Breaking Amish Finale: Rebecca Byler Admits Having A Baby But Who Is The Father?
November 12, 2012 by Hollywoodite
The Breaking Amish season one finale aired this weekend. During the opening moments of which producers shoehorned in their admission about a child between two of the cast members. A baby daughter. This is one of the many things hidden from viewers by TLC and only revealed, clumsily, after the show got caught in a series of lies a few months ago.
It would appear that in none of the preceding nine episodes did Breaking Amish admit that cast mate Rebecca Byler had a daughter.
Fans of the show have known about her daughter since the early episodes when a photo of Byler, Abe Schmucker, and the baby girl went viral online. The photo appeared to have leaked from the Facebook of a family member. And, in addition to Byler not mentioning her ex-husband until it behooved TLC for viewers/ until after they were caught in that lie when her divorce records went viral too, Byler never mentioned her child then blurted it out (probably at the behest of producers) during a random scene in the finale.
In a scene where the cast were in a hotel room with strippers, for a bachelor party, Byler stormed out and said it’s because “I have a daughter!” followed by contrived reaction shots from the rest of the cast. After 10 episodes, that’s how they address Byler’s baby.
In a cutaway that could have been filmed recently to explain away this plot hole, Byler says: “I got married in 2009, five days after my 18th birthday, and got divorced in July of 2012… Yeah, I do have a daughter, she’s 19-months-old, I wasn’t with my ex when I found out I was pregnant. But I did call him and tell him and he absolutely denied that it was his… I was glad he denied it.” Schmucker adds: “The thing Rebecca said about the baby, that’s private. I mean… that’s the private life I’m still trying to figure out. No… I refuse to talk about it.”
So, why so cloak-and-dagger? Probably because Byler allegedly cheated while she was a newlywed in 2009/ 2010.
She reportedly cheated on her husband-at-the-time Rufus L. Hostetler, Jr., months into their marriage, to be with Schmucker (with whom, obviously, she later appeared on Breaking Amish). Hostetler addressed the cheating on Facebook at the time, writing October 2010: “I am tryn 2 figure out why in th world abe schmucker wud want to b a friend on face book afterall he left wht my wife.”
You notice how vague Byler’s wording is in the finale?
“I wasn’t with my ex when I found out I was pregnant,” she said. It would appear Byler had already left Hostetler to be with another man, Schmucker, while she was still married, when she learned she was pregnant. “But I did call him and tell him and he absolutely denied that it was his,” she continued, “I was glad he denied it.” Well, Hostetler probably “denied it” because his wife-at-the-time was having an extramarital affair with Schmucker around the time she conceived. It may not even be her ex-husband’s kid. Specifics about paternity haven’t been addressed further (not in the finale nor part one of the reunion).
There are photos of Byler in the early stages of pregnancy in 2010. And anecdotal evidence from the family with whom Byler and Schmucker lived while she was pregnant. At the very least, Byler and Schmucker lived together while she was pregnant.
Aside from all the lying… it’s honestly possible Byler doesn’t know who the father of her baby is. There was an overlap with her relationships at the time.
At the close of the finale, a caption says: “Abe and Rebecca are deciding where to live. They joined a Christian church and are raising their new family. They both have regular contact with their families.”
Of the other cast members, a caption says: “Sabrina and Harry are still dating. She has reconciled with her adoptive family. She is still curious about her Puerto Rican heritage and hopes to meet [her] other siblings… Jeremiah left Ohio. He now has a new English girlfriend. They recently moved in with Sabrina.”
Included is a photo of the baby and some stills of the wedding from the finale (incidentally, producers have addressed how the cast afforded things on the show).
