The often hilarious but mostly messy TLC reality show 90 Day Fiancé has seen multiple couples across its eight editions and several spin-offs. However, while navigating the complicated storylines of these dramatic pairs, one often hears the word “manipulator” thrown around in arguments. While some of the cast may come across as saintly throughout their screen time, Internet sleuths often dig up damning dirt. On other occasions, it’s just manipulation that gets a 90 Day Fiancé couple its credibility. But who do fans think are the most manipulative 90 Day Fiancé cast members of all time?
Although the concept of 90 Day Fiancé may have been one that leads to an in-love couple in a long-distant relationship to the aisle, what makes fans reach for the popcorn is the drama and the constant fights. And what causes these tussles, is money, mistaken promises, and manipulation. Which of the cast members have been most skilled at playing mind-blowing mind games with their 90 Day Fiancé partners? If Colt Johnson and Anfisa Nava top the list, there are many more that come close.
Colt Johnson
If bait and switch have a face, some may say that it’s 90 Day Fiancé season 6 star Colt Johnson. It was after getting his Brazilian fiancé Larissa Lima to America to marry her that Colt actually told her about his squalid living conditions. With no option of leaving, Larissa then shared the Las Vegas house with Colt and his mom Debbie, until the domestic violence allegations came into play. But even after tricking and divorcing Larissa, Colt continued his manipulative tricks by dating Jess Caroline, who he called a “summer fling” while cheating on her with his best friend Vanessa on the side. But has Colt mended his ways yet? Perhaps 90 Day: The Single Life will tell.
Anfisa Nava
While Anfisa Arkhipchenko and Jorge Nava are 90 Day Fiancé history now, fans will never forget her openly declaring that she was getting married to him for money. “More shoes, more bags, I want a car,” Anfisa demanded from Jorge who had promised her he’d give her anything she wants to make her happy. The Russian girl’s screaming matches with Jorge became just as infamous as her red bag, and surprisingly her manipulative ways made Jorge once claim, “Anfisa is very controlling, she likes to be bossy, and I kinda like that.” However, after Jorge’s jail time and him getting a new baby mama, Anfisa revealed she was joking on 90 Day Fiancé and living up to the “Russian stereotype.”
Jesse Meester
Although Darcey Silva may have dated thrice before finding her Bulgarian prince charming in Georgi Rusev, her first-ever 90 Day Fiancé romance with Jesse will never be forgotten. Jesse, 18 years younger than Darcey, has been called out by fans for being controlling, emotionally abusive, and a master manipulator plenty of times. Some TLC viewers believe that smooth-talker Jesse used his charm to play mind games with Darcey, oftentimes making her look “crazy” while he was belittling and destroying her self-worth at the same time. But with Darcey having finally found “the one” in Georgi, she won’t have to worry about Jesse coming back, or not cutting her meat on a bias anyone.
Brandon Gibbs
The newer breed of stars on 90 Day Fiancé also had accusations of manipulations against them, including Virginia’s farmer boy Brandon. TLC viewers claim that Brandon played Julia Trubkina when he brought her to his farm and expected her to switch her city-slicker lifestyle and give feeding pigs a try. Although Brandon’s parents Ron and Betty are the villains of season 8 for many fans, they’ve also noticed their son throwing Julia under the bus plenty of times. The 90 Day Fiancé star not defending his future wife, never taking accountability, and also claiming, “Julia wants me to do this,” gave Brandon a bad rep. However, Brandon also rubbed fans the wrong way during the recent pregnancy scare episode when he blamed Julia for not using birth control, suggesting it was her “mistake.”
Lisa 'BabyGirl' Hamme
As Lisa dated Nigerian musician Usman “Sojaboy” Umar on 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days season 4, fans saw her seething with jealousy every time the “wannabe player” got female attention. Usman’s friends worried that Lisa’s manipulation, which included her asking to replace the model in his music video with herself, would be the end of his career. In addition, fans couldn’t help but point out that Lisa always found a way to deflect and minimize Usman’s feelings by using a heady mix of guilt-tripping and lies. As expected, the 90 Day Fiancé couple’s relationship went up in flames after they got married, with Lisa being accused of using a racial slur on Usman while also calling him a “scammer.”
Mike Youngquist
Season 8 star Mike was the proverbial Mr. Nice Guy of the franchise as Natalie Mordovtseva threw away his ring, made fun of his “low class,” his IQ, his food habits, and his French toast. But the tables soon turned on the 90 Day Fiancé husband when Mike showed his true colors on TLC by claiming he didn’t love Natalie and also refused to admit they were engaged. Some fans have reached the theory that Mike may be with Natalie just for the TLC check, considering he had a huge debt of $30k to pay off. But Mike’s passive-aggressiveness with Natalie, who had uprooted her life in Ukraine and left an elderly mother behind to be with him while he refuses to give back her ring, is a sign of him being a classic manipulator. C ould it be that Mike had turned over a new leaf after reportedly getting married to Natalie?
Mark Shoemaker
Perhaps one of the biggest mysteries of 90 Day Fiancé is fans wondering what happened to Mark and Nikki Shoemaker once they left the show. With the couple not really being social media savvy, not a lot of information about Mark and Nikki is available online. But what makes certain fans more concerned is the controlling way in which Mark, 58, behaved with Nikki, 19, who was a year younger than his daughter. Be it Mark not allowing Nikki to touch his car’s windows, or arm twisting her into signing a prenup that she didn’t understand, to even making sure she wasn’t insistent on wanting children, this former 90 Day Fiancé star showed classic signs of being a reality TV manipulator.