’90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’ Season 2 Premiere: Family First (RECAP)

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 2 premiere of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way .]

The hit series is back for a second season, with new couples making the move for love. From Ethiopia to Jordan, India to Mexico, six Americans are leaving their families to move abroad. Let’s meet the first batch of couples, including expectant mothers, proud fathers, and rebellious daughters.

Yazan & Brittany

The first cast member we meet is 24-year-old Yazan, who lives in Jordan. He met his Florida-based fiancée Brittany only five months ago. Already Yazan is expecting a cultural shift for her once she arrives in Jordan.

Cut to 26-year-old Brittany filming a music video in Palm Beach, Florida. A self-described Barbie and “seven-layer cake,” the outgoing Brittany works as a model and rapper. She recounts her dating history and explains why she usually goes for men 45 and older. “The braces definitely work in my favor,” she says with a smile. The oldest person she’s ever dated was around 83 years old.

Yazan is definitely not a typical suitor for her. While he has a mechanical engineering degree, he works for his father’s fish market and doesn’t have the same level of wealth as Brittany’s past beaus. Regardless, she is “super, super in love with him.” They first saw one another through FaceTime in Chicago, since both their sisters lived in the same apartment building. After four weeks of talking, Yazan sent Brittany money to travel to Jordan so they could meet in-person. She was there only for a week before he proposed.

Brittany springs the news of her move to her father, Gregory. “No, no, that doesn’t fly with me, I’m sorry,” her dad replies, with only a week’s notice for her departure. “You’ve been to Jordan but you still don’t know Jordan. Have you thought about that?”

Brittany admits to being worried about the Muslim laws and culture but says this is really the only way they can be together right now.

Jenny & Sumit

One of the most beloved couples from Season 1 returns for yet another chance at marriage. The 61-year old Jenny moved from Palm Springs, California last season to be with her love Sumit in India. They met originally via social media eight years ago, and he had essentially catfished her, using different photos and saying he lived in England.

Jenny still loved him though and left everything to move to India to be with him. However, after arriving there, she quickly learned Sumit was secretly in an arranged marriage. The Season 1 finale concluded with Jenny moving back to California as her visa had expired.

As she recaps her relationship now, she begins to cry. “I forgave him. He never wanted to be with his wife in the first place. It wasn’t his choice,” Jenny explains.

It’s been five months since she moved back to California, but she’s now returning once again to India to see if Sumit has gotten a divorce. “He’s proven to me that he wants to be with me. I am the one that he loves,” she continues.

Jenny tells her daughter, Christina, and her wife, Jen, about her plans to go back to India. Christina stresses that Jenny should see the divorce paperwork before traveling. “I’m hoping that third time’s a charm. I’m hoping that this is it,” Jenny pleads.

Kenneth & Armando

Kenneth, a 57-year old St. Petersburg, Florida resident, is introduced while cooking for his children and grandson. He has a son and triplet daughters, all in their 20s.

Kenneth explains that he left his native Toledo, Ohio for Florida to find himself. He came out as gay at age 19. He always wanted to be a father, but in the 1980s and 1990s, in-vitro fertilization options were only offered to married couples. So, Kenneth and his friend posed as a couple and had four children together within four years.

“The whole time with raising my children, I had two different long-term relationships but they didn’t last,” Kenneth explains. Now, he’s moving to Mexico in two weeks to be with the love of his life: 31-year-old Armando. They met on a social media page support group for gay fathers, and Armando has a six-year-old daughter.

“I’m ready to go to be with Armando. I’m ready to be with my love. The time is now,” Kenneth glows. He’s selling his house and moving to Mexico so they can be together. “It’s a done deal, and I’m confident in it.”

Speedy Marriage

Brittany calls Yazan to check in. She immediately tells him that she most likely will not convert to Islam but then sidesteps to complimenting his beard. “I’m such an independent person. I have my own thoughts and feelings, and I don’t want to go by any book telling me what to do,” she says about her views on religion in a confessional.

She asks Yazan about their living arrangements once she arrives, and he explains they cannot live together if they’re not married. He assures her they can get married “a couple days” after she arrives. Brittany says definitely no; she wants her family to be there, too.

Ariela & Biniyam

Princeton, New Jersey native Ariela works as a freelance writer and helps with her father’s cardiology practice. The 28-year old already has experience with the K-1 visa process: She moved to Argentina at age 17 after a vacation, met her husband there, and brought him back to the U.S. to marry him. They were wed for 10 years but separated for the last three. The couple divorced last year.

Ariela traveled to Ethiopia and met her current fiancé, 29-year old dance and choreographer Biniyam. “I desperately did not want a boyfriend at the time I met Biniyam because I didn’t want the responsibility of being in a relationship,” she explains. “I did my best to avoid him….but every time I would call him again and ask him, ‘oh, can you come over?'”

After dating for three months, Ariela realized she was unexpectedly pregnant. She’s currently six months pregnant with a baby boy and returned to the U.S. for prenatal care. However, she’s going back to Ethiopia to have the baby and permanently live there.

Family Farewells

Kenneth goes for a walk with his daughter Madison and grandson Cooper. “I’ve never lived apart from them all of their lives,” Kenneth says emotionally. Madison asks how gay-friendly Mexico is, and Kenneth explains Armando’s parents haven’t accepted his sexuality and don’t even know about their relationship.

“It’s a roll of the dice,” he admits. “Hopefully they will have open hearts and accept us. All you can do is hope.”

“You’re literally leaving everything. You’re leaving your entire family,” Madison cries. “I just don’t want you to leave….It’s like you’re abandoning us.”

Kenneth starts tearing up too and acknowledges that it will be hard. He says he feels guilty, but Madison clarifies that she just wants her dad to be happy. “No matter what, I’m always there,” he says as they hug.

