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How much do 90 Day Fiance couples make?

Jovi Dufren Yara Zaya
90 Day Fiancé stars Jovi Dufren and Yara Zara are paid much lower than other reality television stars. Pic credit: TLC

Stars of the popular TLC series 90 Day Fiance may not make as much money as you think they do.

The stars of the series, whose premise follows couples who have applied for or received a K-1 visa, available uniquely to foreign fiances of U.S. citizens. They then have 90 days to marry each other or the visa expires.

The salaries on the fan-favorite series are pretty low considering how much other reality stars make per episode.

Per Radar Online, it depends on which show you appear on whether or not you make more money.

“Before the 90 Days makes $500 to $1,000 per episode,” a source told Radar. “90 Day Fiance pays their cast members $1,000 to $1,500 per episode. Salaries increase for those who appear on 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? but not that much.”

For a tell-all episode, cast members reportedly are paid $2,500.

The source also explained that foreigners “can’t even get paid because they have to wait for a work permit. It’s of course different if filming takes place in their county.”

What is the pay scale of the 90 Day Fiance cast compared to other reality television shows?

The website The Things revealed that there are many disparities in the pay scale for reality television stars depending on what network the show is aired on as well as the series popularity.

The contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race receive $400 each per episode, and the winner walks away with the grand prize of $100,000.

Big Brother contestants get paid $1,000 per week. Vanderpump Rules stars are roughly paid around $10,000 per episode while Jax Taylor makes $25,000 for each installment of the Bravo series.

Dancing with the Stars celebrity contestants get a signing paycheck of $125,000. Payday starts at $10,000 for the first two episodes and every two after that, their salary goes up to $10K per episode. If they appear in the semifinals and finale, they get a $50K payout.

What about bigger name shows such as The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, and Real Housewives?

The Bachelor and Bachelorette leads can reportedly earn upwards of $100K for the season. The women or men who are competitors do not get paid for their time on the show. Their payday comes afterward in popularity and endorsements plus a possible engagement if they are the winner.

When Jersey Shore made its 2009 debut, the cast was paid in gift cards. As the show grew in popularity, cast members were making $30,000 each per episode. During the show’s sixth and final season in 2012, the cast was paid around $150,000 each episode. It is believed that is the salary they command per episode for the rebooted Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

The Real Housewives are paid upon their popularity and their money is earned in a salary per season. Ramona Singer was the lowest-paid housewife in 2020 with a salary of $500,000 per season. Nene Leakes was the highest paid, raking in $2.75 million per season.

90 Day Fiancé airs Sundays at 8/7c on TLC.

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