Ben Rathbun of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days addressed people calling him a “predator” for pursuing a relationship with his 22-year-old love interest Mahogany Roca.
This season on Before the 90 Days, viewers met Ben and Mahogany and off the bat, there were some red flags.
Many viewers were convinced Mahogany was a catfish and/or a paid actress hired by TLC and were confused by her hot and cold behavior towards Ben.
But more shocking to many 90 Day Fiance viewers was Ben and Mahogany’s gaping age difference. Ben is 52, putting a 28-year age gap between himself and Mahogany.
Ben Rathbun from 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days addresses being called a ‘predator’
However, according to Ben, dating a much-younger woman doesn’t make him a predator.
“There’s no one in this world that loves Mahogany more than her dad and so all of the viewers out there that are so concerned for her and think that I’m a predator coming after a young girl, trust me when I say the dad cares more about the situation than anyone from the outside,” Ben shared with ET.
Ben added, “So, if he sees that I am very, very healthy — which is, I find myself the exception and I’m sure that’s probably rationalizing what I’m doing so I’ll give you that — but I am incredibly healthy.”
“I take care of my body and it’s a huge priority and I want to live for a very long time and I want to live in the best health that I can,” Ben continued.
Mahogany’s age was never an issue for Ben
According to Ben, age is just a number. “So I think every case is individual,” Ben shared. “It’s not about the age to me. I met someone whose heart and whose soul is just so beautiful and someone that I can just connect with on such a different level that I just didn’t want to let that go.”
90 Day Fiance fans called out Ben for dating someone so much younger than himself early in the season when they discovered their 28-year age gap. He’s dated women in their 20s and 30s, which many 90 Day Fiance fans find troubling since his own children are close in age to some of his girlfriends. But Ben doesn’t see it that way.
“But even that’s not that big a deal to me as for the age of my kids because I don’t look at it that way,” Ben said. “She’s a completely separate adult and it doesn’t matter to me if my kids are that age, it’s just something that caught me off guard. I had to think about it for a minute.”
“But this has become so much more than age, so much more than, you know, our differences. The things we’ve been really focusing on are our commonalities,” Ben added. “And so far those outweigh our differences. And she is so mature and wise and intelligent, that I haven’t really felt that difference.”
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days airs on Sundays at 8/7c on TLC and Discovery+.