The Prestige TV Podcast - The Beginner's Guide to '90 Day Fiancé'

Episode Date: January 5, 2021

Amelia Wedemeyer guides Kate Halliwell through the world of '90 Day Fiancé,' including the spinoffs and the show's most iconic couples. Hosts: Amelia Wedemeyer and Kate Halliwell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subsquare! Woo! This is Sinjin's first time in the States. It's real now. It's reality. There's so much to figure out in 90 days. I'm so exciting for this. I'm excited too. I am going to be Sasha's third wife, and this is his third child with another woman.

But we're going to last. A lot of people may think I'm an old sleazy rich guy going after a beautiful young model from Brazil. Ninety-nine six. Your birth year. Who's that, Braceland? Annie. Annie and I only spent eight hours together in the Dominican Republic. Right then and there, I asked her to marry me.

And welcome to a new episode of TV Contcierge. My name is Amelia Weddemire. I have Kate Hallowell here. And today, I am going to try to convince her to watch one of my favorite shows. And I'm sure maybe one of your favorite shows, too, who's listening? 90-day fiancé. Are you so excited? I'm so excited.

This is one of my mom's favorite shows. Not like all time, not like, you know, Sopranos shit, but this is the one that she like stops and watches if she's like, you know, scrolling through channels. I know you and she have bonded over it. We have. And I just feel a little left out and that's why I'm here. I just want to be included. And, yeah, I have an allergy to reality TV as Amelia knows, as T-Time listeners know.

But, you know, I think that my big. problem is like I find things very cringy and I just physically like cringe away and can't watch. And as you've told me, this is like, we'll get into it more, but this is a very cringy reality TV show. So I think it's going to be like, you know how like, you know, if your kid can't swim, you have to toss them in the deep end. You're afraid of spiders, you got to like, you know, hold a spider. It's going to be like, I think this is what I may be what I need to break into the world of reality TV. I think you same because we're going to talk about the show itself and all the spin-offs.

There are like 13 spinoffs, which is kind of amazing. And the most iconic couples. And I think you're so online, and I mean that in a good way, because it is a good thing, that you need to pay attention to 90-day fiancé. It's part of the zeitgeist. People everywhere are watching it. Celebrities are watching it. You know, I'm watching it.

Your mom's watching it. People love the show. Everybody. Yeah, it's TLC's like number one franchise, you know? Someone compared it to like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And I was like, yeah, exactly. That's exactly what it is. 90-day fiancé cinematic years.

I love that. Honestly, I care a lot about being up with the memes, being up with the kids. So, yeah, I'm not going to say I'm in. I need you to convince me, but I'm listening. Okay, great. Perfect. Well, first, we're just going to start with a brief overview of the original series, which is 90-day fiancé.

Quick shout out to Jordan Liggins and Alicia. Tenoian who both told me, they were like, you need to watch the show. And I was like, yeah, maybe. Back in the day when we used to sit at a desk together. Right. They were like, have I got a show for you? And I was like, oh, okay, maybe. And they were right. They're 100% correct because this show is chaotic. It follows couples, one of whom is an American and the other is a foreigner. And they're engaged and in the process of getting married within the 90 days that are allotted for the K-1 fiancé visa, which means, like, from the moment,

the foreign party steps on U.S. soil, they have to get married within the 90 days starting from then, or they get freaking deported back to their home country. Wow. Okay. I did not know that. I, like, vaguely knew the premise had to do something with, like, a green card, but I did not know.

Okay. Right. So do these people know each other ahead of time? Yes, they do. They usually, so it's usually like they are engaged already. And so this is the 90 days that they get from their engagement to like, you know, get settled in America, meet everyone and pretty much have a wedding. It's quick. Yeah.

And, you know, keep in mind, though, that these people, for a hearty portion of them, they've only visited each other a handful of times. so they don't really know what it's like to live with the other person for long periods of time. So that is the main, like, crux of the show. That's where all the drama comes from. And, you know, there's a lot of experiences like culture shock and difference in cultural norms that come into play. Sometimes they find out secrets about each other, you know, longstanding secrets that maybe the brother knows or the mother knows and it's hinted throughout. then they finally reveal it and it's like, yikes. Oh, no.

