Mahogany Roca from 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days season 5 is in a relationship with Ben Rathbun, and she's a real person, but she's also a catfish. While it's true that Mahogany isn’t just another man from Nigeria who has scammed Ben by talking about higher love and unresolved trauma and taking money from him, there are issues. She has been engaging with 90 Day Fiancé fans on Instagram and Facebook, very much like any other cast member from the season. However, the 24-year-old Peruvian woman Mahogany that 52-year-old Ben is dating on the show doesn’t really exist in real life.
The ongoing 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days 2022 edition features a lot of interesting couples, such as Gino Palazzolo and Jasmine Pineda, or Ella Johnson and Johnny. Their storylines have fans glued to the Internet, searching for clues about their current relationship status. However, there were multiple fan theories about Ben and Mahogany even before they were introduced much later, during episode 6. Some called out Mahogany for being a catfish, just based on the teasers and trailers, which don’t feature her at all. Others bluntly called Ben a serial killer due to his “creepy” looks. While Ben presented fans with eight detailed reasons why he’s not a murderer, Mahogany also confirmed that she will show up on 90 Day Fiancé soon to set the record straight.
Mahogany's Facebook Photos Raise Questions
For starters, Mahogany was discovered by fans on Facebook, when she wrote that she agreed to be on 90 Day Fiancé “to share a dramatic story to watch.” She asked fans to “keep looking” and said that they “will be surprised.” She also asked fans to not “judge until the end,” but some couldn’t help it when they saw Mahogany without the filters and edits on her mother’s Facebook page. Redditor u/ichbinphoenix found a few photos of Mahogany, which showed her at a family Christmas celebration, at a beach, and with her siblings. The pictures seemed to have been taken in 2019-2020. The OP commented, “So things that check out: Lives in San Bartolo (Peru), her name (biggest shocker! LOL), deeply religious background, relatively old posts referring to her. What does not check out are the realness of those pictures she sent to Ben…”
Is Mahogany Overusing Photo Filters?
This appears to be the same woman whose picture TLC is using as a promotional portrait, and it was first revealed when the 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days couples were announced in publications, such as EW, in October. However, what’s making her look different in the photos that Ben is proudly showing off to his friends and family is photo editing. While social media greenhorn Ben thinks that Mahogany has a “really good camera,” what his daughter Joy and 90 Day Fiancé fans understand is that Mahogany is using filters, and some fans think that this is a form of catfishing. This is something that Rebecca Parrott from 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days season 3 was also called out for doing when she admitted that she’d never been on a video call with now-husband Zied Hakimi without having a filter on her face.
What makes Mahogany from 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days seem suspicious is the fact that she’s never even done video calls with Ben because she’s “shy.” Also, the fact that Mahogany is claiming that she’s 22 and not 24 is a red flag. As fans continue to get secondhand embarrassment for Ben, they can’t help wondering how he didn’t see these tagged photos of Mahogany on her Facebook when he was talking to her there for three months. Something about Ben and Mahogany’s storyline still doesn’t seem to add up. Fans expect a David Murphey-Lana reveal to tie up the loose ends so they can once and for all decide if the plot is fake or real.
Sources: Mahogany Roca/Facebook, u/ichbinphoenix