There were lots of ups and downs for 90 Day Fiancé franchise cast members this year, and for some, 2021 was difficult to get through. These stars will be glad to start fresh in 2022, and though some fans will argue they brought some of those hardships on themselves, it was still a tough year.
In 2021, many cast members had a great year with a lot of high points. There were engagements, weddings, new babies, and more in the franchise this year. However, not all of the franchise’s stars had such a fortuitous 2021.
These cast members experienced rough times this year, and there are many reasons why 2021 was exceptionally hard on them. But luckily for these stars, the year is almost over, and they’ll get the opportunity to have a better year in 2022.
Michael Jessen
The pandemic hit Michael and his family hard, and things didn’t get any better in 2021. Earlier in the year, Michael expressed his dissatisfaction with the franchise, calling it “trashy,” and it seems like there’s some serious bad blood between him and TLC. Everything went downhill from there, and amid rumors that his finances were in trouble, he shocked fans with the announcement that his wife Juliana Custodio had left him just before their second wedding anniversary. Juliana is expecting her first child with a new man, and there’s a lot of suspicion that she was cheating on Michael. To make it through the rest of the year, Michael has been focused on his kids from a previous marriage, and he’s probably ready for 2021 to be over.
Andrew Kenton
Andrew was the punching bag of 90 Day Fiancé season 8, and fans near-unanimously named him a franchise villain. This year Andrew has gotten far more criticism than any of his season 8 castmates, and it seems to have impacted him a lot. After his season aired, Andrew burned bridges with TLC and rallied against the show for being staged and fake. Andrew had some high points this year, and has been celebrating his 135-pound weight loss. However, he also experienced a health scare recently with his heart. The year 2021 was a mixed bag for Andrew, but he certainly had a bad experience with the franchise, and his reality TV debut probably wasn’t what he expected.
Nicole Nafziger
Nicole’s relationship with Azan Tefou was in trouble for a while, but it wasn’t until this year that Nicole finally confirmed that they have split. Though it’s unclear when the couple actually broke up, it must have been hard on Nicole, since she was so hesitant to reveal the truth. There are also signs that Nicole has been having significant financial trouble this year, because she has been posting a lot of misleading clickbait on her Instagram account. Nicole has gotten serious backlash from fans for the way she’s tried to profit off the franchise, and she may want to use 2022 as an opportunity to start over.
Geoffrey Paschel
There have been assault charges for an attack on an ex-girlfriend against Geoffrey for a while, and his court date was pushed back several times because of the pandemic. But late this year, Geoffrey was finally found guilty and convicted of his crimes. His sentencing has been delayed until early 2022, but until then he’ll be in prison. Geoffrey could be looking at up to 20 years behind bars, though he won’t know exactly how long for a few more months. Geoffrey’s fiancée Varya Malina is his biggest supporter, despite Geoffrey's violent past, but fans have completely turned their backs on him. Geoffrey may not get a fresh start for a few decades.
Stephanie Davison
Stephanie had a truly awful year, though many fans would argue that most of it was her own fault. Her time on season 8 went horribly, and despite claiming it was all scripted, Stephanie got a lot of backlash from viewers for her behavior. Stephanie also says that her ex-boyfriend Ryan Carr sexually assaulted her and production did nothing, but she still gets a lot of hate from fans. Stephanie’s beloved cat Cooper also passed away this year, and it was a hard blow for the season 8 star. She got additional criticism in 2021 for claiming that her med spa’s wellness shots could cure COVID-19, and was even told by the Michigan District Attorney to retract her statements or face legal action.
Evelyn Cormier
Towards the end of 2021, Evelyn revealed that she and husband David Vázquez Zermeño have broken up. Evelyn claims David was emotionally abusive and that there was absolutely zero passion in their relationship. Although David disputes those claims, it would actually line up with what viewers saw of him in season 5. The breakup news wasn’t too surprising to fans who already doubted the longevity of her marriage, but Evelyn is deeply religious. The decision to separate must have been hard for her, which indicates that this year was really bad to push Evelyn to that point.
Emily Larina
Emily had a heartbreaking 2021 that was difficult from the start, because she and husband Sasha Larin were unable to secure visas for Sasha’s parents to move to America. So Sasha and Emily made the tough decision to uproot their lives and move back to Russia with their son Davidik. But there was more that happened this year that tested Emily’s strength. Emily revealed this summer that she and Sasha had been trying to have another baby, but she suffered a devastating miscarriage. The loss was certainly a big blow to Emily, who, while resilient, had to go through a lot in 2021.
These 90 Day Fiancé franchise stars had a very difficult year. There was a lot that life (and fans) threw their way in 2021, but thankfully 2022 is right around the corner. Most of these cast members surely have high hopes that next year will be better.