Auntie Anne’s founder on surviving sexual abuse at the hands of her pastor, the power of confession
GRAPEVINE, Texas — Before Anne Beiler was the founder of Auntie Anne’s, she was a barefoot girl growing up on an Amish farm, raised in a world of tradition, simplicity and work ethic. Her life, at first glance, appears to follow a classic American arc: from modest roots to building a global soft pretzel empire.
But behind that journey lies a story of faith, survival, suffering and redemption.
“I grew up in an Old Order Amish home, which meant horse and buggy, no electricity,” Beiler told The Christian Post. “Eventually, my parents transitioned to the 'black car Amish,' which allowed for some modern conveniences. But the values remained the same: work hard, honor God, and don’t expect handouts.”
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From her earliest days, Beiler learned that faith and family were paramount. Her parents, she said, taught faith through example, consistency and strength. Around the dinner table, which was a sacred, thrice-daily ritual, she absorbed a mantra that dictated much of her younger years: “Life is good, and God is harsh.”
“I wanted to be a good girl and obey all the Ten Commandments,” she recalled. “I lived with the fear that, if I did something bad, God would be displeased with me.”
In 1975, five years into her marriage with her high school sweetheart, Jonas, Beiler’s 19-month-old daughter Angela was killed in a tragic farming accident. “That was only the beginning of my sorrows,” she said. “I knew where Angie went, but I made my descent into emotional and spiritual darkness.”
What followed was years of silent grief. Outwardly, she remained the same strong, faithful woman everyone expected her to be. Inwardly, she was unraveling.
“Everyone told me how strong I was. But I wasn’t. I was dying a little bit every day,” she said.
The turning point came when her pastor invited her to his office, ostensibly to offer counseling. Instead, he sexually assaulted her, and the abuse continued for nearly seven years.
“I didn’t understand what had happened. I just knew I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone,” she said. “He told me no one would believe me. And I believed him.”
Beiler said that for years, she lived in a world of secrets, shame and spiritual confusion. The abuse tore through her marriage, her identity and her understanding of God. At her lowest point, she weighed just 90 pounds and felt completely alone.
“I was a bad wife, a bad mother. I felt unforgivable. I believed I had to pay for my sins,” she recalled.
But one morning, after years of praying for deliverance, something shifted. “The Holy Spirit spoke to me: 'Get up off your knees and go tell Jonas,'” she said. That moment, in 1982, changed everything.
Through tears, she confessed her years of abuse and silence to her husband. His response, she said, was the first spark of healing. “He said, ‘If you feel like you have to go, I’ll help you pack. But please don’t leave in the middle of the night. And take the girls with you. They need their mother.’”
Instead of leaving, they stayed. Together.
The road to healing was long, Beiler recalled, and the couple sought help from a counselor who told Jonas: “If you can find it in you to love like Jesus loves, there is hope for your marriage.” That supernatural kind of love, Beiler said, saved them.
Five years after that confession, in 1987, Anne and Jonas opened a soft pretzel stand in a Pennsylvania farmers' market. It was meant to be a modest business to support Jonas’s new counseling center, but the pretzels took off, and Auntie Anne’s was born.
“No capital, no business plan, no education beyond eighth grade,” she said. “But God had a plan. He saw who I really was. He taught me and led me every step of the way.”
Today, Auntie Anne’s is the largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise in the world with over 1,700 locations. The chain has locations in more than 25 countries, and most units are located in malls, airports and outlet centers, although the chain’s first drive-through location opened recently, according to the Franchise Times.
Beiler believes her story’s power lies not in her success but in her willingness to break the silence. “Secrets will kill you. But confession, that breaks the stronghold,” she said.
She now travels the country sharing her testimony, empowering women to speak up, and helping others understand the transformative power of transparency, prayer, and grace. In 2018, she founded Broken Silence, a ministry focused on helping women live a lifestyle of confession and restoration.
Her 2019 book, The Secret Lies Within, recounts the pain she endured and the redemption she found. “I want others to know there is more to life than what they see right now. In our darkest days, we can’t imagine that,” she said. “But God has more.”
Beiler previously served on the board of the Museum of the Bible and today continues to advocate for faith, healing and vulnerability. Her mission, she said, is to help others find the kind of freedom she foun through Christ.
“I know now the truth is that life is hard, but God is good,” she said. “I'm not confused about that anymore. Jesus said, ‘In this world, you will have trouble, guaranteed, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world,’ and so you can, too.”
“Jesus is not a partial redeemer,” she said. “He doesn’t just hand you back pieces of what you lost. He offers full redemption. But we have to cooperate. That starts with confession.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
