90 Day Fiancé is one of the guiltiest of pleasures in the world of reality television. As most of us watch the show, we try to picture exactly how we would deal if we were in the same position as the cast members. For those of you who haven't seen the TLC Docu-Series, 90 Day Fiancé follows multiple couples who have applied for or even received a K-1 visa, which is available to foreign fiancés of American citizens. The visa gives the couple 90 days to get married before the visa of the foreign half of the couple expires.
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The show has followed some of the most interesting pairs that we've seen across all of reality TV, and while some of them have worked out for the best, some have not. Just like real life, though, the reality television stars have their fair share of ups and downs. Unlike most of us, their downs tend to get a little more press than the average person. Some of that press happens to focus on their financial trouble, with quite a few cast members needing to use GoFundMe to ease their troubles. Below, we take a look at which cast members have started a GoFundMe page.
Danielle Jbali
The holidays can be tough on a lot of us, and last year's holiday season caught up with this Season 2 cast member. Danielle Jbali stated that her main job got cut back to 20 hours per week in late 2018, and although she was able to get a second job, she was still having trouble making ends meet. Being behind on her rent, one of Danielle's friends set up a GoFundMe for the reality star, and while it didn't reach the goal she originally set, the $658 it raised, along with some other help from fans of the show, was enough to pull Danielle's family through the darkness.
On her Facebook page, Danielle sent this message out to her fans:
“I want to thank everyone who donated to the GoFundMe Opens a New Window. that was set up by a friend. It showed me that there are people who care and do it out of the kindness of their heart. It really helped and I was able to pay what was behind with my money and paid what was due for December. I started my new job this past Wednesday so that will help. I also would like to thank everyone who as ordered cameos and autographs from me because that money has helped too. I want to say thank you to all my supporters, family and friends throughout the last four years and I hope you continue to follow me.”
Steven Frend and Olga Koshimbetova
Steven and Olga recently set up a GoFundMe page for Child Expenses. The couple looks to set up their life in America together as Olga completes her K-1 visa process. Steven said he is currently in a four-year apprenticeship to become a Fire Sprinkler Installer. His current salary of $16/hr isn't enough, as he stated that they face hardships as "Olga will be unable to work for an extensive period of time" and he just landed this job opportunity. As he also stated on the GoFundMe page, "Desperate times call for desperate measures," and the campaign was able to raise almost $6,000 of the $15,000 goal they had set.
Paul Staehle and Karine Martins
Cast members Paul Staehle and Karine Martins have had their fair share of public ups and downs, but in order to send his fiancé home to Brazil for the holidays, Paul set up a GoFundMe campaign back in early 2018. While the fundraiser has been since deleted, this is what it originally stated (per In Touch Weekly):
"Money is for round-trip travel for Karine to go to Tonantins to visit her family for Christmas and be able to buy them all gifts. Anyone that knows Karine knows she has a heart of pure gold and her family is her number one priority. Spending of any funds from here will be documented via self-took pictures and self-made videos. This is for travel from Manaus to Tonantins. This is not for international travel. Any money over travel costs Karine will use for gifts. The gift shopping, travel, and exchanging of gifts and family Christmas will all be self-documented with self-produced videos and pictures."
Larissa Dos Santos Lima and Colt Johnson
This situation is a little bit different from the previous GoFundMe campaigns because it was only set up by Larissa Dos Santos Lima, but still involves her husband Colt Johnson by proxy. Dos Santos Lima actually set up the fundraiser after stating that she needed money to hire three lawyers. She said she needed an immigration attorney, a defense attorney to fight a domestic violence charge and an attorney for her divorce from her estranged husband. While the campaign was raising hundreds of dollars for her, it was ultimately taken down by GoFundMe, and all of the money was returned to those who donated. No reason was given for the removal of the campaign.
Jay Smith
We met Jay Smith in Season 6 with his wife Ashley Martson. Over the past couple of months, there has been some drama surrounding the couple which ultimately led to Jay setting up the fundraiser to help him get on his feet and a place to stay after his apparent split from his wife. He was seeking to raise $5,000, but since then, the campaign has been deleted by either him or GoFundMe.
Ashley, on the other hand, did take to her Instagram page to share a separate GoFundMe page that was looking to raise $50,000 to send her husband back to Jamaica. In the IG post, she said that it was a fake page, and she wasn't the one who set it up. She continued...
“This is NOT my go fund me... however, if you would like to send me money I have no issue sending you my Venmo... And this is what we call a ‘JOKE’ but if you insist and continue to bash me for asking for money (because you can’t read) then here you go!”