Yeah. And then there's always like an introduction to like the suspicious friends and family members who are there to usually like question the foreign person. Right. Why are you really here? Are you here for a green card? And so they're usually like a large part of the conflict. The conflict. Yeah.

So it's fun to meet them too. I love meeting them. I have no doubt that it is. Yeah, exactly. And what's great also that I love about 90-day fiancé versus something like The Bachelor. It's that it usually revolves around five or so couples every season. So there's really never a dull moment. There's never a dull date, you know, just random women on these multiple dates.

You know, that gets to be kind of a hassle. It's like, okay, can we fast forward? No, this is, this show does a good job of really, just cutting the fat and getting into it. And we're already given the drama. And, you know, because what isn't dramatic about, you know, your new fiancé from a different country coming in, only having 90 days. So, and also another big part of 90-day fiancé is, is the couples themselves. The show does a great job of kind of vacillating between likable, like, star-crossed couples. I know your mom likes Alexi and Lauren.

Who are those people? Because yeah, you and my mom both love them. They're like the golden child of this series. She's from Israel and she's from like Florida. And they're just, they both are so normal. They're of the same age. They met, I think I want to say she might have met him on birthright or something. Or they met abroad and they fell in love and they're both sweet and nice people, very

stable people. So like an actual real like true couple among the crazies. Like exactly. Like they are star crossed and just in love and they're sweet. They're great people. But then there's also a lot of train wreck delusional couples on this show. A lot of times it's like younger men and older women and then some dumb men on apps. You know. Oh yeah. Of course. Hell yeah. So okay. Anyway, so we need to talk about it. We need to talk about the show's spin-offs. Which I don't know if your mom likes the spinoff. She probably does because honestly, sometimes it's better than... She's a woman of taste.

I'm sure she does. She's a woman of taste. Exactly. And honestly, they are almost better than the actual 90-day fiancé show itself. At least some of them are. How do you spin off the show? Like location? Is it like Survivor Tunisia where it's like...

Oh my God. They all come from the same place. Like, what are we talking here? Well, it usually has to do with like when... their, I guess, being together occurs. So we have spin-offs. Here are the spinoffs that really matter because there's a bunch of shows, but half of the shows are really them, like, reacting to watching themselves on TV. Oh, no, I don't like that. Which is, yeah, it's like, I don't need commentary by a fifth-year-old woman. You know what I mean? The only commentary I need on reality TV is Amelia

Whatamire. No, Rose, all the one. Bachelor Recaps. Well, how my, what a good friend. Okay, so here are the spin-offs that matter. 90-day fiancé happily ever after. And that's a question mark. Okay. So after they get married? Exactly. It follows a couples in their day-to-day lives after they get married.

90-day fiancé before the 90 days. And this is usually when they meet each other for the first time. Like they'll be texting on an app or something. And then they'll be like, yeah, I'm going to go over to Spain and meet Pedro. And we're just going to see how it unfolds there. And it's the most chaotic of the shows because half the time you don't know if these people are getting catfished or what's going on. Oh my God. It's the trash.

That is the trash. It's the trash. It meets the trash. It is. Totally. Yes. And honestly, if you don't like reality TV, you probably won't like this show. So I'm just putting it out there.

Again, like I just got to shock it out of me. You do. That's true. You do. Just cringe my way into a new level of television viewing. I'm so. glad you're so open to this. Wow. I try. You know, I try. And then another one of my favorites is, it's recently new. It's called 90-day fiancé The Other Way. And it's what it is. It sounds exactly

what it is. It's, uh, it follows Americans who move to another country to be with their significant others. So we've got like Mexico's featured India, South Korea, I think maybe Russia, like a bunch of other countries. So that's cool too. But kind of like a travel show. Yeah, a little bit. Travel and love. What's not to enjoy? Okay. So if you had to watch any of these shows, if I, you know,

was pointing something at you and was like, watch it. Yes. Which one would you? I'm pointing a podcast microphone at me. Yeah, exactly. I would say, I feel like I couldn't immediately get into happily ever after because you have to like watch their original run first to really,

to really grasp. But yeah, yeah, you're ready. Yeah. In terms of like pure cringe. value, I think before the 90 days maybe has potential. Also, my roommate used to be addicted to catfish. And so, like, I just threw osmosis, like, just absorbed that. Um, so maybe I would be able to endure that. But I do love a, I love a good, like, exploring other countries situation. Yeah. So maybe 90 day fiancee the other way. I also like that it rhymes three times in the title.

