Months after 90 Day Fiancé fans accused Mahogany Roca of showing her fake house on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, Ben Rathbun revealed what exactly happened. 52-year-old Ben from Michigan met Mahogany from Peru when she sent him a friend request after seeing his shirtless photos. Ben fell in love with Mahogany, whom he thought was 24 years old, but he had yet to video chat with her when he debuted on TLC three months later. Ben’s family and friends insisted Mahogany was a catfish since all photos of her were incredibly filtered.
Still, Ben kept insisting Mahogany was real and even traveled to her hometown of San Bartolo to meet her. Ben made fans uncomfortable, with him constantly texting Mahogany, even though she ghosted him at the airport. When she finally agreed to meet Ben, fans saw how Mahogany didn’t look anything like the girl in the pictures. Moreover, Mahogany was unsure of dating Ben and wanted him to meet her parents, for which she arranged a get-together at her home. The story became even more complicated when Mahogany gave Ben an uncomfortable apartment tour, which had bunk beds, tourist pamphlets and even a surfboard with no décor to indicate she lived there. From what Ben knew, Mahogany stayed with her parents, and her all of a sudden staying in an expensive condo, which he could tell wasn’t her house, made the former pastor extra suspicious.
Mahogany’s apartment was as mysterious as her, but the whole situation wasn’t brought up during the Tell-All when fans expected answers. However, Ben has now cleared up any doubts that 90 Day Fiancé viewers had about Mahogany’s “house.” Ben spoke to TV host, podcaster and comedian Sarah Fraser on The Sarah Fraser Show, where he admitted in a preview clip that while it wasn’t an Airbnb as fans thought, it was still a “rent by the month” apartment. Ben tried to defend Mahogany by adding that she never used the $1,000 she took as a loan from him on the place. According to Ben, wintertime in Peru is when it’s summer in America, and everything is very inexpensive since there aren’t many tourists. It’s also when Ben and Mahogany were filming for the show. Ben explained that there are all these empty apartments that people can rent out for cheap. “So she rents out an apartment, you know, seasonally, and it’s hers,” Ben shared.
However, Mahogany didn't want to move everything or decorate the place because she only planned on staying there for six or seven months. Summertime in Peru is when 90 Day Fiancé cast member Mahogany moves out and goes back to stay with her parents in their house. “So she just happened to be living there,” Ben added. He addressed the fact that fans assumed Mahogany’s apartment wasn’t hers and she was there just “for the week or something.” Ben assured viewers that it was, after all, Mahogany’s home and that she continues to do so by renting it out during the off-season.
When fans saw Mahogany’s apartment on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, they were sure she was a scammer and nothing about her–including her parents–was real. But over time, they realized that Mahogany is just a 22-year-old who likes using filters on social media and was being cautious about giving her real age and address to an older man on the Internet. Besides, some wondered if Mahogany was avoiding revealing her actual house on camera to be broadcast all over the world via a reality show. Some even praised Mahogany for putting her safety first. Now that 90 Day Fiancé celeb Mahogany’s apartment mystery has finally been solved, the only question that remains is if she and Ben are still together.
90 Day Fiancé airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EDT on TLC.
Source: The Sarah Fraser Show/YouTube