Hold the Phone

Without Sumit, Jenny calls her life in the U.S. “sad and lonely.” The best part of her day is FaceTiming him. She flies back to India in one week, and he says that he’s already found a house for them.

“No more hiding, no more lying. Nothing but truth from you,” Jenny says to Sumit.

“I got my lesson from all my experience,” he states. He also explains that his divorce is still in the works. He apparently previously told Jenny the divorce would only take two months, but Sumit is now saying six months total. His wife is claiming physical abuse and neglect, so it’s complicated the process of a mutual divorce.

“I can’t keep doing this. I’m going to need to see proof that you’re getting a divorce,” Jenny stresses. “This time I need to know that we’re going to get married.”

Sumit says they will finally be together, “happy forever.” He also promises that his parents know Jenny is coming back. She asks for him to get his parents right now so she can confirm that. However, his parents refuse to talk to her. “I never said that they accept our relationship,” he says.

Armando’s Story

Armando is shown working in his hometown of San Felipe, Mexico. He owns a pet resort that does dog boarding and daycare. His sister works as the groomer, and the business is located on the same property where his parents live.

Armando plays with six-year-old daughter Hannah and says that his first relationship was with her mother. “Even though at a very young age I knew I was gay, given the macho culture I was from and living in Mexico, I wanted to have a relationship with a woman and I thought this was the only way that possibly these feelings would go away, and I could be a man,” he heartbreakingly explains.

He was married to Hannah’s mother for eight years before coming out to her. His ex told his mother, and he says he was “pushed back in the closet” and hasn’t discussed his sexuality since. Armando separated from his wife, and only a few months later, she was killed in a car accident. “She was my best friend,” he mourns.

After connecting with Kenny on a fathers’ support group page, Armando finally met him in-person. “Kenny and I have a 26-year age difference. Many people might see that as something weird but I think that makes our relationship unique, different, and special,” he explains. His family is unaware of Kenneth’s existence though. He told his parents that the reality show is a documentary about life in Mexico.

Armando and Kenneth will move four hours from Armando’s family in San Felipe and already have found a house there. Now Armando just needs to tell his parents.

Brace for Baby

Ariela and her mother go for a check-up. She’s due Christmas Day, and Ariela asks her doctor for advice on the medical care in Ethiopia. It’s clear that her decision is ill-advised. “God forbid you need to have a C-section,” her doctor warns. He asks about blood transfusions and potential complications for her delivery.

Ariela’s mother is planning on traveling with her to Ethiopia to oversee everything. “It’s very scary to me…that they don’t have the right care. That’s something I worry about,” her mother, who is an emergency and trauma nurse, says.

Sumit’s Situation

Sumit lives in Delhi, India, and says the day Jenny left to go back to the U.S. was the hardest day of his life. We see him playing cricket with his friends, most of whom have already met Jenny. He tells them she’s coming back, and they say that “trouble is also returning.”

Sumit explains that he’s already filed for divorce and hopes that it is mutual. He has to pay his ex-wife $20,000 for his in-laws to agree to a separation. Sumit’s parents are helping him pay the debt. His friends ask about Jenny’s age and if he will ever want children. Sumit confirms Jenny is the woman for him regardless.

Speedier Divorce

Brittany meets with a lawyer presumably to address moving abroad…wait, what?! Brittany is already married?!

“I married my ex five years ago and it didn’t work out how I thought it would. And right now he’s not playing nice at all. He’s giving me a really hard time,” she explains. Three months after their split, her ex-husband was taken by ICE and deported back to Haiti.

“To be honest with you, I forgot I was married,” she tells the attorney. She had a toxic relationship with her ex and didn’t know he wasn’t a citizen when she married him. Brittany hopes that she can have a speedy divorce before traveling to Jordan to be with Yazan. Apparently the process could take up to 11 months, but Yazan and his family think the divorce is final already. No wonder Brittany is trying to hold off on marrying him.

Risking It All

Jenny also seeks out a financial advisor to discuss her move back to India and applying for Social Security benefits. She has explained Sumit’s secret marriage, and her advisor’s reaction is exactly as expected: shock, disdain, and ultimately laughter.

“If I was Jenny, there’s no way I would be going back to Sumit or India with all the lies that have transpired so far,” he tells the camera.

Sumit currently is not working, and Jenny potentially could be supporting their relationship with her Social Security. “I know I’m taking a big risk applying for my Social Security early but right now I don’t have any other income. It’s kind of a last resort but it’s my only option,” she solemnly explains.

Coming to Terms

Back in Mexico, Armando makes the tough decision to tell his family everything. “Kenny is sacrificing his whole life to be with me. I only consider it right for me to come out to my family and do what I have to do,” he states.

He asks his sister to revisit the conversation they had about four years prior. She apparently had told him originally that he was a “sinner” for being homosexual, and Armando cries again just at the memory of the pain he has been through. “I would really like you to support me,” he pleads with his sister.

She also cries, saying it’s hard for her to accept it and because Armando was married to a woman, he “played with their minds.” Overall, she now says she understands and asks for Armando’s forgiveness. He accepts, telling her that he’s leaving in two weeks to live with Kenneth.

“I’m feeling very sad because he’s my only brother. He’s a second dad for my kids. I’m a mom for Hannah, and it’s hard taking him away from me because we’re always together,” she says to the camera. They say they love each other and hug.

“I will always be there for you and your daughter. You know that,” she cries into him.

“It was very touching to know I have her support, but I’m really scared because now I have to talk to my parents,” Armando says. The episode ends with the siblings embracing.

Next week we’ll meet the rest of the couples and continue their journeys to be with loved ones!

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Mondays, 9/8c, TLC