The Untold Truth Of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way

Of the many spinoffs in the 90 Day Fiancé universe, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way offered a new variation that pushed the TLC hit in a whole new direction. The original 90 Day Fiancé chronicles the romantic journeys of foreign men and women involved with American partners who travel to America on a 90-day K-1 visa. The visa allows foreigners to remain in the U.S. — but only if they get married within those 90 days. Premiering in 2019, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way flipped the format by following an American who moved to the homeland of his or her foreign-born love interest.

"As part of our ever-growing, ever-popular 90 Day Fiancé franchise, this new series ups the ante with all the drama, emotions and fish-out-of-water feelings our passionate 90 Day fans crave," said Howard Lee, president and general manager of TLC, in the announcement for the addition to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise. 

Keep reading to find out about the untold truth of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way.

In the original 90 Day Fiancé, the foreign half of the couple visits the United States on a K-1 visa, giving the duo 90 days to either make or break the long-distance relationship they'd been nurturing. The spinoff 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, however, reverses the format by following Americans who travel to the homelands of their significant others, setting aside the lives they've built in the U.S. to be with their spouses-to-be.

As TLC's press release about the show explained, in The Other Way, it's the Americans who are the foreigners in this scenario, struggling to make sense of a new culture while also trying to navigate a relationship that had up until then been predominantly virtual and is now face to face.

Throughout it all, the Americans encounter an array of challenges as they undertake an international relocation, ranging from communication difficulties to trying to impress their often dubious soon-to-be in-laws. As TLC's press release about 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way asked, "Will uprooting their lives in the United States pay off or be the biggest mistake ever?"

The show 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way proved to be yet another hit addition to TLC's wildly successful franchise, resulting in the show being brought back for a second season in 2020. For the show's sophomore outing, only two couples from the first season returned for the second: Jenny and Sumit, and Deavan and Jihoon.

As People reported, joining the returnees were four new couples. There was Yazan, 24, and Brittany, 26, who left her home in Florida to move to Jordan to be with her fiancé, and Kenneth, 57, and Armando, 31, whose 26-year age difference didn't prevent Kenneth from upending his life in the U.S. and moving to Mexico. Melyza, 29, and Tim, 34, are also featured, with the latter relocating to Colombia. And Ariela, 28, and Biniyam, 29, made their 90 Day debut, too, with the latter a native of Ethiopia who was joined in his native land by his new fiancée, who left her home in Princeton, N.J. to start a new life in the African nation. 

The challenges the couples face would be as overwhelming as those experienced by the participants in the original 90 Day Fiancé, but it's the Americans who find themselves with cultural obstacles to overcome, of course.

The first season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way concluded with the couples coming together to share updates on their relationships in the two-part "The Couples Tell All" special. One participant conspicuous by her absence, reported E! News, was Brazilian Karine. Her husband, Paul, appeared solo to film the special.

The reason why she didn't appear apparently became clear when Paul subsequently issued a "cryptic" post on his Instagram Story, as reported by Us Weekly. In the post, a weeping cartoon character (Jerry from Rick and Morty) was accompanied by some text in Portuguese (Martins' native tongue) that, when translated, indicated that she had initiated divorce proceedings in Manaus, Brazil. That was reportedly followed by a brief video clip of the couple's son, with Paul telling the child, "Daddy's gonna miss you."

However, the two seemed to have reconciled later. In another Instagram Story post shared a few months later, which was archived by an Instagram fan account, Paul shared a photo of his wife with a heart drawn around her midsection and the word "baby" above her head, indicating that they're expecting a second child.

Tiffany relocated to South Africa to start a new life with fiancé Ronald, and they appeared together in 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way's "The Couples Tell All" special that ended the first season.

A few months later, the couple had apparently called it quits. As E! News reported, both Ronald and Tiffany issued social media posts announcing they were splitting up. "I wanted to be the first to let you know rather than hiding it and putting on a facade for social media," Tiffany wrote on Instagram Story. Thanking the show's fans for following their journey, she wrote that she and her husband "really love each other" but mysteriously added that "some things are just irreparable."

