"I left the Amish at 17 - we weren't allowed phones, makeup, or boardgames"
- 18 days ago
A mum has revealed what it was like to grow up in a strict Amish family which banned make up and TV - and why she left and never returned.
Naomi Swartzentruber, 43, said she was expected to wake up at 5am and help on the farm from the age of five.
She left school at 14 - to cook, clean and help with chores full-time.
In her teens, she began to rebel in “small” ways like wearing lingerie under her gowns, listening to the radio through her neighbours’ window and secretly dating non-Amish boys.
But at 17, she met a man who offered to let her stay with him - so she ran away and hasn’t been back since - and visits her family yearly.
Naomi Swartzentruber, 43, said she was expected to wake up at 5am and help on the farm from the age of five.
She left school at 14 - to cook, clean and help with chores full-time.
In her teens, she began to rebel in “small” ways like wearing lingerie under her gowns, listening to the radio through her neighbours’ window and secretly dating non-Amish boys.
But at 17, she met a man who offered to let her stay with him - so she ran away and hasn’t been back since - and visits her family yearly.