That's satisfying to me. So I, if I, if I had to choose, I think I'd maybe go 90 day the other way. I love that. You know what? I think you would actually like it because it's interesting to see these other countries and other customs and the love stories they feature like this most recent season of the other way featured its first gay couple, which is exciting. And they didn't try to make it really exploitive, which is nice. You know, just like sometimes they make it nice. And it's, I don't know. Yeah, it's, I would say you would probably like that show the best. Also, my brother moved to Scotland to marry this girl. Right.

And so I would like to just like imagine in my head, like him just getting roasted by her family. Oh. And them trying to. I mean, they obviously had met for slightly longer before that all happened. I am like sad that he never got to be on. I know. I think they would have done great on that show. They would have been the next Alexi and Lauren.

Oh. Tyler and Ailey. They would have been just the star couple. That's a perfect name too. Miss opportunity. They miss. being influencers because these people are influencers now. Damn, you're right. They could have been carrying me for years to come. Wow.

Exactly. How dare they? So let's briefly talk about the most iconic couples. And again, you know, these people aren't really glamorous people. Like I was watching, I think, season six of 98 fiancé the other day. And one of the guys was like a four-year-old man from Baraboo, Wisconsin, which nothing against Baraboo, Wisconsin. But like, Baraboo, Like this random balding man from Baraboo, Wisconsin was featured on a show. I love it. Good for you. You know?

Can I ask you before we get into the couples? Yes. Which one? The only person I know from this entire show is the man that looks like his head was smashed into his body by like a huge hammer. And that's the only man that I know. I've seen pictures of him everywhere. And I've been like, who is this strange creature?

And I would love to know who that is. Well, his name is Big Ed. We will get to him. He looks rather small, but... He is like, I think he's not even five feet. Big Ed. Okay, so it's an ironic nickname. Okay, see, I'm learning things.

Yes, but he gave it to himself. He gave it to himself. You have to note that. Yeah, so... But we'll get into him. Okay, great. Can't wait. Same.

I'm so glad you already know. Okay, so there are... So out of all these shows, only really two people have received their own spin-off shows, which is, and personally, they pick the dumbest people to give them to, but the people who managed to wrangle their own shows are Darcy, who she has great crying face. She was featured on before the 90 days because she never got married. She just had these, like, boy toys from, like, Europe.

And her twin sister, Stacey, who is also really into foreign men. And I guess now they have their own spin-off. It's pretty boring. I've seen an episode and I was like, next. But she's delusional, which I enjoy. Okay, always fun, I guess. Yeah. And then we also have Chantal and Pedro of the family Chantal, which what a high class name.

Sure. Yeah. And I think Pedro was from, I don't remember exact. I think it was like maybe like the Dominican Republic. And, you know, everything went fine. I mean, they're dramatic because they're really young. But then we get to meet her family. And I think why it's called the family Chantel is because her family is also deranged.

And so it's focusing on them too. So they're both from toxic families. And TLC is going to exploit it to get some of that sweet, sweet cash. What I'm hearing is that if my brother had gone on the show, I could have a Riyadh TV show. Exactly. It's what I'm hearing from this. Exactly. Oh, it hurts.

