[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for 90 Day Fiancé Season 9 Episode 11, “How to Marry a Stripper.”]
Though it’s not wrapped up in a neat little bow, Season 9 of 90 Day Fiancé is a weekly gift, a transcontinental reality soap opera to unwrap as a respite from actual relationships (or a lack thereof). Episode 11 is the first of the summer, and the show is definitely heating up! While we’re waiting for some “I dos,” here’s what’s happening with our seven couples.
Yve and Mohamed
After taking a breather from Yve and Mohamed in Episode 10, we pick up their story with 73 days to wed. It hasn’t been going well, largely because Yve, a 48-year-old mother from Albuquerque, doesn’t want to convert to Islam. Being a Muslim is very important to Mohamed, who is 25 and moved to New Mexico from Egypt. He also supposedly gave Yve his virginity and is looking for someone to take care of him like his mother did.
Yve thinks it’d be good for them to go to the gym to release stress and reconnect romantically, but that turns out to be a very bad idea indeed. As they’re walking on tandem treadmills, she brings up the idea of having another baby. She has a son named Tharan, who is 12 and has special needs.
“Yve was raised with too much freedom,” Mohamed says in an interview. “I don’t think she is going to be a good behavior for my child.”
Mohamed doesn’t seem to allow for the possibility that he may end up with a daughter. He tells Yve he will take his child to the mosque with him, and he plans to teach him about Islam until he is old enough to decide for himself.
“My child, you can’t get him confused about his religion,” Mohamed says to Yve. “If my child will not be a Muslim, I prefer not to have a child.”
Yve looks like she needs several hugs, so let’s all send her some telepathically.
Emily and Kobe
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With 27 days to wed, Emily and Kobe finally go shopping for a bed that will be big enough for the couple and their son to all sleep in together. Kobe has been relegated to a separate bedroom, and he’s thrilled that this is going to change soon.
Kobe goes ring shopping with Emily’s father David and sister Madeline — he’s still unaware that Emily bought herself a backup diamond ring just in case he failed to upgrade the ring he bought her on the street in China. Kobe came to the United States with $4,000, and he decides to spend more than a quarter of it on the new ring.
“You can change somebody’s life in Cameroon for that,” he says of the money.
Kobe takes Emily to a sushi bar slash steakhouse and has the server put the ring in a glass of champagne. Emily is thrilled with the new ring and doesn’t say anything about the backup one. They both agree that they’re going to have sex all night long.
However, that’s not to be after Emily confesses to Kobe in front of her parents that she bought a ring, whipping out the box. Kobe is deeply hurt and won’t open the box. Instead, he hands it to Emily’s father and goes to bed alone.
Jibri and Miona
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Cheyne, Jibri’s badass lesbian grandmother, comes over for dinner. Jibri’s mom Mahala tells her mother-in-law that she’s concerned about Jibri and Miona getting married, and Cheyne jokes that there shouldn’t be any knives on the table.
As soon as the family sits down to eat, Mahala stirs the invisible pot, and Jibri expresses his frustration that Miona won’t budge on her dream of having a beach wedding, which is something they can’t do in South Dakota. Jibri calls Miona an “entitled millennial” who wants everything instantly, straight out of the microwave. Miona looks sad, but keeps her composure — and her perfect makeup stays intact.
Kara and Guillermo
Episode 11 is a sad one for Kara and Guillermo, but some tough family circumstances allow us to have a glimpse inside how close they actually are as a couple. With just 35 days to wed, Guillermo shares that one of his brothers in the Dominican Republic, José Joaquin, has renal failure and that it would be one of the worst things imaginable if he dies.
Unfortunately, Guillermo later receives a call at 4 a.m. informing him that José Joaquin has passed away. After weeks of being seen as controlling, we see Kara’s softer side kick in as she consoles Guillermo in his grief. Maybe this couple has more of a chance than we thought?
Bilal and Shaeeda
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As they prepare to leave Bilal’s sister Nefertari’s house in Atlanta, Shaeeda is still preoccupied with the prenup that Bilal sprung on her while on the Ferris wheel. After FaceTiming with her family, she asks Bilal for a clause to be added to the prenup stating that they need to have kids before she turns 40. He asks what she’s talking about and scolds her for zipping up his Louis Vuitton luggage too hard.
It’s a quiet ride to the airport, and Nefertari tries to break the ice between the couple and offers her best wishes for them to get along. Once they arrive at the airport, Bilal walks in front of Shaeeda and doesn’t look back. Shaeeda says in an interview that she expected a fairytale romance and the American dream.
“It hurts me to say this, but I’m not sure anymore,” she adds.
Ariela and Biniyam
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Leandro, Ari’s chummy ex to whom she was married for 10 years, pays the family a visit and resurfaces Bini’s well-established distrust for him. During an Ethiopian New Year’s Eve dinner, Bini feeds Leandro a celebratory tradition back home, with a bite that is way too big.
Ari invites Leandro to come wedding dress shopping with her, which immediately bugs Bini, who doesn’t know that it’s American tradition for the groom-to-be to stay home. Ari’s mom Janice revels in Bini’s discomfort and tells him that Leandro will pick out the wedding bra. Bini seethes in an interview that he wants Leandro out of his life.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Leandro says smugly in a separate solo interview that he’s clearly relishing.
Patrick and Thais
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With 48 days to go before they must get married or Thais has to return to Brazil, Patrick surprises Thais with a trip to Las Vegas, and we learn that he grew up in Sin City. They meet up with Patrick’s brother Matthew and his husband Carlos. Thais casually informs everyone at the table that her father doesn’t know she’s going to get married, which completely stuns Patrick.
In the car, Patrick tells Thais that she needs to let her father know that they’re getting married before they do it. She says she’ll tell him after and that it’s her choice. He says that he won’t let it go. Thais FaceTimes her father from the hotel room and shows off the view, but decides not to ask his permission to get married.
Later, Thais asks Patrick to drive them to a mystery spot, which turns out to be a quickie wedding chapel.
“This is how you marry a stripper,” he tells her, declining her offer to get hitched and call her father right there and then. “You deserve better.”
“I thought this was the best way to make everyone happy,” Thais says in an interview, “but now, I don’t know what to do.”
Next Time
Shaeeda finally sits down with Bilal’s ex-wife, Shahidah, who wants to talk about that prenup. Yve tells Mohamed that they must push their wedding date back, which prompts him to say, “Are you kidding me? I want my green card!”
Meanwhile, Patrick’s brother John argues with Thais, who’s still not telling her father that she’s getting married. Ari takes a pregnancy test under the watchful eye of her ex-husband, and Jibri and Miona argue in matching sweaters. Again?
With just over a month left to get married for most of the couples, crunch time is coming — and some relationships may get chewed up. Stay tuned!
90 Day Fiancé, Sundays, 8/7c, TLC (Streaming, discovery+)