Stephanie Davison has been awfully busy on social media following her 90 Day Fiance debut on Season 8.
From exposing 90 Day Fiance production secrets to allegedly making alarmingly false medical claims, there’s been a lot to follow.
At least, there was.
Last month, Stephanie ghosted her 154,000 followers … and hasn’t made a peep since. What happened?
Stephanie Davison doing something unexpected without a real explanation is nothing new to fans.
But she has seemed to enjoy communicating with followers since her rise to reality TV fame.
The Michigan businesswoman has gone more than a month without a single new Instagram post, and that’s just not like her.
Again, fans understand that Stephanie is a bit … eccentric.
Whether you think that she’s odd or living your personal dream life, we all understand that she stands out.
Being single and childfree isn’t that unusual, but most cat ladies don’t have her financial means … or her taste in men.
Now, Stephanie has explained that the "cougar" narrative was chosen by production.
That makes sense. You see an affluent middle-aged woman dating a much younger man, the label comes to mind.
For what it’s worth, Stephanie did a fantastic job of "leaning in" to the box where production put her.
That label may have been production’s suggestion, but the relationship was real … at first.
Stephanie really did meet and start boning Ryan Carr without any help or guidance from TLC.
And yes, there was a time when they planned to marry, including when production had begun working with her.
Incidentally, Stephanie also shared that production asks the stars — at least, the women — to show some skin.
Whether they’re low cut tops or off-the-shoulder blouses, producers knows that some viewers will be a little more engaged if they’re thirsty.
That explains a number of wardrobe choices on the show, including Stephanie’s.
Production also knows that, due to the misogyny entrenched in our culture, showing skin will also give some viewers more reason to hate stars.
This will make them feel more passionate about the couples and shows, even if that passion is negative and hateful.
Reality TV is a complicated business, and a lot of effort goes into manipulating how viewers feel about what they see.
Speaking of which, Stephanie was ready to be done for good with Ryan before it was time for her trip to see him.
She told producers that she didn’t plan to return to Belize in 2020.
Production spent days reminding her of all that she had to gain from reality TV … eventually leading to her agreeing to take him back, just for one trip.
Infamously, to our horror, that trip was more than just a quick visit for the cameras.
Stephanie accused Ryan of sexually assaulting her by removing the condom without her knowledge or consent.
Ryan did not even bother to deny the assault, instead defending his actions. Inexcusable and repulsive.
At the same time, Stephanie’s behavior in Belize had taken a turn.
In Michigan, she had appeared eccentric and a little goofy.
In Belize, fans feared that Stephanie was completely out of her mind.
Fan speculation ranged from claims that she was drunk to a pill-popper to both.
While she was shown appearing to drink alcohol on camera, could that alone explain it?
It turned out that Stephanie was being bombarded with insect bites, leading to her taking antihistamines.
Mixing antihistamines with alcohol can have unfortunate side effects.
This may explain Stephanie’s slurred words and groggy-appearing behavior.
It also might explain why she was so willing to call Ryan’s cousin, Harris, to help her film for a few more days of footage.
After all of that, Stephanie returned to Michigan, canceled her paperwork for Ryan, and went back to her normal life.
She also announced plans to sue TLC, accusing them of not properly compensating her after allegedly causing so many problems.
Fans were and remain divided over Stephanie. Some believe her, some pity her, and some think that she’s nuts. Some do all three.
As shown by 90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates, the state of Michigan got on Stephanie’s case earlier this year.
According to the state attorney general, her claims about the effectiveness of her health treatments crossed the line.
Saying that you believe that something boosts immunity is one thing. Bringing up COVID-19, on the other hand, is another.
To our very-much-not-a-lawyer ears, it didn’t sound like Stephanie was advertising her products as a magical COVID cure.
It instead sounded like she was crediting her own regular treatments for contributing to her overall health that may have helped her avoid the virus.
However, like we said, we are not attorneys. We are also not health experts.
Some fans speculate that perhaps Stephanie’s social media silence is a result of legal advice to just stop talking to avoid further complications.
Others wonder if she is tired of backlash and criticism from trolls.
It’s also possible that she’s a woman in her fifties who joined Instagram for reality TV and doesn’t really enjoy it. Or it’s just a hiatus.