You missed your chance. I really did. I feel for you, you know? And then, okay, so a couple people that you really root for, we already talked about Alexi and Lauren, you know, mom, when you said that your mom loved them the most, I was like, oh my God, that is such a mom thing because my mom doesn't watch the show, but I have friends who have mothers who watch it with them. And they were saying, like, everyone always says, Alexie and Lauren are their mom's favorites because they're so normal. Yeah, they're so normal. They're so sweet. I think they just had a baby. They're just, I know. And they come from loving families. It's, oh, God. They're great. Like, how many of these couples actually, like, get married and are successful?

A decent amount, I think. Okay. So not, like, Bachelor success rate, like higher than that. Yeah, the success rate is actually better than The Bachelor. But also, the show, you know, 90 days. The Bachelor is, like 60 days, which is interesting to point out, you know, it is. That's crazy to think about. I know, right?

And then I also root for a couple My deranged OTP Kalani and Asuelu I know he's too young for her And he has a lot to learn But he's this Samoan guy She met at a resort And they've got like her family

Who doesn't want her to be with him Because her dad is Simone And he's like, I don't want you to be with my kind Which is like a little outdated Weird take but okay But they've made it He's come to America they have two kids, very cute children.

I just love them. And he has some funny lines and his family's deranged as well. I've been using deranged a lot this episode. And like his sister tried to fight his wife, Kalani, his wife. And like the elderly mother was able to hold her back. So it's like, all right, she's not that threatening. They're in. That's all it takes for Amelia Wademeyer, baby.

Exactly. Exactly. But I love, I've been like in such desperate need of their love. that I've resorted to go into their YouTube page, which hasn't been updated in seven months, but like I've watched. Are they on social media? They are. I follow them both on Instagram.

Okay. That's good. That's good. And I hardly ever do stuff like that. So, you know, it means a lot. It means something. Yeah. When I, you know, yeah, follow them.

And then also, this is, if you're going to take anything away from this episode of TV concierge, these are the people that you have probably seen their faces. You've seen their memes, like Big Ed. And, you know, you're going to need to know who they are if you want to have any context in what you're meaming. Yes, this is what I care about. Just the internet lingo. Exactly. Okay.

So first off, we have Angela and Michael. And they are from the seasons two and three of 90 day fiancé before the 90 days. So you know, they're a chaotic couple. I think she's like broken up with him on the reunion multiple times. They're from season seven of 90 day fiancé. and season five happily ever after. Did you Google them? Do you know?

I've seen them on your Instagram story. Yes. She's like this, I think she's like 54 from Georgia and Michael's a 30-year-old man from Nigeria. And, you know, it's just their love story is all the complexities that come into play with what I just said of them.

Honestly, they look like a great hang. I have to tell you, they're beaming in all of these pictures. He's wearing this sick purple suit in their wedding pictures. I just, what more do you want? It's pretty great. She has like an undercut of some sort.

Yes. I know. And I think she's dropped a lot of weight recently too, which good for her. Good for her, you know? And they are intro, they, I think they like Donald Trump, but we don't even have to be into that. Well, no one's perfect. That's true. But one of their main things revolves around, their main storyline revolves around them wanting

her to get pregnant, even though she is a 54-year-old woman and has not gotten her period in years. And there's like this one scene where she like thinks she got her period. And she's like, I've been bleeding. And the doctor's like, that's an ovarian cyst. We need to get that looked at right now. Oh, God. I don't know if I can watch this show.

Yeah. And then she asks her daughter, she's like, can I have your egg? I can tote it for you. Oh, my God. She calls being pregnant toting it. So that's exciting. Yeah. Special.

It's special. It's special. We also have, in this. same vein of couples, because it's an older white woman with a younger Nigerian man. We have Lisa and Usman, and they are from season four of Before the 90 Days. So again, another chaotic couple. And he is like a pop star in Nigeria, and he wrote a song for her. And it's like, Baby Girl Lisa.

And people love that. They love Baby Girl Lisa. I love that. It's pretty amazing. The song actually is very catchy, so I don't hate it. But Lisa is also just like, you're local talent. And she's like, yeah. So they get into a fight over that.

But everyone is like, baby girl Lisa. Like that's just, if you know, you know. I would be honored to have a song written like that about me. You know what? Same. And then we also have Colt and Larissa. And I think Larissa is from Brazil, I want to say. And Colt is from Nevada.

