringing could have been responsible for her poor judgement, she replied, "It think it was just a really bad decision, and a huge mistake. Just me being stupid, and not thinking things clearly."

Further evidence that Stoltzfus hadn't always adhered to the Amish way of life came with the discovery of her attempts to pursue a modeling career. The reality TV star had previously sent pictures to various agencies in a bid to get a foot on the industry ladder and even entered a 'Best Smile' competition staged by Explore Talent back in 2010. Here's a look at what Stoltz is up to now.

One of the most shocking revelations to emerge from behind the "Breaking Amish" scenes was about Chapel Schmucker-Peace. The reality TV star had many viewers reaching for the tissues when she revealed on the show that her cancer had returned. However, according to castmate Kate Stoltzfus, this was all a facade to cover up her drug addiction.

"I'm upset that I was tricked into thinking that her cancer was back, and she was doing chemo," Stoltz tweeted (via INQUISITR) in 2016. "For example, Chapel was NOT doing chemo when the show was filmed. She was in remission and had us all fooled into thinking she was very sick." The aspiring model also revealed that she hadn't been in contact with Schmucker-Peace since she discovered the truth.

That same year, Schmucker-Peace was arrested after getting caught up in a Dubois drugs bust which found nearly $30,000 in cash, numerous weapons, and a stash of crystal meth worth $90,000. She'd also found herself in trouble with the law the year previously after attempting to sell a heroin-filled Tylenol bottle in a parking lot to what turned out to be an undercover cop.

Kate Stoltzfus sure put the cat among the pigeons when she took to Twitter in 2016 to dish the dirt on her experiences on "Breaking Amish." The one-time aspiring model not only accused Chapel Schmucker-Peace of lying about her cancer returning, but she also alleged that the show's producers coerced cast members into various plots by any means necessary.

"We were bullied and harassed while filming," Stolzfus claimed (via International Business Times). "If we didn't go along with the storyline, they would turn it around and make us look bad. If they thought our lives were boring, they would create wild story lines about us ... I would be told that someone is talking about me, they would be told that I am talking about them. That way we wouldn't trust the other."

Stoltzfus, who'd since moved to the Big Apple to pursue a career as a fashion designer, insisted that this wasn't a cry for attention. She simply wanted to reveal all in a bid to deter others from following in her reality TV footsteps. "I stayed quiet for four years, scared of what would happen if I would tell the truth," she added. "I'm not holding back anymore."

The producers of "Breaking Amish" obviously didn't learn from, or perhaps didn't care about, the accusations that its original cast members weren't as squeaky-clean as they were depicted. All publicity is good publicity and all that. In the third season of the TLC show, they welcomed another individual with a questionable past into the fold.

Indeed, like Jeremiah Raber, Abe Schmucker, and Kate Stoltzfus, Vonda Schrock had also been in trouble with the police, getting arrested for "resisting law enforcement," as several resurfaced mug shots proved. Photos dug up from her old MySpace page also proved that she was no stranger to 'regular' clothes and make-up, both forbidden in her community. In fact, in several of the 'racier' shots, she's even sporting a bikini!

Schrock did acknowledge that she'd defied at least one non-Amish rule — no vanity — while teasing her introduction in an official trailer, which suggested she'd be just as home on "Love Island" as "Breaking Amish." Yes, as her bronzed legs showed, the reality TV star likes nothing more than spending her downtime getting a spray tan. Here's a look at what the cast of "Breaking Amish" looks like today.