When the TV series Return to Amish debuted in 2014, people were instantly intrigued. The show followed original cast members from the show Breaking Amish. This time, however, instead of leaving the Amish community, they were attempting to return to it. Since Amish people have largely avoided the spotlight for centuries, getting such an intimate glimpse into their world was essentially unheard of. With that being said, the fact that the Amish community has always been so private-led many people to believe that there was no possible way the series was real. After all, at this point we know that reality TV is never actually real, right? As the show gets ready to enter its sixth season, viewers can’t help but question the show’s authenticity. Is the show Return to Amish fake? Keep reading to find out.
What Is The Amish Community?
In order to understand Return to Amish and why so many people think it’s fake, you first have to have a basic understanding of the Amish community. The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christians. They follow a strict set of rules that prevents them from wearing certain clothing, participating in certain activities, and enjoying many of the ‘modern’ comforts of the world. For example, Amish people do not use electricity and do not believe in having their photos taken as they believe that photographs can be a source of vanity. Members of the Amish community who refuse to conform to the cultural expectations can be excommunicated. Those who leave voluntarily are shunned which essentially means they are cut off from other members of the community including their family.
Is Return To Amish Real?
Return to Amish is a very entertaining show, but it looks like that might just be all it is: entertainment. Since the show’s debut, rumors have been circulating that the show is fictionalized. These rumors actually began with Breaking Amish when people accused the network of falsifying storylines. Some even suggested that some of the cast members had actually left the Amish community years before the show aired and had long since been integrated into mainstream society. Additionally, legal records disputed some cast members’ claims that they had never had alcohol prior to being on the show.
Needless to say, many of these rumors carried over into Return of the Amish. Since it’s debut, the show has dealt with lots of allegations of being fake. Many people have suggested that Return to Amish is scripted although there doesn’t seem to be any proof to support these allegations. One of the original cast members of Return to Amish, Sabrina Burkholder, also revealed that she was paid to be part of the show which has led some people to believe the show is hiring them to play out fake storylines.
Some Say The Answer Is Yes
Some have maintained their belief that Return to Amish is, in fact, real. A Twitter user named nichole61322115 tweeted, “Everyone saying this is scripted, do a little research every Amish teenager goes out into the English world, to see what it’s like. So this isn’t too far fetched. Some don’t come back, most do.” When another Twitter user mentioned that the show’s cast members are adults and not teenagers, nichole61322115 followed up by saying, “It depends some go at 16, some at 18, some at 21… I don’t know how they determine when. I watched a really good documentary about the Amish, I assume they all left as teenagers and couldn’t shake it. So the show gave the an opportunity to do what they’ve always wanted to do.”
Does It Matter?
At the end of the day, we’ll probably never know for sure if the show is fake. The network would never admit to creating a fake reality show and cast members have likely been sworn to secrecy in the form of an NDA. The truth is probably lies somewhere in the middle. While the cast members may really be members/former members of the Amish community, it is very likely that their stories have been fabricated for the sake of ‘good’ TV.
Although there was initially a lot of hype over the validity of the show, it seems like much of it has died down. Viewers seem to be perfectly happy to enjoy the show for what it is, even if they don’t think it’s entirely real. As mentioned earlier, this has become the norm with reality TV shows anyway. To an extent, people don’t really care if a show is fake as long as they find it entertaining. For that reason, there are a lot of people who are excited for the show to be returning to the air, and it’ll be interesting to see how each of the cast member’s storylines play out.
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