90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? Season 6, Episode 2 reintroduced Tiffany and Ronald.
These fan favorites are married but living apart and awaiting visa news.
Angela preps for surgery over Michael’s objections, and flirts with her surgeon in the process.
Asuelu claims that he’s a changed man, but Kalani isn’t sure what to think.
Brandon can’t stop discouraging Julia’s dreams, and her insecurities are beginning to show.
There is a Potthast family meeting about allowing Andrei into the family business, and Libby storms out unhappily.
And what is supposed to be a birthday dinner for Mike goes horribly wrong for them both when Natalie throws out an accusation.
Mike Youngquist and Natalie Mordovtseva
Their segment of the episode starts with a “surprise” birthday dinner for Mike. Natalie got takeout and set it up for them at a table in the hotel lobby.
She got sushi
Not only does their food look delicious (gosh when she spreads the pickled ginger over hers I can almost taste it), but this is sort of an accidental motif in the episode, as you’ll see as our recap goes on.
They’re already planning a future meal
This, likely filmed some time in October or early November, is when they talk about Thanksgiving plans — which will be Natalie’s first Thanksgiving ever.
She’s nervous
Honestly, it’s so easy for us as Americans to not think twice about Thanksgiving since we’ve been attending since we were children, but it’s not a simple meal. You don’t really think about how daunting it can be until you walk a friend through their first Thanksgiving or you, for the first time, have dinner with another family.
The plan is to have Thanksgiving with Mike’s mom
Natalie is quick to praise Mike’s mother, but …
“It’s hard to act like nothing happened”
Mike didn’t throw his mom under the bus at the Tell All, but Natalie says that it was Mike’s mom who convinced him to call off the wedding … just two hours before the nuptials were set to begin. That’s not easy to forget.
They talk about visiting Reno
Natalie complains that she is bored living in the middle of the spooky wilderness. (Seriously, couples need to put more thought into activities. During this pandemic, we’ve all learned that some people we know have no normal, indoor hobbies and were entirely reliant upon going out to “do” things. Meanwhile, we see 90 Day Fiance partners like Zied Hakimi who don’t have problems doing normal indoor hobbies)
There’s more to this than getting out of the house
Natalie shares that she hasn’t really met any of Mike’s friends. Apparently Mike’s neighbor Tamara doesn’t count. And Natalie’s never met Mike’s friend Sarah, whom she called a “whore” and accused of boning him for no good reason.
Should she meet them?
Natalie wants to know if Mike thinks that she will get along well with his friends.
Mike’s leery of it
He notes that she can be a little harsh sometimes with people.
She wants them to give her a little patience
There are very real cultural differences that can make someone seem rude when they’re just accustomed to a different way of speaking.
But …
As Mike explains, she still needs to be polite — which means not attacking people. That’s not a cultural misunderstanding, that’s a behavior that Natalie has exhibited with him and others in the past.
What follows is … quite something
Natalie gives what she seems to imagine is a playful retort … or maybe she just tries to characterize it that way after when she realizes what she said.
“Maybe they shouldn’t send …”
“… Naked pictures to you.”
“THEN I will be polite”
WHAT???!!!
Roll it again
Natalie is not only basically confirming that she’s intentionally rude to people sometimes and threatening to do it again, but she’s also accusing one of Mike’s friends — at least, seemingly — of sending “naked pictures” to Mike.
Well, that’s enough
Mike finishes his drink and stands up to leave while Natalie stammers a half-apology, clearly realizing that this was exactly the kind of s–t that Mike was talking about and also that she’s just ruined dinner.
What was she even talking about?
Producers press Natalie for details, but she doesn’t have a chance to say much.
“A girl from Nevada”
According to Natalie, “she kept sending him her boobs.” So, first of all, she doesn’t give us a timeframe for this. Mike has been married to Natalie for six months and in a relationship with her for a few years. Did this happen while they were married, dating, or some time before this? Also, given Natalie’s track record, we have to ask if this girl was sending Mike nudes or if she just shared a selfie at an event and Natalie felt insecure about the woman’s neckline. Hey, maybe these were real nudes sent recently, but Natalie has done so much to make it hard for fans to take her at her word.
