The 90 Day Fiancé franchise is filled with commanding personalities, which has led fans to believe that some cast members boss their partners around unfairly. The past eight years of franchise content has aired many domineering cast members who like to manage relationships. Unfortunately, this has led to accusations that some 90 Day Fiancé stars are controlled by their partners.
There are several factors that contribute to viewers believing cast members are involved in controlling relationships. There are many forms of power imbalance in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise. Some cast members are significantly older than their spouses and can take on an authoritarian role when navigating their relationships. Other times, the American partner feels that they can control the foreign spouse since their status in the United States is dependent on their relationship. Such situations have caused controversy among viewers.
While age gaps and countries of origin can contribute to controlling behavior among 90 Day Fiancé cast members, there are plenty of cast members with strong personalities from all walks of life. In a number of instances, viewers have accused American males of being whipped by their foreign female partners, who seemingly force the men to change to adapt to their way of life. Overall, there have been many claims of a variety of 90 Day Fiancé cast members having to deal with forceful partners in the hit TLC franchise.
Nikki Shoemaker
Nikki Shoemaker is one of the 90 Day Fiancé cast members who has most been accused of being controlled. Many franchise fans were disturbed by Nikki's relationship with Mark Shoemaker, as the Filipina woman was just 19 when she joined the 58-year-old American father in the United States. All four of Mark's children were older than Nikki, which left many 90 Day Fiancé fans deeply uncomfortable with their marriage. Mark made things worse by chastising Nikki and treating her like a child. It appeared obvious that Mark ran his relationship with Nikki, as he was vocal about criticizing her behavior and dictating his expectations for how she should act.
Corey Rathgeber
Corey Rathgeber is another franchise cast member who is the submissive person in his relationship. Corey's relationship with Evelin Villegas has always been controlled by the Ecuadorian woman. Evelin bosses Corey around, decides when they should break up and reunite, and completely runs their relationship. When Evelin breaks up with Corey, she enjoys seeing other men. However, she was tearful when she discovered that Corey dated a woman while they were separated. Evelin even forced Corey to keep quiet about their marriage so that she could decide if she truly wanted to stay married. 90 Day Fiancé fans have considered that perhaps Corey likes being humiliated by his domineering partner.
Russ Mayfield
Much has changed since Russ and Paola Mayfield first entered the franchise. Russ was initially the conservative partner with the high-paying job who tried to stop Paola's modeling career due to the revealing outfits she had to wear. However, Paola completely flipped the script to run the relationship. Russ quit his high-paying job to follow Paola to Miami. He then embraced her risqué lifestyle and supported her stripping down into tiny outfits online. Many franchise fans believe that the marriage between Russ and Paola completely changed Russ' personality and led to Paola controlling Russ and their relationship since she is far more dominant than the Oklahoma man.
Brandon Gibbs
Brandon Gibbs is another 90 Day Fiancé franchise man who appears to let his partner call the shots in their relationship. At first, Julia Trubkina came across sympathetically to franchise fans before viewers realized she had misled them about the reality of her life in the United States. Brandon appeared content to remain on his family farm and one day inherit the property. However, city girl Julia demanded a different life from Brandon after clashing with his parents and not adjusting well to small-town life. Brandon's parents then voiced their concerns that Julia was running the relationship. Brandon agreed to Julia's demands and left his family farm to pursue a more independent life with his new wife.
Biniyam Shibre
Biniyam Shibre and his partner Ariela Weinberg, stars of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, have aired a rocky relationship in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise. Biniyam and Ariela do not appear to be a well-matched couple, while Biniyam's family is highly concerned that Ariela controls the Ethiopian man. After voicing that she didn't like Biniyam's lifestyle, Ariela had him move away from his family and friends to join her in the United States with their son. Ariela is prone to throwing fits when she doesn't get her way, and the American woman likes to control things and have her needs met above all else. This has earned Ariela much criticism from franchise fans.
Gino Palazzolo
Gino Palazzolo experienced a dramatic relationship with Jasmine Pineda on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. Jasmine is one 90 Day Fiancé woman who isn't shy about making her controlling nature known. Jasmine forces Gino to check in with her constantly when they aren't physically together. Even worse, Jasmine makes Gino provide "receipts" and "reports" to prove where he is. Jasmine infamously got upset when Gino wanted to tip a waitress and threw a fit when Gino wanted to keep a wall color that his ex-wife had selected. Jasmine has demonstrated that she is one of the most controlling franchise cast members of all time. However, she doesn't appear apologetic about her over-the-top behavior.
Patrick Mendes
Patrick Mendes appears to be the latest 90 Day Fiancé cast member to be in a controlling relationship. Like Jasmine, Patrick's partner, Thaís Ramone, expects to always track her partner's whereabouts. Thaís monitors Patrick constantly via a location app and gets upset when he is at a bar or spending too much time with his brother, whom she dislikes. Thaís has only just begun airing her relationship in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, but many viewers have noted that she shows major red flags for being controlling and domineering.