And he's so famous that Seth Rogan tweeted something out when, you, Nevada was coming in with the election results. It all comes down to Colty and his mother. And their whole thing, yeah, their whole thing, and they both have, a lot of these people now have only fans to make more money. And actually, the show fired Larissa, though, because she was getting nude on her only plans, which is like, what else are you doing there?

Wow. Yeah. And Colt is just, he loves cats. He was like, one time I had 15 cats at one. at one time, literally one time. And he sends dick pics to a lot of women. And Larissa's just, she's insane too. And she calls him Colty.

And he has his mom, Debbie, who you might have seen, who is just, they have a very strange relationship. They're attached at the hip. It's unhealthy. Wow. Are they still together? No. No, no. They got divorced.

She's moved on. So is he. Wow. Yeah. All right. Great. And then we also have Paul and Corini. And they're actually, they're cute.

They're deranged, but they're cute. I think I've heard of these ones. I'm sure you have. Paul is just, I don't even know how to explain Paul. He's like 36, has never been able to hold down a full-time job. And he met Carini, I think, on an app. And she lives in Brazil. And they've been going back and forth, back and forth.

like they were featured on before the 90 days, season one and two, season one of the other way and season five of Happily Ever After. So they're like all-star status. Wow. He's just awkward. You've probably seen he has really bright blue eyes and I don't know. His face is very memeable. They also.

He looks very punchable if I'm being honest. No, totally. Yes. And they, he can't speak Portuguese and she can't speak English. So they communicate through an app all the time. So there's like kind of that element too where it's like a computer reading what they're saying all the time to each other.

And they, you know, they're married. I cannot believe this show is real. It's pretty, you need to like watch it to really believe it. And then finally, I'm sorry, finally, I'm sure some of you listening are like, okay. We have who you mentioned before, Big Ed and Rosemary. Oh, God. It's the man who looks like an egg.

There's a meme of him. him with crying where he's like, like he's holding in his breath. And people love using that meme. And he is toxic. I'm just going to put that out there. Like, he's funny, but he's toxic. He looks,

I just can't get over the structural makeup of his body. Not to like body shame anyone. I just don't know where his neck is. No, literally no neck. It literally is like, he looks like a Pixar character of some sort. Like he has like a Pixar character. have human proportions. Again, like, I respect him as much as I can. But I don't know what's happening there. And I cannot imagine crossing an ocean to marry this man. It's, uh, yeah. So he was

featured on before the 90 days. And, you know, spoiler alert, Rosemary dumps him or he might dump her. Well, they, they break up because he accuses her of something. He accuses her of He was like really mean to her and like... She's so cute. She's very cute. And I don't, I don't even, I mean, I won't even get into it. But like he's very funny. Yeah, there's a lot of drama.

Like he's, like you said, he's an interesting looking guy. So he's very memeable. And it's just like, big head. Okay. And he's, he's also delusional. He does this thing where he puts out like a mayonnaise egg mask on his head. And people thought that was hilarious. He's selling his own merch now.

It's just. You know, this guy has a plan. The natural progression of reality TV started. Right. Yes, exactly. So, yeah, so those are the couples. Do you like any of them? Are you feeling any of them?

I'm going to have to look in Alexi and Lauren so that my mom will talk to me and love me again. Other than that, I have been Googling them as you've been saying them. Yeah. I will see if I can watch an episode of this. I'm curious about them. I have to tell you, these are a type of people that I just don't quite understand. And I may need to try. I think you need to try to.

Just satisfy my curiosity in this world. I think so too. So, wow. Okay, well, that was really fun. Thank you all for listening to TV concierge. I'm Amelia Wedemeyer. This is Kate Hallwell. You can listen to us every Friday on tea time.

And, you know, for the people listening, we are doing another, we're doing a reality TV cringe mode. I won't say anymore. We are. But it's very excited. It's going to be quite a week for me, so stay tuned. Will she be alive after this? I don't know, but we'll find out. Wait and see.

Yeah. So, okay, thank you.