Michigan man Ben Rathbun explained why he thinks he’s been “set up” by his Peru girlfriend Mahogany Roca on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. 52-year-old Ben was left heartbroken when Mahogany stood him up at the airport in her native country. While fans decided this confirmed Mahogany wasn’t a real person, Ben decided to go directly to the San Bartolo town where she stays with her family. Despite there being multiple signs of Mahogany being a catfish, Ben concluded that there’s only a "three percent chance” Mahogany is a catfish. But what made Ben finally confesses that he’s been a fool in his 90 Day Fiancé relationship?
Divorced father of four Ben found Mahogany thanks to his brief fitness modeling stint. Ben slid into the DMs of 24-year-old Mahogany and continued talking and developing a spiritual connection for three months before deciding to meet. However, when Ben first told Mahogany he was coming to Peru, she claimed her parents weren’t home and that she wanted Ben and them to meet. The second time around, Mahogany asked not to come fearing the consequences of the negative impression Ben had made for him. But nothing was going to stop Ben from seeing his soulmate Mahogany who he wants to make his wife. Not her dad’s warnings, her ghosting, and not even Mahogany’s fake photos with filters.
The 90 Day Fiancé YouTube page shared a video of Ben visiting a restaurant where he’s supposed to finally come face to face with Mahogany. But as expected, the events that unfold after that make Ben ask, “Am I just being set up?” by Mahogany. Before stepping into the restaurant, Ben confesses that he’s not “built her up to be immortal” and that he knows Mahogany is just a person. But Ben is “so deprived of love” that he’s gotten a taste of it and knows that it’s “real and different” than anything he’s ever had before. “Like if she comes, the thought of that I can’t describe.. like seeing the person you love. To be able to actually see them face to face is just like… it’s overwhelming,” former pastor Ben adds wistfully. But as an hour goes by, Ben is frustrated by Mahogany’s tardiness.
Ben admits that he’s starting to lose hope. He feels that there is a chance his friends and family were right about Mahogany pretending to be someone she’s not. Ben thinks there’s a chance Mahogany is not even in Peru, as he asks, “Am I’m going to look like a fool?” As one viewer told Ben in the comments, “Anyone with eyes: You already do.” It’s too late for Ben to be thinking how he comes across to 90 Day Fiancé fans watching him and Mahogany get the David Murphey and Lana treatment. “The guy's story is like watching David over again. These stupid men will never learn,” said a fan who thinks Ben should find someone his own age.
TLC viewers just cannot seem to feel bad for desperate Ben and have no empathy for someone who’d leave his kids behind to “chase an imaginary person.” Plus, Ben is pursuing a woman who’s almost as old as his eldest kid even when Mahogany’s father is apprehensive about them meeting. At this point on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, Ben should have realized that Mahogany is a catfish. Perhaps he probably even has but just wants to keep digging deeper just so he could prove his pessimistic friends and family wrong. Besides, Mahogany is certainly real as she keeps proving on her Instagram and Facebook. So it could be that all Mahogany did was harmlessly flirt with Ben making him feel that she’s good enough to marry.
Source: 90 Day Fiancé/YouTube