NEED TO KNOW
Kendra Bates is one of six cast members who left their lives to experience life in an Amish community on TLC's new series Suddenly Amish
The 33-year-old dancer tells PEOPLE she joined the show having felt disenchanted with her life in Los Angeles and seeking more connection with her faith
Suddenly Amish premiered its first episode on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 10 p.m. ET
Kendra Bateshad ties to traditionalist lifestyles even before she left her life in Los Angeles to join an Amish community in rural Pennsylvania.
One Amish leader, Bishop Vernon, made a rare exception to the insular, Luddite practices in the interest of expanding his community's population, inviting a group of "English" — meaning non-Amish — people inside. Bates, 33, is one of the six newcomers whose journeys are documented on TLC's new showSuddenly Amish.
In the first episode, which premiered on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 10 p.m. ET, the 33-year-old explained how she stepped into her faith just over a year ago, and she started to feel as though her career as a dancer conflicted with some of her Christian values.
Ahead of the series premiere, Bates tells PEOPLE that she saw an ad forSuddenly Amishcasting "at such a transitional period" in her life.
"I don't necessarily align anymore with being a dancer. I really have to be picky with which jobs I morally feel comfortable doing, and that's none," she admits. "When this opportunity [came] to me, I was like, 'This could be the out that I was looking for."
In an emotional confessional aired in the first episode, Bates said she posted on OnlyFans at what she called her "lowest point" prior to her baptism. She tearfully admitted that her participation on the adult entertainment site stemmed from a lack of self-love, and she still struggles to "forgive" herself for that period of her life.
Speaking to PEOPLE, the Wisconsin native adds that she no longer felt suited to life in L.A., where she's lived for the past nine.
"Everybody is so, 'Me, me, me — what can you do for me?' And that bothers me to no end," she explains, noting that she's been wanting to leave the city for quite some time. "I'm just not happy currently where I'm at in life."
Joining the Amish tradition may seem like a dramatic change for someone like Bates, but she's far more familiar with that type of lifestyle than the typical English person. Just a few generations before her, her family was part of the Mennonite community. While Mennonites tend to accept modernity more than the Amish, there's a significant overlap in beliefs and practices.
"For me, this experience was ... kind of a way for me to see what my family was doing in those generations," Bates tells PEOPLE.
She says her family and friends were hardly shocked to hear about her decision to join the cast ofSuddenly Amish, especially since this wouldn't be the first time Bates dipped her toes into the Amish world. In fact, this isn't even the first time she's considered becoming Amish.
When Bates was a student at Kent State University in Ohio, her roommate brought her along to a local party thrown by younger Amish people. The gathering was part of Rumspringa, the rite of passage that allows community members to experience life beyond their typical conservative traditions prior to officially joining the church.
At the party, she met a man and fell in love. They got to know each other, but toward the end of his Rumspringa, he decided that he wanted to return to the Amish. As a college student unsure of her career path, Bates says she considered staying there and joining the church with him.
"We did have the conversation like, 'OK, if we ever were to get married, you have to fully convert, you have to fully come in,'" she recalls. "At this point, I was deciding I kind of wanted to pursue dance in L.A., so it was one of those things."
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Bates hasn't had any contact with the man since they parted ways. Despite the disappointment of their relationship ending, she felt open to the possibility of finding love amongst the Amish again as she immersed herself onSuddenly Amish.
"The same way that I put myself out there for different experiences is the same way that I put myself out there for love and connection," says Bates. "And I mean, I date in LA all the time. There's so many relationships that fall through all the time anyways, so is it different with an Amish guy that could fall through?"
Read the original article onPeople
