Lovina Hershberger was 18 years old when she left her Amish community in Iowa. Now she posts on TikTok about what it's like to live the rigid, restrictive lifestyle.
Now a viral TikTok creator, Lovina Hershberger tells PEOPLE she didn't touch a phone until she left her rigid, restrictive community at age 18Zoey Lyttle is an Editorial Assistant at PEOPLE. She writes digital specials across all entertainment verticals and has been working at PEOPLE since July 2022.Lovina Hershberger left her Amish community in Iowa in 2021, just days after her 18th birthday. She left behind her parents and 11 younger siblings in favor of a modern lifestyle.
“We went to town to get feed for the horses and stuff at the feed mill,” recalls Hershberger, now 21, who belonged to one of the strictest Amish subgroups, the Swartzentruber order. "That rarely happened, almost never." In an attempt to avoid creaking steps, she wore only stockings as she descended her family home’s staircase around 11:30 p.m. that evening. Their dogs barked while she put on shoes to guard her feet from the icy ground ahead, but Hershberger was able to pet them into obedience before they could jeopardize her departure.
Hershberger’s parents didn’t always make things easy for her though. In fact, her decision to abandon the Amish was initially an effort to break out from under her father’s control. Ex-Amish TikToker Answers Questions About the Life He Left Behind at 17 — from Toothpaste to Parental PDA But on that snow-strewn April night, 18-year-old Hershberger fought her instincts four miles up the road from her home. She arrived at the doorstep of a non-Amish man, a logger who worked for her dad for as long as Hershberger could remember. She and her family were well acquainted with him: she spent time speaking with him, baking for him and learning enough about him to remember that he didn’t lock his semi-truck, which was equipped with a built-in sleeper cab.
"Tuesday afternoon, they came to the logger's house, and they stayed over two hours trying to convince me to go home with them, to go back to the Amish," she explains. "I was kind of in a state of shock. I don't think I said a single word in those two and a half hours. I nodded my head, shrugged and shook my head and everything, but no verbal words."
For the first 18 years of her life, however, she had no access to or knowledge about computers or cell phones at all. And internet access was just one of many avenues she needed to explore. Hershberger had to figure out how to get around with more than just a horse and buggy, though getting her license proved to be far more complicated than she expected. In the truest sense of the phrase, she had almost nothing to her name.
"I never saw my birth certificate or social security number before I left," she adds. Plus, the process of proving her personhood was exacerbated by her estrangement. "The fact that my parents not supporting me, it looks a lot more suspicious." "One morning I was trying to call someone. I texted someone, and it just wouldn't go through. I couldn't figure out what was wrong," Hershberger recalls. "At the time I was living with an ex-Amish cousin. I was like, 'I can't text anyone.' She's like, 'Well, does your phone need refilling?' And I had no idea what that meant."
Despite never touching a phone until she left the Luddite community, Hershberger has turned technology into her full-time career. She downloaded TikTok in 2022, originally just "scrolling for fun" until she started seeing videos of people talking about how to generate an income online. Hershberger says she turned to YouTube for further information and found "very detailed tutorials on how to edit videos.
Unfortunately, neither niche garnered an audience. "I just tried to fit in, to be like everybody else. And it wasn't successful. It was never successful," she admits.she'd been through in just six seconds. She recorded herself in modern clothing to mouth along to the words:"I'm not just a b----," the audio began. Hershberger lowered her camera, then reappeared in full Amish apparel to finish the sound,"I'm a b---- with a backstory.
In reality, says Hershberger, there's only "a very, very, very small chance" her Amish ex-boyfriend might actually ever see the video since he was baptized as an official member of the church and likely doesn't have any social media access. So why did she post the video? "Well, I have an Amish ex. It wasn't a pleasant experience dating him or anything," she states matter-of-factly.The social media star hasn't abandoned her love of culinary content either.
TikTok isn't the only way she's connected with other former Amish people. In the outside world, they flock together from a point of common understanding. In her experience, ex-Amish people are generous buoys to one another, particularly while they're first getting their footing beyond the rigid lifestyle.
Since Hershberger left before becoming an official member of the church, she says the Amish rules don't prohibit contact. "They can disown me, they can ignore me. They can tell me not to come home to visit, but they can't technically shun me," she explains to PEOPLE."They're not allowed to call me. I mean, they could call me, but Mom and Dad prefer not to because I left the Amish. I'm not supposed to have a phone, but I do," she adds.
The newlyweds are planning to host a bigger reception soon, giving their families another chance to show up in support.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How to watch Lifetime’s new movie ‘A Kidnapping in Amish Country’ premiere with a free trialAn Amish woman realizes her daughter has been kidnapped and turns to the only person who can help - her estranged best friend who’s renounced the Amish way of life in Lifetime’s premiere of “A Kidnapping in Amish Country,” set to air Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. Here's how to stream online, without cable.
Read more »
7 Biggest Rodney Alcala Details Woman Of The Hour Leaves OutSheryl and Rodney walking in the dark in Woman of the Hour
Read more »
New details emerge after deadly hit-and-run in Millville; woman and car soughtCumberland County law enforcement is working to find a car and a woman after they say 21-year-old Caroline Bump was fatally struck early Tuesday morning in Millville in a hit-and-run.
Read more »
Documents reveal details of tragic Texas DPS pursuit ending in innocent woman's deathNew documents detail the law enforcement operation that led to a Texas DPS chase that killed an innocent 44-year-old woman, the first death of an innocent...
Read more »
Woman Details Encounter With Liam Payne Hours Before His DeathA women claimed she was left ‘shaken’ following an encounter with Liam Payne just before his death on Wednesday, October 16
Read more »
Genie Bouchard details catching World Series ball off of woman's broken faceTennis star Genie Bouchard attended her first-ever World Series game, Game 4 between the Yankees and Dodgers, and she left with an insane story after catching a foul ball.
Read more »