Many head-scratching moments have taken place throughout the 90 Day Fiance franchise that came off to viewers as odd or strange. Sometimes the cast would exhibit weird behavior, or strange situations would arise due to cast action or inaction.
Whether the moments came from unnecessary rudeness, awkward encounters, misunderstandings, or personality quirks, things have come off sometimes as unusual or unsettling to fans.
The very premise of 90 Day Fiance and its spinoffs is a catalyst to produce surprising or unusual scenarios for the cast to react to and be a part of that ultimately generates some quality reality TV.
There have been times when a cast member’s outlandish attitude has negatively affected the people around them to the point where things get out of hand, and the scene becomes memorable for its unexpected turns, or a person becomes memorable for the way they handled something.
The 13 moments on this list capture some of the most strange, unreasonable, astonishing, and bizarre times that have been produced on 90 Day Fiance.
1. Paola Mayfield not wanting anyone to hold the baby
Paola became so overprotective of her newborn son Axel that she took the meaning of the word overprotective to a whole new level by being extremely hesitant about anyone, including Russ, holding the three-week-old baby.
Russ’ mom was eagerly coming to visit Miami to meet and spend time with her grandchild. And before her arrival, Paola made it clear to Russ that his mom would not be holding the baby and that Axel only wanted her.
It was a cringy and awkward scene that defined Paola’s personality and need for control.
2. Fernanda Flores’ date Robby freaking out on her
Fernanda was excitedly dating Robby during Season 1 of The Single Life, but things took a turn when she felt he wasn’t being communicative enough.
She wanted him to text her back right away and be more attentive, so during their date on a boat, when she went to discuss her issues, Robby reacted irately in a very odd display of wayward communication.
Robby took an aggressive tone to Fernanda’s explanations of what she wanted that culminated in Robby exclaiming for Fernanda to “Cut the b******t.”
3. Tania Maduro telling Syngin Colchester that he was not her soul mate
Tania thought it would be good for her and Syngin to see an astrology advisor ahead of their wedding. Still, it ended up being a terrible idea after Tania expressed her true feelings and her thoughts proved detrimental to their relationship.
Tania told the astrologer and Syngin that she didn’t think Syngin was her soulmate, and she felt like her first love was her soulmate.
Needless to say, Syngin was extremely hurt by Tania not thinking they had a soulmate connection and this incident, coupled with Syngin’s realization that he doesn’t want children, ultimately led to their breakup.
4. Stephanie Davison giving Harris $100 when they parted ways
After Stephanie kicked Ryan to the curb in Belize, she shacked up with his cousin Harris for a few days before her departure.
In a very peculiar and cringy scene, Stephanie handed Harris $100 for snacks for his journey back to his house. Harris was obviously confused about the exchange but took the money and left.
5. Paul Staehle running away from Karine Martins into the woods
Paul has been known to literally run away from his problems and the things that cause him anxiety, as was the case when he was trying to explain his arson record to Karine but got overwhelmed and ran into the woods in Brazil.
As a result of Paul’s bizarre move, he almost wound up in a sewage-looking river, and Karine got her phone stolen by a man with a machete.
6. Azan Tefou saying he’s only attracted to Nicole Nafzinger 55% attractive
Azan put his foot in his mouth when he talked about his love and attraction towards Nicole during an interview they gave. His strange admission came after a scene of Nicole attempting to workout out with Azan played, and her health and fitness level came up.
During the interview, Azan gave an astounding profession. He said, “Physically, I am attracted to Nicole, but it’s not like, it’s just like, for example, 55 percent.
Azan’s statement didn’t sit well with Nicole, and she demanded that he agree that he was attracted to her no matter what.
7. Babygirl Lisa Hamme and Usman ‘Sojaboy’ Umar making out in the back seat of Usman’s friend’s car
Usman had his two best friends go with him to the airport to pick up Babygirl Lisa in Nigeria. Once Lisa and Usman got into the backseat while his friends were in the front, Usman and Lisa began to make out with tongue in a shocking and eccentric display.
Their intimate time in the backseat was not only weird for viewers to watch but also a strange experience for Usman’s two friends who were passengers to the makeout.
8. Chantel Everett misunderstanding Pedro’s sister and escalating the situation
Chantel escalated an already tense conversation between her and Pedro’s mom and sister Nicole when she accused Nicole of calling her a bitch even though her Spanish was not the best, and she should have clarified better before popping off.
Nicole agreed that she called Chantel a bitch even though that’s not what she said to perhaps try and get a rise out of Chantel.
The misunderstanding came off as odd and ended up having a lot of negative weight thrown behind it, culminating in Chantel’s famous one-liner she screamed at Nicole, “B****-a** s***-a** w***e.”
9. Yara Zaya kicking out Jovi Dufren’s family during their holiday dinner
During a holiday dinner that Jovi’s mom, brother, and sister-in-law drove three hours to get to, Yara decided she wanted them gone before they even finished eating and were only there for a short time.
She initially implored Jovi to kick his family out at 6 pm, blaming it on their daughter’s sleep schedule, but Jovi refused and told her she was being rude.
So Yara took it upon herself to kick her in-laws out in an astonishingly selfish and unusual scene.
10. Brandon Gibbs’ mom having a bowl of condoms next to Julia Trubkina’s bed
Brandon’s mom wanted to meddle in her son’s sex life with Julia so much that she had a bowl of condoms sitting on Julia’s bedside that she discovered while getting a tour of Brandon’s house by his parents.
This bizarre move came as Brandon’s mom advocated for Julia to get on birth control and ordered them to both stay in separate bedrooms under their roof, so her condom bowl seemed counter-intuitive.
Check out the scene that preceded the condom bowl where Betty called the gynecologist to make an appointment for Julia to get on birth control.
11. Asuelu Pulaa’s long kiss with his mother
When Asuelu greeted his mother after not having seen her for a long time, their interaction immediately took a strange turn. When Asuelu and his mom went in for a hug, it turned into a passionate embrace that included a very long kiss on the lips.
Kalani was embarrassed and off-put by the interaction and even asked him later why he made out with his mom.
12. Ariela Weinberg’s interactions with her ex-husband Leandro in front of Biniyam Shibre
Ariela had some questionable behavior around her ex-husband when he visited her and Biniyam in Ethiopia, and viewers have widely deemed it inappropriate.
The strangest scene was when Leandro held her and Biniyam’s baby for the first time, and Ariela said, in front of Biniyam to Leandro, that he could have had a baby with her but missed out.
After that moment, the conversation and situation spiraled into a remarkably aberrant conversation between Ari and Leandro, with Biniyam watching. Ari went on about how she thought she would still be with Leandro and planned to keep Leandro on the back burner if things didn’t work out between her and Biniyam.
13. Zied wearing Rebecca’s filtered selfie on his shirt when they first met and all of Rebecca’s stuff with Zied’s face on it
Rebecca and Zied have been obsessed with each other to the point where they involved their clothes, blankets, cell phones, and anything else they could print one another’s face on.
Zied famously showed up at the airport to meet Rebecca for the first time wearing a shirt with Rebecca’s highly filtered selfie on it. Rebecca, in turn, appeared through their time on 90 Day Fiance with Zied merchandise or with things that featured both their faces.
It hadn’t been done by other 90 Day couples before, and it still hasn’t since, giving them the award for most creatively strange obsessions with one another.
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way airs Sundays at 8/7c on TLC and Discovery+.