The 90 Day Fiancé franchise has highlighted the difficulty that international couples face when they explore serious relationships and try to communicate online. Couples often deal with cultural changes and experience issues regarding values and belief systems. However, the most common obstacle for most couples featured on the show has been communication. Discover which 90 Day Fiancé franchise couples didn’t speak the same language and had to rely on translation apps to facilitate their romance.
The 90 Day Fiancé franchise was first conceived by TLC as a show where Americans had their foreign fiancé join them in the US on a K-1 visa. Overall, these couples have 90 days to tie the knot. Alas, this extended franchise now includes spinoffs that feature couples before the proposal or US citizens who travel to other countries to meet their long-distance partners. While the majority of foreign couples are credited with learning English and taking steps to adapt to their new lives in the US, many American cast members have been slammed for putting no effort into learning their partner’s culture or language.
Moving to a new country is a stressful process, especially since many 90 Day Fiancé couples have just three months to make their relationships marriage official. On the other hand, language barriers do provide a massive obstacle as couples turn to translation apps to covey their feelings and needs. Fortunately, translation apps have made it possible for people from around the world to connect and even fall in love. However, having important conversations solely through translation can be extremely challenging for 90 Day Fiancé couples.
Anna Campisi & Mursel Mistanoglu
Anna Campisi and Mursel Mistanoglu met when the American mother and Turkish man connected online in a bee enthusiast forum. The beekeepers took their romance to the real world on 90 Day Fiancé season 7, but quickly discovered the difficulty of communicating in different languages. Anna spoke only a handful of words in Turkish, which meant she and Mursel had to rely on a translation app to facilitate communication. The couple also relied on very basic syntax to talk, though their shared love of bees and romantic spark was enough to make their romance work. Mursel has settled down in the US and become a stepfather to Anna’s children after overcoming their massive language barrier.
Karine & Paul Staehle
Paul and Karine Staehle have established themselves as one of the most notorious and chaotic franchise couples of all time. They appeared in multiple franchise shows, including 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days and 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? where they chronicled their highly unstable relationship. American Paul met Brazilian Karine after he decided to date outside of America. Paul had a memorably chaotic time in Brazil and had difficulty adapting to the culture. Meeting up with Karine marked his first time leaving the country, and issues were further complicated by the fact that Paul and Karine could only communicate through a translation app. Paul chronicled many memorable blunders in Brazil, including tearing off into the woods and insisting on swimming with a condom for protection.
Jihoon Lee & Deavan Clegg
American Deavan Clegg hasn’t been shy about her obsession with all things Korean. That’s why she didn’t hesitate at the chance to meet up with South Korean man Jihoon Lee after they met on an online dating site on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. Jihoon immediately hit it off with Deavan and she admitted to becoming pregnant with their son after their first sexual encounter. Deavan briefly lived with Jihoon in South Korea, where the couple fought on numerous occasions before Deavan returned to the US. Though Jihoon eventually learned enough English for some communication, translation apps proved to be a major part of their relationship. Jihoon has blamed faulty translations for warping Deavan’s perception of how involved he wanted to be in his son’s life, ultimately revealing the flaws of such a method of communication.
David Murphey & Lana
David Murphey become one of the most notorious names in the franchise after American man made his obsession for Ukrainian women clear on Before The 90 Days. David was obsessed with mysterious Ukrainian beauty Lana who refused to take their online relationship into the real world despite David making several attempts to meet her in Ukraine. David proclaimed that he was done with dating American women and spent a whopping six figures pursuing Lana over many years. However, David failed to do one important thing- learn the language. Despite being obsessed with Ukrainian women and infatuated with Lana, David needed to rely on translation apps to communicate with her. Fans were not surprised that Lana didn’t want to date David after he finally found her.
Corey Rathgeber & Jenny
American man Corey Rathgeber and Ecuadorian woman Evelin Villegas dragged their tumultuous relationship out into The Other Way season 3. The couple, who admitted to severely being married, is currently trying to work through their problems and fidelity issues. Even though Corey has been with Evelin for years and followed her back to Ecuador, his Spanish skills are sorely lacking and the couple communicates in English. Corey was put in a new situation when Evelin dumped him before the current season aired. He traveled to Peru and started a romance with Jenny before he got back together with Evelin. When Corey caught up with Jenny, the couple needed to rely on their phones to facilitate communication. Though Jenny didn’t mind the obstacle and was quick to praise Corey, he ultimately chose to be with Evelin.
Mike & Ximena
Mike and Ximena have not yet made their franchise debut, but the New Yorker and Colombian mother will appear on the upcoming Before The 90 Days season 5. According to the trailers, Mike fell head over heels for the Colombian mother and is shown running away from the camera like Paul once did when she says she doesn’t return his full affections. Mike and Ximena’s chaotic romance is complicated by the fact that they appear to rely on translation apps for major communications. Ximena is shown dropping the bombshell that she lived with a hitman and was locked up by him to Mike via audio translation. Many 90 Day Fiancé fans are already hailing Mike and Ximena as the next Paul and Karine, but viewers will have to stay tuned to see how chaotic their relationship gets.