Shaeeda Sween caught some heat from viewers after a conversation with Bilal’s kids in the latest period; however, the Trinidadian native recently added some clarity to her reasons for wanting her future step kids to call her Umi.
The term Umi means “mother” and the two kids seemed uncomfortable when Shaeeda suggested that they refer to her as such.
However, Shaeeda recently spoke out on social media and explained that Umi is used in her culture as a sign of respect.
Shaeeda Sween clarifies her recent conversation with Bilal’s kids
Shaeeda’s introduction to the U.S has been rocky but here’s hoping things will settle down with time. After being the butt of a cruel prank by Bilal– as a test to see if she was after his wealth– Shaeeda then had to meet his mom and sister.
Things went well with her future in-laws, no thanks to Bilal. He threw Shaeeda under the bus by telling them how she behaved after spending a night in his dilapidated childhood home.
However, the most nerve-racking moment for the 90 Day Fiance star was meeting Bilal’s two kids, and things got a little awkward at one point.
While the kids seemed to like Shaeeda, there was one thing that they were not comfortable with. She wants them to call her Umi– a term that means “mother” in her culture, but the kids later voiced that they didn’t know how to feel about that.
However, Shaeeda shared a post on her Instagram story to explain the term.
“To clarify that there has been no force nor manipulation when it comes to my title. I am not that type of person,” she wrote. “I was only expressing my cultural difference.”
Shaeeda noted that in her Islamic culture “We don’t call adults by their first name, we always address them with a title– especially those who are a motherly figure.”
Shaeeda Sween explains her reason for wanting the kids to call her Umi
The 90 Day Fiance star continued to speak about the term Umi after asking Bilal’s kids to call her by that title.
Shaeeda explained that the title is used for mother figures such as moms, mothers-in-law, elders, and bonus moms.
“We say aunty or sister or Umi or Umm,” noted Shaeeda. “We do the same for men… it’s a cultural difference.”
After sharing the post on her Instagram page the 37-year-old also added a poll so that others in her culture could vote on whether they agree or disagree. However, she hasn’t shared the results of the poll just yet.
Meanwhile, do you think Shaeeda went overboard by asking the kids to call her Umi?
90 Day Fiance airs on Sundays at 8/7c on TLC and Discovery+.
She haven’t been around his kids long enough for them to call her mother
So what if it’s YOUR culture, you haven’t been around long enough, besides you need to learn OUR CULTURE! When there’s stepchildren in the picture, they call you whatever is comfortable for THEM, and IF AND WHEN THEY feel they want to call you “mom” that’s totally up to them. Stop trying to shame them into calling you something that has to be EARNED in America. You’re lucky they don’t call you the entitled, materialistic selfish female that you are!!!!