Swartzentruber Amish — PT2: "Promoted to Wearer of Jeans"
Was I in a Cult?
Liz Iacuzzi
4.5 • 3.5K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses sexual assault. Not in graphic detail, but please listen accordingly.
For 19 years, Lizzie Ens lived in one of the most conservative Amish sects in America: the Swartzentruber Amish. Last week you learned about her upbringing and all facets of living a life off the grid with no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and very little autonomy over her own life.
In Part 2, the horse-and-buggy postcard version of Amish life disappears fast.
Lizzie takes us inside the bizarre dating ritual called "bundling," and into the darker corners of the community — sexual assault, shunning, suppression, and the impossible weight of knowing that leaving means leaving everything behind. Including her twin sister.
Eventually, she realizes something terrifying: if she doesn't escape now… she may never escape at all.
What follows is one of the wildest escape stories we've ever covered.
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RESOURCES:
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FIND LIZZIE:
Instagram: @lizzieens_wellness / TikTok: @lizzieh_wellness
Book: Amish Renegade: The Anthropology of an Amish Girl Turned Global CEO
Website: undietyou.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not |
| 0:04.8 | necessarily reflect the views of Libson or its affiliates. Guest accounts are personal |
| 0:09.4 | recollections shared from their own perspectives. References to specific individuals, |
| 0:14.5 | organizations, or groups are presented as commentary, opinion, and personal experience, |
| 0:19.0 | and should not be interpreted as definitive statement of fact. |
| 0:22.7 | This podcast is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. |
| 0:27.9 | Hey listeners, today's episode discusses sexual assault. The discussion is not graphic, but please listen accordingly. |
| 0:46.5 | Welcome back to was I in a cult, question mark at the end of it. |
| 0:50.2 | I'm Tyler Meesam, also known as Tyler Meesam. |
| 0:54.0 | And I'm Liz Aikuzzi, also known as Liz Iikzzi. And today is episode Dos, that's two in Spanish, of Lizzie N's amazing story. |
| 1:02.0 | What is it in Pennsylvania Dutch? |
| 1:04.0 | Huh? |
| 1:05.0 | There's about a handful of people that know that, and they're not listening to our show, I assure you. |
| 1:10.0 | Although Lizzie probably does. |
| 1:12.1 | Lizzie is a former Amish turned wellness powerhouse. She's an author and a podcaster herself. |
| 1:19.2 | So fasten up your dresses, hitch your horses to the buggy, and power down your circuits because |
| 1:25.3 | we're going to Amish country. |
| 1:30.5 | But please don't power down the device you're listening to this episode on. |
| 1:32.6 | No, don't go full Amish. And definitely don't leave the cult of Apple. |
| 1:36.1 | Yeah, God forbid. |
| 1:37.7 | So like many things in life, the Amish live on a spectrum. |
| 1:41.4 | And Lizzie grew up in basically the most conservative sect. She lived on a farm. |
... |
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