The producer asks an important question
Does Natalie regret what she said in light of this having been supposed to be a birthday dinner? Natalie doesn’t get a chance to respond … because Mike comes back down the elevator, bags in hand.
Have a great night
Mike hands Natalie his card and tells her to have a good night … and then he leaves without her.
Natalie can’t stop herself
She then asks why he would leave if he has nothing to hide, which is arguably the worst possible thing that she could say if the goal is to convince him to stay. (Seriously; if your husband is cheating, dump him or don’t, but don’t just stay with him and ruin a birthday dinner about it)
Mike is going home
He’s going to do some shots and make the best of his birthday celebration … alone. Fair enough!
Angela Deem and Michael Ilesanmi
Now in Los Angeles, Angela readies herself for surgery while looking forward to looking “20 years younger,” she hopes.
She does call Michael
It is a very different time in Nigeria, of course, and Michael is very sleepy.
Not too sleepy to discourage the surgeries, however
Angela is nervous, but Michael is not helping at this time, even though he clearly loves her.
At her consultation, Angela plays with the inserts
Honestly, I can’t relate to many things about Angela, but I would definitely have the impulse to play with those implants. I wouldn’t touch them without permission but I would want to.
Angela broke some rules
She ate solid foot, which she should not have. Worse, she has continued smoking, ignoring how dangerous that can be for her to undergo surgery. (Angela always does what she wants without caring what others think and she thinks that it makes her strong, even when she’s being foolish. She didn’t accidentally smoke here — she actively chose to bring her carton of cigarettes)
The skin factor
Angela is processing the knowledge that her extreme weight loss will come with a lot of excess skin. Skin is elastic, but only up to a point, and does not simply eat itself when the fat that it once contained goes away. So yes, she will need to have skin removed some time after this. (Also, not that this is the point, but her nails look GREAT here)
Her surgeon arrives
Angela’s surgeon is a handsome man who admittedly bears some remote resemblance to Michael
Angela dials up the flirting immediately
Always inappropriate, Angela flits with her surgeon in ways that would make her scream obscenities at Michael. Of course, she does that if Michael merely speaks to a woman under any circumstances.
Angela is prepared for how the surgery will go
She will have a lengthy recovery and is given a realistic idea of how much weight she will lose.
As for the flirting …
Angela’s doctor says that Angela is not the only one to flirt with him, but he will avoid reciprocating. One, please don’t sexually harass your doctor or your barista or your coworker. Two, this is a man who would be played by Idris Elba in a movie and he clearly knows it.
Tiffany Franco and Ronald Smith
Tiffany is introduced on the second episode of this season, but of course she is a fan favorite. Here, she poses with her son, Daniel, and her daughter, Carley.
Tiffany has a lot on her mind
She explains to the camera that even though she and Ronald had Carley together and got married, she feels like she is doing all of this alone because he is not emotionally supporting her or, more importantly, financially supporting her. Even just diapers are expensive.
So she meets with a divorce attorney
Whether Tiffany is really ready to talk about divorce or just emphasizing how serious things are by talking this out on camera, she wants to show that things aren’t healthy in her marriage.
They’ve been apart for 8 months
They’re waiting on the spousal visa, but it’s not exactly guaranteed given Ronald’s criminal history. Meanwhile, he’s not supporting her, Daniel, or their daughter, Carley.
International divorce with kids? It’s trucky
The attorney says that they always hope for whatever the best thing for the kids would be. He also tells Tiffany that he strongly recommends that she and Ronald try marital counseling before they take the step of divorce.
It’s Ronald’s turn
In South Africa, he notes that he and Tiffany filed for the visa 8 months ago, and that this is the longest that they’ve been apart — certainly since they married. It’s tough.
