Breaking Amish: How Much Money Were The Cast Paid? How Did They Afford Things?
November 12, 2012 by Hollywoodite
In this video posted by TLC, so by their own admission, Breaking Amish producers go into some detail about how the cast afforded some of the items purchased and consumed on the show.
Here’s what one of the producers said and you can watch his explanations in the video below: “A lot of people ask us where do the five Amish-Mennonite people on our show get the money to do things in New York. Yes, we did provide them with a small stipend to cover their housing. But one thing people don’t realise about the Amish and the Mennonite is they start working at a very, very young age and they’ve been saving their money. And money piles up when you don’t have cable and electric or a car payments or gasoline to pay for.”
Another producer adds: “They all… except for Rebecca… but all of them were working outside of the home. And they were gainfully employed in English-owned businesses. Sabrina worked at the National Christmas Center; she worked there for a long time… was a very hard worker. Kate worked at numerous restaurants, waiting tables.”
“Abe and Jeremiah are both very skilled craftsman,” the first producer continues. “They both do construction and Abe does siding for houses. Jeremiah does general construction work. You make a lot of money doing that. Especially when you start at the age of 13; they’re much older than that now… so… they have a good amount saved up. For a reason. And the reason is to go pursue something different. Try something new.”
The two producers in this clip don’t go into further specifics. However, they’re saying that they paid for the New York City hotel for the duration of production and the cast had a stipend to cover sundries. Anything more, it would appear, the cast were able to pay for themselves.
It’s not mentioned specifically, but the bigger items could included the engagement ring (for which Abe Schmucker borrowed some of the money from Jeremiah Raber) and also the wedding in the finale (it’s never made clear who paid for it).