TLC’s ‘90 Day Fiancé’ Can’t Undo the Harm It’s Caused

The 90 Day Fiancé series appears to be trying to fix its exploitative and inappropriate behavior, but the damage the franchise has caused in reality TV might be too extensive. In the last few years, the 90 Day Fiancé franchise has highlighted some of the most toxic and tumultuous relationships. The franchise thrived off of stars who were authentically themselves, no matter how many cameras were around. While stars like Paola Mayfield still knew how to keep their temper in check, other stars took it above and beyond, which caused the series to make an awkward content shift. 90 Day Fiancé alums like Anfisa Arkhipchenko became more popular as they berated and blatantly used their partners for the sake of entertainment.

While more drama can certainly make for more entertaining reality TV, 90 Day Fiancé has crossed the proverbial line time and time again. Fans begged to have outrageous stars like Jasmine Pineda or Angela Deem removed from the franchise, only to have them reappear with a stronger force and for their behavior to be excused. The Tell All with Michael Ilesanmi and Angela seemed to be the ultimate breaking point. The franchise listened to the complaints and is now focusing on changes, like whole new casts. However, this might be a classic case of “too little too late.” The relationships on the 90 Day Fiancé series have stained the franchise’s reputation, and it might not be able to make a comeback.

90 Day Fiancé

Using a unique 90 Day Fiance visa, overseas fiances will travel to the US to live with their partners for the first time. Each couple will have just 90 days to decide to get married or send their international mate home.

Release Date

January 12, 2014

Cast

Natalie Podiakova , Mike Youngquist , Azan Tefou , Yara Zaya , Jovi Dufren

Main Genre

Reality

Seasons

10

The 90 Day Fiancé Franchise Built Its Reputation off of Tumultuous Relationships

The 90 Day Fiancé series has been on air since 2014 and the franchise started pumping out spin-offs in 2016. The series had an interesting and unique premise. It was distinctive enough from the other love reality shows out at the time, like Married at First Sight, but close enough that fans of one would most likely enjoy the other. The stars like Paola and Annie Suwan were just the right combination of passionate and snarky, but not abusive or distasteful. In the earlier seasons, the connection and love between couples like Loren and Alexei Brovarnik was more obvious. Additionally, the added complicated layer of the K-1 visas, intercultural love stories, American immigration, and the potential for green card scammers kept fans hooked and begging for more. But then something within the franchise shifted. Over time, more tumultuous couples, like Gino Palazzolo and Jasmine, seemed more entertaining than their other tame counterparts. While the love between stars like Anna Campisi and Mursel Mistanoglu was obviously authentic — and they had their fair share of drama — their storyline also grew boring.

A storyline about a couple bonding over bees is not as interesting as other love stories, especially compared to stars like Angela and Michael. Within the first season of their appearance, it was clear that Angela and Michael were different. Angela’s tough personality made it such that she wouldn’t take disrespect from anyone, including Michael. This also meant she would do anything possible to express her feelings when she felt disrespected, like throwing cake in Michael’s face or screaming at him in public. The same could be said for Jasmine and Gino. The first time they appeared on-screen, Jasmine wasn’t afraid to showcase her unhinged personality as she shrieked and wailed at Gino for violating her privacy after he sent her nudes to his ex. The hissy fit didn’t end there as Jasmine then threw the gifted toothbrush outside and packed her belongings. Although these storylines were initially entertaining, it became difficult from an outside perspective to discern which actions were amped up for production or which were true to themselves. Either way, though, the franchise was clearly cashing in on the tumultuous stars and their riotous actions.

The TLC Franchise Highlighted Abusive Behaviors That Increased Over Time

There’s no denying that the beginning stages of Jasmine and Angela were entertaining beyond oblivion. Angela and Jasmine are extraordinary people who march to the beat of their own drum. No one else in the franchise is like them and their relationships differ from the others in the series. Angela and Jasmine are both known for being emotional, jealous, aggressive, and condescending. In the beginning, though, their antics didn’t seem too bad. Their actions could’ve easily been argued and explained away by the production and prompted story arcs. However, as time has gone on, the way they treat their partners has become an issue. At The Tell All this year, Angela chased Michael up the stairs, got in his face, and screamed and yelled at him to back away from her. Their last segment on 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? resulted in a surprise visit to Nigeria where an outraged Angela would destroy his car. The same goes for Jasmine.

At first, Jasmine was entertaining and seemed like a heartbroken woman who struggled occasionally to express herself. However, her behavior has also gotten worse over the years. Jasmine intentionally embarrassed Gino, especially in front of his family over and over. She resorted to screaming and name-calling anytime he said something she didn’t like. And just like Angela, she employed double standards. While it was okay for her to be friends with her exes, Gino couldn’t even look at another woman. Over time, the behavior that started as entertaining became frightening. The actions only got worse and more aggressive. There was a line and it was crossed. For years, the franchise has showcased abusive and manipulative relationships on air and portrayed them as if they were acceptable. Subtly, they’ve set a standard and acted as if these relationships were appropriate and acceptable. Now there’s more of a chance for viewers to become confused and think that’s behavior they could accept.

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The New ’90 Day Fiancé’ Changes Are Not Much Better

After years of riotous and abusive relationships, the TLC 90 Day Fiancé franchise finally heard the prayers of its viewers, or so it seems anyway. The two biggest franchise complaints were the repetitive storylines and the recasting of abusive stars, and it looks like the franchise aims to fix those problems by changing its casting techniques. For instance, The recent release of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 6 only recasted two couples: Shekinah Garner and Sarper Güven and Dempsey Wilkinson and Statler Riley. While they definitely had their fair share of drama — like Shekinah learning to accept Sarper’s sexual history — their relationship wasn’t as turbulent as, say, Jasmine and Gino’s marriage.

Additionally, 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days Season 7 is set to air after the Happily Ever After? Season 8 Tell All ends, and it’s implementing one major change: a whole new cast. However, these changes in the cast might not be big enough, especially since the new stars still resemble some of the past cast members. Take Meitalia and James Solis from The Other Way, for instance. Their relationship closely resembles Gino’s and Jasmine’s. Meitalia is equally emotional and likely to have a meltdown. James is petrified of his wife like Gino is of Jasmine, and he also has the same annoying lying habit. Plus, Meitalia struggled to adapt to America, just like Jasmine. Although they’ve been married for a few years, after a few seasons on the show, they might follow down a similar path to Gino and Jasmine.

In the end, the TLC franchise has done a lot of damage. What may seem like innocent and entertaining TV may actually be staining the minds of the viewers. As fans watch their favorite stars act out, they may engage in the same behavior while simultaneously excusing their actions since they are following their role models. While the opposite can be argued and fans are more than aware of what’s acceptable behavior, there’s also a difference between an entertaining performance and disturbing conduct. Angela, Jasmine, Anfisa, and other similar stars may have just been playing up their actions for TV, but they stained the show’s image enough that even some of the most loyal fans are looking elsewhere, like Forbidden Love, for their intercultural love stories. The show can certainly implement changes and hope to regain its viewership back, but if it resembles anything like Big Ed Brown’s perfunctory attempts at couples therapy, the damage might be far too gone.

90 Day Fiancé and its spin-off series air on TLC, and are available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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