The 7 Cringiest ’90 Day Fiancé’ Catfish Love Stories (PHOTOS)
Finding true love online is tricky business. Add an international dating twist, language barriers, and culture clashes, and seeking a partner via technology is near impossible.
Just ask 90 Day: The Single Life star Big Ed Brown. After a nasty split from fiancée Rosemarie Vega on Season 4 of The Other Way, Big Ed is back on the market — but is steering clear from the internet. He claims to have been catfished over 15 times, including with decades-old photos of possible suitors. Yikes!
Unfortunately for some of his fellow 90 Day alums, there are always more catfishes in the sea. Keep scrolling for the top 7 most cringe-worthy catfish love stories on the TLC franchise, and find out which couples actually made it down the aisle.
Rebecca & Zied
While Rebecca is at least a real person, she did deceive Zied. Rebecca notoriously sent heavily filtered selfies to her Tunisian beau, as well as old photos of herself. The couple is famous for having blankets, mugs, and masks with their faces on it, so when Zied picked Rebecca up from the airport in Before the 90 Days, of course he was wearing a T-shirt featuring her pic. The only problem? Even she barely recognized herself! Yet Zied thought Rebecca was even more beautiful in person, and the couple tied the knot during Season 8 of 90 Day Fiancé.
Ricky & Ximena (& Melissa)
Single dad Ricky spent months talking online with Colombian girlfriend Melissa. However, after traveling to meet her, Melissa was at first a no-show…and then ghosted him after meeting once for drinks. Ricky was ready to fly back to the U.S., but a twist of fate (and his player mentality) led him to connect with another online love interest, Ximena. Ultimately Ricky proposed, but Ximena later called it quits after learning about his multiple affairs. Maybe this catfish was deserved!
Narkyia & Olulowo (Season 4)
Status: Married
Narkyia, from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, broke up with Olulowo, from Lagos, Nigeria, before the 90 days ended (but only after Narkyia discovered Olulowo was trying to rekindle his relationship with the mother of his child). They do have a happy ending, though: The couple tied the knot post-show, and they welcomed daughter Nifemi Denise in August 2020.
Jenny & Sumit
Jenny and Sumit seemed like a match made in heaven, but their love started on a lie. Jenny revealed on Season 1 of The Other Way that Sumit originally posed on Facebook as an Englishman in his mid-20s named Michael Jones. “All this time I was talking to Michael, even though I was falling in love with him, he had a secret,” Jenny said. Turns out Michael didn’t exist — and the person behind the lie was Indian tech support analyst Sumit. Sumit later confessed to Jenny about the catfish, and Jenny moved to India — twice — to marry him. While their relationship is going strong, Sumit’s family is holding them back from actually walking down the aisle.
Caesar & Maria
Nail technician Caesar was head over heels for Ukrainian influencer Maria. After sending thousands of dollars to the blonde bombshell, Caesar bought her a plane ticket to meet him in Mexico for a beach vacation. She never showed. Maria reportedly tried to cut ties with Caesar, but during the Tell All reunion episode, Caesar admitted he was still sending her monthly funds. Maria, it turns out, is real, but her interest in Caesar was not. She even went on a date with 90 Day icon Darcey Silva’s ex Jesse Meester. Caesar has moved on, and even shared his romantic pursuits during the pandemic on Self-Quarantined. He’s still looking for younger women on dating apps, but this time he knows to video chat to vet a catfish first!
David & Lana
OK, this one’s a little different because it turns out while she was suspected of being a fake, Lana is real! Fans were shocked to find out the Ukrainian beauty who was wooing Las Vegas resident David actually showed her face on-camera. David traveled multiple times to the Ukraine, but never met the elusive woman. After wrong addresses, fake online dating profiles, and even standing David up at various restaurants, Lana met her future husband on the last leg of his fourth (!) trip to see her. A newly retired David plans to move to the Ukraine to be with his much younger bride-to-be.
Yolanda & Williams
It’s the most iconic catfish in 90 Day history! Nevada native Yolanda met the hunky man of her dreams on Instagram, but it turns out nothing about him was real. Yolanda’s long-distance love Williams listed Manchester, England, as his location, but a lack of video chatting and his accent raised more questions. Yolanda’s children even did a reverse image search on Williams’ shirtless pics, which turned out to be stock model photos. After a blackmail attempt, a deleted profile, and discovering Williams’ Nigerian phone number, a heartbroken Yolanda still wished faux beau Williams wasn’t a catfish.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services