TLC’s “reality” series Breaking Amish continues to bring in huge ratings, but it also continues to bring in more information about the cast which seems to suggest the show is completely staged. Perhaps saying “completely” staged is a bit too harsh, because it does appear the cast members were, in fact, Amish and Mennonite at one time, but it seems that in every case it has been anywhere from a couple years to more than a decade since they left.
Previously we posted about Kate’s modeling past and DUI mug shot photo as well as Jeremiah Raber’s rather lengthy time “with the English” that included a wife, three kids, and a pickup truck. And then there is Abe and Rebecca, who are rumored to be married with a child already (a rumor seemingly backed up by a photo of the three of them together that recently surfaced online). Oh, and of course there’s Rebecca’s bikini photo from 2010!
So that leaves Sabrina, the only Mennonite in the cast of five. Mennonites are a little less restrictive than the Amish, allowing members access to public schools and technology, so it should come as no surprise that Sabrina appears to have had a couple Twitter accounts. Here are her profile photos from both:
^ On the left is Sabrina’s Twitter profile photo from @levitika and on the right is @Sabrina_Brkhldr, which had the description, “a country girl can survive.”
What should come as a surprise is that Sabrina had two Twitter accounts under different last names… because she got married!
That’s right, according to online records, Sabrina Lavon High married Delmar R. Burkholder on July 25, 2009. That seems to be backed up by a tweet from @levitika on October 13, 2009 that read, “my hubby just got home from convention in milwaukee.go monavie:)” It’s also backed up by the fact that Sabrina appears to have created a second @Sabrina_Brkhldr Twitter account under the name Sabrina Burkholder. That account has since been deleted, but you can still see some of her favorited tweets and retweets (including Chris Brown, Blake Shelton, and more) here. If you click the link you will also notice a lot of retweets pertaining to forgiveness and not judging.
BUT, just in case all of that wasn’t enough to convince you, someone named Keith Nolt tweeted this photo of Sabrina from her wedding along with the words, “@TLC Sabrina’s non Mennonite wedding #breakingamish is fake and a mockery of the Amish.”
The photo features the full wedding party (That’s Sabrina in the center with her blond husband on our right). Keith retweeted it shortly after with the words, “@BreakingAmish Sabrina sure looks Mennonite at her wedding a couple years ago. It’s all fake!!”
A couple days later, Keith tweeted this next photo of just Sabrina in her bridal wear and wrote, “here’s a picture of her at here wedding couple years ago. Don’t look like a Mennonite here”
And then this photo which Keith claims features Sabrina and his friend from a party trip to Philly:
The authenticity of the photos became a topic of debate on the Breaking Amish: The Expose Facebook page, leading Krista Eberly to comment, “Thats Sabrinas cause i was in her wedding in 2009!” Krista returned to address the difference in Sabrina’s weight in the pictures. “Well she lost alot of weight since her wedding in 2009 and TLC shud be ashamed to even have aired [such] a fake show with a bunch of lies and deception!” she wrote.
In addition to having been married in 2009, it may surprise some to find out that Sabrina is also no stranger to television, having apparently appeared in the 2010 National Geographic documentary Amish At the Altar, in which “three couples – two Amish and one ex-Amish – share the traditions underlying courtship, engagement and marriage in Amish culture.” Also appearing in the documentary? Sabrina’s pal “Rose!”
^ On the left is Sabrina and her best pal Rose from Breaking Amish, and on the right is a screen cap from National Geographic’s Amish at the Altar, which apparently also featured Sabrina and Rose, who is the blurry girl on Sabrina’s right in the picture. (Click photos to enlarge.)
Now, before you get too worked up over a supposed Mennonite being included in a documentary about the Amish, National Geographic was unable to film the actual Amish wedding, so they featured a Mennonite couple who had chosen to have a traditional Amish ceremony – thus the inclusion of Sabrina. (Who, depending on when the documentary was filmed, may have already been married herself.)
And speaking of that, this guy from Amish at the Altar sure looks a lot like Delmar Burkholder from the wedding photo above don’t you think?
More Breaking Amish cast information seems to surface daily, so keep checking back for more! And if you are/were friends with any of the cast members and would like to share your story. photos, or video, ou can contact us at starcasmtips (at) yahoo.com!