Meanwhile, E! News also reported that Ronald likewise made an announcement on social media. "Thank you for following our story but unfortunately it just didn't work for me," read Smith's post. "I'll be filing for divorce in [South Africa] since she isn't even registered in USA as married. Talk about adultery." Tiffany denied the cheating allegations and claimed she'd been "taken for granted."

As viewers of the first season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way noticed, the relationship of Laura and Aladin was a problematic one. In addition to their cultural differences, there was also a substantial age gap between the American and her Tunisian husband. When they appeared together in the season-ending "The Couples Tell All" special, as reported by E! News, they candidly discussed the troubles they'd had in their brief marriage, including her dissatisfaction with their sex life. But she declared, "I am not ending the marriage."

That did not wind up being the case. In the spinoff 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined, reported Entertainment Tonight, she revealed she was living in Ecuador and had split from Aladin. He confirmed the breakup, telling In Touch Weekly, "Laura and I separated in late July 2019," adding, "There is no possibility of reconciliation."

However, it didn't take Laura long to move on. In Self-Quarantined, she revealed that she already had a new online boyfriend, a California man named Tony. Her new beau was 25. "We just really connected," she said of her new love interest, gushing that he was "very delicious to look at."

One of the two couples who appeared in the first season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way to be brought back for Season 2, Jenny and partner Sumit had more issues to overcome than their 30-year age difference (when she moved to India to marry him, noted a TLC press release, she was 60 and he was 30). As viewers will recall, her world was rocked when she discovered that Sumit had been keeping a whopper of a secret from her: He was married. Yet when they appeared on "The Couples Tell All" special, reported Us Weekly, they were still together, albeit not physically, with Jenny having returned to the U.S.

In a subsequent interview with TV Insider, Jenny explained that she was able to put Sumit's deception aside. "We never broke up, that never happened," she said. Her return to the U.S., leaving Sumit behind in India, was primarily due to her visa expiring. As for her romance, she insisted that the "relationship never ended," saying, "We never broke up. I knew that he was going to get his divorce so I just went back and waited for that to happen." 

Jenny Slatten is certainly no stranger to the emotional rollercoaster of being in a long-distance relationship with someone on the other side of the world. However, she told TV Insider she was hopeful that her experience on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way would prove inspirational to others in similar relationships by demonstrating that, despite the odds and obstacles to overcome, love actually can conquer all. 

"Long distance relationships can work and they do work," she explained, pointing out that she and Sumit had been together for more than eight years, having first started communicating online back in 2011.

"There is hope," she added. "I share my story with the world and the world sees that it can work and it does work. What they can take away from it is there's hope out there." In fact, she added, other women in similar relationships have reached out to her asking for her sage advice. "I never knew there were so many women out there in these kinds of relationships," she marveled.

Those appearing on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way and other shows sprung from TLC's 90 Day Fiancé franchise can experience a certain degree of fame — but not fortune. 

A source told Radar Online that the couples in 90 Day Fiancé and its spinoffs are typically paid between $1,000 to $1,500 per episode. According to the source, couples who catch on with fans and return in a subsequent season or on one of the other spinoffs can receive a raise. However, the source added, the dollar amount "doesn't go up much more."

However, reports of how much people earn for appearing in the 90 Day Fiancé shows have been all over the map. In an interview with Newsweek, 90 Day Fiancé blogger John Yates claimed that a couple who appears on Before the 90 Days may split $500 an episode, while couples on Happily Ever After receive a lot more, between $2,000 and $7,500 an episode. Meanwhile, Reality Blurb reported that the wife of former 90 Day Fiancé cast member David Toborowsky's friend claimed couples appearing on the original 90 Day series are paid $1,000 an episode, plus an extra $2,500 to appear in the tell-all special.

Television casting sites seek out people in long-distance relationships to appear on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, including such sites as Backstage and AuditionsFree. According to a casting notice on the latter site, producers of The Other Way were "searching for men and women who are currently in a long distance relationship with someone overseas, and are planning to leave everything behind in America to live with their partner in a foreign country."

Potential cast members are also asked if they'd like to share their romantic — and, in the case of this particular show, literal — journeys with viewers. "Are you leaving everything behind for a shot at true love?" read the casting notice.

To be considered, the first step is to fill out an online audition form, in which those hopeful of being cast can share contact info, photos, and, of course, their personal love stories.