After a season of more downs than ups, Mike Youngquist and Natalie Mordovtseva returned for another edition of 90 Day Fiancé. With their long-distance dilemmas, food preferences, baby fever, and cultural clashes, Mike and Natalie gave plenty of reasons for fans to declare they wouldn’t last. But with their continuing story on season eight, there seems to be a glimmer of hope for the TLC twosome, who are about to marry within 90 days. However, fans faced another major bout of confusion when they saw Natalie’s mother calling her “Natasha.”
Those following Mike and Natalie’s journey from season seven of 90 Day Fiancé first saw the couple when the Sequim, WA man flew to Kyiv to meet his fiancé. It being his third visit to Ukraine, Mike was comfortable with Natalie’s mom and she received him with lots of love. But as the season progressed, the couple’s relationship went downhill, with most of their infamous fights happening with Natalie’s mom around. The fact that Mike couldn’t have children due to his $30k debt and that he believed in aliens made Natalie majorly upset. Eventually, she believed he cheated, which made her throw away the engagement ring. But in 90 Day Fiancé season eight, Mike and Natalie have new challenges to face, with her adjusting to his small town and Uncle Bojangles, and even uncomfortably asking for the ring back. However, the last episode also had a tear-jerking moment with Natalie saying goodbye to her mom at the Ukraine airport and the elderly lady telling “Natasha” that everything will be fine.
TLC viewers saw 90 Day Fiancé’s Natalie telling her mom she’s not sure yet if she’s happy about getting married. But since the law allows one 90 days to figure it out, she could always come back if she wants to. “I’m leaving all my life behind,” a tearful Natalie told the cameras, fearing especially for her mother who’ll now have to stay alone. “Of course, she’s happy for me, because every mom wishes happiness for her child,” the 90 Day Fiancé star convinced herself. However, Natalie’s mother also said, “Okay, Natasha. Text me,” as she kissed her goodbye. This left many 90 Day Fiancé fans puzzled about why Natalie’s mom could be addressing her by a different name.
However, Natasha is not really different from the 90 Day Fiancé star’s name: Natalie. In response to the moment, a fan tweeted, “Did Natalie’s mom call her Natasha? I can’t with these lies! Uncle beau isn’t an uncle now Natalie is Natasha,” referring to Mike saying that Uncle Beau is his “cousin.” However, another fan cleared the air. The TLC viewer explained that “Natasha isn’t a lie.” The 90 Day Fiancé viewer added, “It's probably what's known as the diminutive name. In Russian and Ukraine and probably other Slavic languages, the diminutive name (like a nickname), Natasha is the diminutive for Natalie or Natalya.”
As per the internet, “Natalya” is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia, or in this case, 90 Day Fiancé star Natalie. The name Natasha used to be a diminutive form of Natalya and soon became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking states in the late 1800s. While fans may have concluded that it was just another controversy waiting to happen in Mike and Natalie’s lives, it looks like this is a fairly “diminutive” one compared to what’s to come in the future 90 Day Fiancé episodes.
90 Day Fiancé airs Sundays at 8 pm ET on TLC.
Source: @teresa_mccray