Amish woman unveils life behind closed doors. Toilet paper would be a luxury

Lizzie Ens, a former Amish woman with a prominent TikTok profile, details her childhood within a secluded society. In one of her videos, she confessed that growing up, she was deprived of essential commodities such as toilet paper.

Having fled the Amish community at the age of 19, Lizzie, now 38, utilizes social media to shed light on her past life before leaving her family.

In the home where she was raised, basic amenities such as electricity and running water were absent. She lacked access to a shower and was not allowed to cut her hair. As a child, Lizzie learned to sew, crafting long dresses for herself that always needed to be ankle length. But that was not all there was to her story.

In one of her TikTok videos, she shares her experiences of using the restroom, a task made challenging by the community's restriction on using toilet paper.

Lizzie narrated the experience of using the bathroom in her Amish society. Without indoor plumbing in her community, the provision for personal hygiene was outdoors.

"Our restrooms were not really restrooms. We didn't possess running water or sewers, instead using outhouses," disclosed Lizzie.

She emphasized that the hardest part was negotiating the outdoor toilet at night or during winter when everything around was blanketed with snow and frost. Lizzie underlined that she didn't clean herself with toilet paper as it was seen as a "luxury item".

"We never used toilet paper. It was deemed a luxury. Instead, we would repurpose newspapers or magazines into small squares," she elaborated.

Despite this, Lizzie noted that her mother, who still lives in the Amish community, now uses toilet paper. Regrettably, her mother's home still lacks an indoor bathroom, necessitating the continued use of the outhouse.

Lizzie is one of 19 children born to her mother. The oldest sibling is now 47 whereas the youngest is 25. Interestingly, Lizzie was born as one of three pairs of twins.

"I was preparing meals for 20 people. In addition, I cleaned and milked cows. From early on, hard work was instilled in us. We grew our own fruits and vegetables and gained meat from our animals," divulged Lizzie in an interview with British 'Metro'.

Always curious about the world beyond, Lizzie couldn't comply with the societal rule that "the man makes the rules and the woman has to abide by them".

As a teenager, she received a letter from her boyfriend who had earlier escaped the community. He offered Lizzie a lifeline. She only had 20 dollars on her but was aware that drastic change needed to happen. Leaving a note behind on her pillow, she made her way to the rooftop.

"I wasn't sure how to jump off. I sat on the roof contemplating my future. Finally, I jumped towards freedom, landed, and ran away," she narrated.