Have you ever tried coffee soup, peanut butter pie, or fruit pizza? If not, chances are you aren’t following Lovina Zook just yet.
This 23-year-old grew up in a strict, conservative Amish community where she had never used a cell phone or computer, let alone heard of social media. But five years ago, she decided to change her life. Today, she shares recipes and traditions — that might otherwise never leave Amish households — with over 3.6 million followers on TikTok.
Read the full story to find out how Lovina escaped her old life on a cold, snowy night and turned her new freedom into viral success. You might even learn how to make that fruit pizza or an Amish cheeseburger.
Former Amish woman Lovina Zook shared her before-and-after journey
Randy Fath / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
She belonged to one of the strictest Amish subgroups, the Swartzentruber order
For anyone outside their world, understanding the Amish way of life can feel like stepping into another timeline. Lovina Zook belonged to the Swartzentruber order, widely recognized as one of the faith’s most conservative and strict subgroups.
In her community, daily life meant no electricity, makeup, cell phones, or TikTok. Even dancing, drinking, and modern machinery were prohibited. “And no cursing. Absolutely not. You can’t even say, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ That’s considered a bad word,” Zook told CBS News.
Any step out of line meant harsh reprisal. Leaders and elders even warned members that leaving or breaking order meant going straight to h**l.
At home, they spoke Pennsylvania Dutch and lived in complete isolation from mainstream culture.
Dating followed an exceptionally strict set of rules
Couples were forbidden to see each other during daylight hours, could not interact with each other’s parents, and could meet only once a week. “You do it in the dark,” Zook explained. Around nine in the evening, the boyfriend would walk through an unlocked door, head up to his girlfriend’s bedroom, and stay there until four in the morning, then leave. Kissing was permitted if both agreed, but any physical intimacy was strictly off-limits. As Zook noted, “You just talk and sleep, and that’s all.”
In Amish families, young women are usually expected to marry within the faith, keep to traditional gender roles, and focus on building large families. Lovina herself is the second-oldest of 13 children.
What her life looked like before internet fame
Before becoming a content creator, Lovina once worked as a schoolteacher for her local community, riding eight miles back and forth each day on her horse and buggy.
Despite loving the classroom, the job paid only $12 a day. Because of that, her father told her to quit and work in the sawmill instead. Looking back, she remembers believing she would spend her entire life in the order — wearing plain clothes, following tradition, and never questioning the path laid out for her.
“Before, I thought anybody that left the Amish was condemned. They were doing wrong, and I was never going to be one of those people. I was going to stay Amish, be respectful, raise a whole big family and I never thought that would change,” she says.
In her world, custom dictated everything, leaving zero room for personal ambition.
The midnight escape that changed her entire life forever
The final breaking point came in 2021, when her mom criticized her church dress. “I was so tired of people telling me what to do. I’m always trying to be perfect, and it’s never right. I was just done,” she says.
She planned her escape for two weeks, waiting for the right moment. The night before, she quietly oiled the hinges on the doors inside her house so they wouldn’t squeak, waited until her family fell asleep, and slipped out into the freezing night with just $24.
She made her way to her ex-Amish brother and his girlfriend, who took her in, helped her find a housecleaning job, and got her her very first smartphone at 18 years old. “I went against every respectful bone in my body to leave. It was a very scary time. But it led to beautiful things,” Lovina recalls.
She has kept a piece of that heritage close to her heart
Though she walked away from the strict lifestyle, she still respects some of their traditions and hasn’t left everything behind. She brought along a handwritten notebook filled with her great-grandmother’s recipes and has kept her traditional dresses.
Today, she uses social media to offer an authentic look into her former world. Her most popular video — a simple step-by-step tutorial showing how Amish women style their hair under their bonnets — has pulled in over 50 million views on TikTok.
She once knew nothing about TikTok, now this former Amish woman has millions of followers
Beyond cooking, she answers candid questions about how the Amish pay taxes, what a morning routine looks like, how divorce functions in the church, and funny cultural quirks, like calling a simple grilled cheese sandwich a “cheeseburger.”
Five years after making her midnight escape, Zook’s life looks completely different. She has learned to drive, self-published her own cookbook, built a full-time career as a content creator, and built a life with her husband, who also left the Amish faith. She is free to dance, show her hair, and share her creative ideas with millions of people worldwide.
Watch her step-by-step tutorial showing how Amish women style their hair:
@lovina_zook♬ original sound – harley
Here’s how her followers have reacted to her videos on social media:
