Everyone enjoys a trashy reality TV show. My guilty pleasure has always been TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé” franchise.
Right now, we are at the tail end of season six of “90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After”.
And, boy oh boy, has it been an explosive series with fists thrown around, a catfight or two, breakups and a well-deserved slap, in between.
The drama never ends as couples from different cultural backgrounds embark on a new life together.
But tying the knot is the first hurdle. It’s then about dealing with challenging family dynamics, work and visa issues and, in some cases, geographical distances.
The situation is compounded by partners who are jealous and sometimes stubborn. The age gap adds to the frustration.
This season included the journeys of favourites and some newbies.
And several characters stood out.
Angela, who is not one to mince her words or be subservient to her Nigerian husband Michael, contemplated getting a divorce when he didn’t support her through her weight-loss surgery.
He made a tit of himself when he obsessed over the size of her boobs instead of her health.
Mike and Natalie have been at each other’s throats for the longest time. If ever there was a couple who were completely wrong for each other, it is these two with their never-ending arguments.
I did feel for Mike when Natalie arrived to pack up her things and leave for good. He was broken and speechless.
The other couples hanging on by a thread is Kalani and Asuelu and Tiffany and Ronald, who is from South Africa.
The Samoan way of life has been a thorn in their relationship for the longest time as Kalani is a strong-willed woman with a modern approach to things.
And she doesn’t like being told what to do.
Aside from Asuelu’s mother constantly pestering them for money, which they don’t have, his sister is always gung-ho to beat someone up.
Tiffany and Ronald just need to part ways. They’ve had many heated fights since being on the franchise but this one was particularly GBV-esque scary.
He was at his wits end with her belittling and berating him. And she felt the same way and was ready to walk away from it all.
The latest episode was dramatic as hell. Yoh, Andrei and Libby were once again forced to defend themselves at Chuck’s barbecue.
The intention was for the family to get-together and put aside their differences over Andrei “stealing” their job in the family-owned business.
Charlie, however, wasn’t having any of that kumbaya nonsense and he poked the bear.
Andrei wasted no time in taking him down and the crew and other family members had to step in and break up the fight.
That is something Charlie should be grateful for as he would have gotten the beating of his life. Of course, he didn’t see it that way.
Chuck was in tears over how the entire situation panned out. For once, Libby’s sisters sided with Andrei but everyone left the house bitter and angry.
Of course, the upcoming Tell All specials are not to be missed - that’s when the dirty laundry gets aired and the comments fly fast and loose.
90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After airs on TLC (DStv channel 135) on Thursday at 8pm.