Ronald arrives at a job
He arrives on a motorcycle. It looks reasonably nice (I do not know anything about motorcycles for so many reasons but I’ve seen worse ones)
Ronald feels like Tiffany is being unfair
As far as he is concerned, his gambling addiction is in his past so all of his past mistakes and wrongdoings should also be in the past.
Ronald says that his work situation is not his fault
According to him, it’s all but impossible to find a steady job in South Africa at that time, so he has been taking odd jobs like painting walls, which he is doing here.
Tiffany has canceled her tickets
She tells Ronald that she can’t keep paying for everything herself when she has to support two kids solo. Ronald is furious, but she wishes that he’d offered to at least pay for half.
And let’s be real …
Tiffany points out that Ronald spent $3,000 to fix up his bike. She recognizes that there are economic differences between South Africa and the United States, but ultimately, Ronald is showing his priorities with how he spends money on himself.
Brandon Gibbs and Julia Trubkina
Julia is not happy with how resistant Brandon is to her idea of just living in Las Vegas. This is one of those disagreements where viewers can see both of their sides pretty clearly.
Julia’s fear is simple
It’s less about Vegas and more about Brandon being a little too comfortable in a miserable, untenable situation — living with his parents. The thing is that people like Brandon get “stuck” in their habits even if they’re unhappy, and it may take living independently for it to sink in how unhappy and dysfunctional their previous living situation was.
That’s not the only topic at hand
Julia teases Brandon by asking if she (infamously opposed to and judgmental about cosmetic surgery) needs to get a boob job. Why? Because she spotted him looking at another woman’s breasts. (They are at a pool … unless he’s staring, which is rude, it’s normal to see others around you)
Julia is admittedly a jealous person
This is, in fact, foreshadowing problems that Julia and Brandon are going to have later in the season.
Julia doesn’t believe in “girl and man friend”
This is a frankly deranged perspective, and it’s unclear whether it is personal or cultural, but it’s normal to have friends of various genders and anyone claiming otherwise is waving a huge red flag about their own issues.
Girl, no
Julia seems to be expressing feelings of internalized misogyny. It’s no insult to Brandon (who’s definitely a hottie, we acknowledge that) to say that not every woman who sees him wants to bone him, or that it doesn’t matter who wants to bone him because he MARRIED Julia.
Julia’s weird, unrelatable insecurities are interrupted by a phone call
Brandon’s parents call and, with permission, open a letter to Julia from US immigration. She’s invited to go to her green card interview for permanent residency in the US.
This is bittersweet
On the one hand, hooray, this is an important step in their marriage. On the other hand, there’s a lot riding on Julia’s tiny shoulders. If things went poorly, she could have to return to Russia, effectively ending the marriage.
They’re still not over the conversation about where to live
Brandon says that he doesn’t want to live in a big city (it would be interesting to hear him explain why), Julia notes that he didn’t say that before they married, and he said that it would be “fine” to live in a big city but that he doesn’t actually want to.
They go to dinner
Julia is also part of the accidental conspiracy to make me crave sushi today.
Brandon suggests a compromise
He says that they can move to the Richmond area, so that he can continue doing his job, which is a more urban environment (226,000 people isn’t a big city, but it’s a city nonetheless), and then maybe they can think about moving to a larger city from there some time down the road.
Works for Julia!
Julia is, in most areas, a very reasonable person who is very willing to compromise, and she agrees with this.
BUT!
Julia explains to the camera that she doesn’t want Brandon to go back on this or retreat. Again, she’s afraid that he’s a little too comfortable in their current, untenable situation.
Julia also wants to start work
She notes that she wants to be a wedding planner, which sounds amazing after she and Brandon had such a good wedding despite the truly undesirable circumstances.
Brandon’s response is … not great
It’s normal to say “okay, if you want this goal, you’ll need to cross these hurdles to get there,” but that’s not what Brandon did. He basically shot her down, saying that her English isn’t good enough for the job instead of “okay, one of the things to work on will be speaking English a little more fluently.”
It hurts
Julia wishes that she had a little more support from Brandon. She believes in him more than he believes in himself, but he doesn’t always seem to return the favor.
Elizabeth Potthast and Andrei Castravet
Elizabeth is preparing to meet up with her family, where Chuck will talk over the idea of Andrei joining the family company. Elizabeth makes several predictions about how it’s going to go, and she’s right.
They meet at Becky’s house
Chuck’s adult children work for the family business, so he wanted to hear them out about hiring Andrei — even though ultimately, the decision is his.
S U S H I
It’s a very popular food so it’s no surprise that so many people on the show like it but this layout just looks so good. There’s nothing like looking at sushi rolls glisten in the light on camera to get you to crave it.
Chuck pitches the idea
He does include the whole story, including how Andrei approached him seeking a $100,000 loan, which of course does not go over well.
Everybody has reservations
Becky and Jenny explain to the camera their very nuanced view — how Andrei seems to want to skip steps in an “unbalanced” way, and it’s “not meshing well” with the family.
Almost everyone says “ugh, fine”
But Charlie has real misgivings and does not want to work with Andrei after they have clashed in the past. He also says “f–k Andrei.”
That’s right, “f–k Andrei”
At this, Elizabeth storms out. She was mad enough when her dad was using Andrei’s accent (or attempting to; sorry Chuck), but she does not want to listen to her family accurately describe her husband.
It’s upsetting
Outside, Libby explains how she feels like her husband isn’t being given a chance … now that he finally wants to. Of them all, Becky is probably the most sympathetic.
Charlie apologizes … “but”
He’s immediately called out on following his apology with “but,” since that negates the apology.
Back inside …
It does look like Andrei and Charlie have a lot to work out, but it looks like Libby’s hard-fought battle is won.
She gets home
Andrei accuses Elizabeth of not advocating hard enough for him and also insists that he’s not working with Charlie. So, great.
Kalani Faagata and Asuelu Pulaa
Asuelu is excited to spend some “one by one time” with Kalani, an adorable approximation of English phrases that makes Kalani smile.
They go to lunch
Why anyone would go to sit down indoors during a pandemic is a question that will haunt me for my entire life, but regardless, that’s what they opt to do, which is when Kalani tells Asuelu that Kolini is coming to stay.
“The Emperor is coming here?”
Yes, Kolini’s lease is up so she’s going to crash with the family while looking for a new place to live … which means that Asuelu and Kolini, who very openly dislike each other, will share a house.
Kalani should have told him …
… because, he says, it’s important to welcome people. Cleaning the house, making dinner, etc.
Huh?
Asuelu explains that he’s acting like a totally different person because “it’s a new me.”
Asuelu has resolved to be a better person
What’s happening? Is Asuelu finally becoming the man that Kalani wants him to be? Did Low have some “words” with his son-in-law? Is Asuelu just acting nice for the cameras? Has he been replaced by a shapeshifting alien?
Next time …
In the preview for Season 6, Episode 3, we see Kolini arrive at the house to be welcomed with open arms.
Is it a trick?
A bewildered Kalani tells Kolini that she’s not sure what to make of “the new Asuelu” and Kolini suggests that it could be an act.
Brandon and Julia have the jitters
Julia is nervous with so much hanging in the balance at this green card interview.
Tiffany fears for the future
She worries that even if Ronald is approved for a marital visa, he’ll come over and she’ll have to support everyone like she is now, but also Ronald. Her friend suggests that Tiffany’s path to happiness might not include Ronald … and she might be right.
FINALLY, Yara and Jovi!
We see Jovi’s mom Gwen visit them and their baby, but she and Yara clash over when is an appropriate time to take the baby outside.
Yara thinks that this is because Gwen is American
However, this could be generational. Most medical advice now says that, so long as you’re sensible and safe, you can take a newborn outside as soon as you’re discharged from the hospital unless you’re told otherwise. Gwen likely hasn’t given birth in decades and is relating the best newborn care advice that she was given at the time, but that advice has changed for the next generation.