90 Day Fiance Season 8 continues with Episode 9.
No one had more drama than Brandon and Julia.
After Julia’s very reasonable ultimatum, Brandon told his parents that it was time for him to move out … but their reactions were anything but reasonable.
Amira clearly resents Andrew partying it up in Puerto Vallarta while she is back home, traumatized.
But now Andrew wants her to try again.
Yara breaks the news to Jovi that she is pregnant.
Jovi can’t believe it. Literally, he does not believe her, and his disbelief continues for a while.
Natalie finally unpacks, but Mike has serious misgivings and is refusing to help her plan the wedding … and is afraid to explain why.
Rebecca’s friend Melanie visits her and Zied, but her confrontational questions reduce Rebecca to tears.
Stephanie makes a painful confession to Ryan after a night with no sex, and she cannot believe Ryan’s reaction.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown throws Tarik and Hazel’s plans for a loop.
Brandon Gibbs and Julia Trubkina
After receiving an ultimatum from Julia that either they get their own place or she flees the nightmare farm to return to Russia, Brandon sits down to dinner with Betty and Ron. Honestly, given their reactions, it looks like he may have chosen to do this in public to avoid them making a scene like they might at home.
Time for the good news
He tells them that Julia is unhappy — the understatement of the year — and that it’s time for him to move out and get his own place. After his parents both protest, he explains (with an air of bewilderment that is unbecoming on him) that Julia hates feeding the animals.
The AUDACITY
“Why?!” Betty and Ron have the absolute gall to ask, even though they know perfectly well that they’ve treated Julia like an indentured servant. Either they’re just playing dumb for the cameras, or they are so wrapped up in their narcissistic bubble that they forgot that other people have their own likes, dislikes, and desires.
Haha!
When Brandon explains that part of it is the indignity of farm labor, which disgusts and terrifies Julia, and part is that maybe his parents demand more of his time than Julia would like, Betty begins to tear up. Whether it’s a manipulation tactic or she’s genuinely hurt, who can say? … It’s probably both.
Ron is ENRAGED
When Brandon tries to throw Julia under the bus by saying “it’s not my choice,” Ron lectures him, telling him that it IS his choice and that he’s making a huge mistake. No one’s sure what this old man’s deal is, but his anger was ridiculous.
“That makes me so sad”
Betty says that she had hoped that this would be like gaining a daughter and not losing a son, so she’s crying because Julia is “making him choose.” We’d say that Betty should have treated Julia like a daughter and not like a farmhand, but it’s clear from Brandon’s role in the household that Betty sees them as one in the same.
Brandon caves immediately because he is weak (and broke)
Brandon suggests a compromise, that maybe Julia would be appeased if she and Brandon could share a room — you know, like the adults that they are.
Ron is out of his mind
Ron says that he doesn’t want to “give in” to Julia, as if this is some sort of tense rivalry with his future daughter-in-law and “caving” would mean sacrificing something. Instead, Julia just very fairly said that she’s unhappy and won’t live like this anymore, Brandon relayed that, and Ron blew a gasket. You know, he’s at least as effed in the head as Betty. He makes that clear by saying Brandon SHOULD leave the farm.
Betty intercedes
Terrified of losing her “baby boy” (he is a 27-year-old man with a fiancee and a full time job), Betty says no, overriding Ron and begrudgingly agreeing to treat Julia like a human being and not like one of her caged dogs.
They still play the victim
Betty and Ron act like they’ve just been railroaded instead of finally agreeing to act like decent hosts, as they should have from the start.
Brandon gets to tell Julia
Don’t worry, he of course waited for the camera crew to film the revelation. He also pauses for SO long when she asks how it went when he told his parents.
YES!
He tells her that he’s basically too broke for an apartment to be a good idea, but that his parents have agreed that they can share a room. He also tells her that she won’t have to be a farmhand anymore, which we HOPE is true but have our doubts.
Julia is afraid to believe it
Brandon himself later says that it’s “too good to be true,” and we agree, but Brandon assures her that yes, his parents were willing to make this compromise.
Julia is thrilled to share the news
Instead of living like an indentures servant, she gets to actually be with her fiance — you know, the whole point of her coming to the US in the first place.
It’s not perfect
Very reasonably, she wants her own apartment, but she agrees that this is a “little fix” that will work for now.
But she’s worried
“I think after this situation, she hate me,” Julia says of Betty, asking Brandon if Betty had shown any signs that she’s upset about ‘losing her boy.” In other words, Julia quotes almost word-for-word what Betty said.
Brandon is a terrible liar
He claims that it went over well … which is very funny. But, that night, the two go to sleep in Brandon’s room.
Betty is worried
Up early the next day, she laments the changes in her family’s dynamic. You could almost sympathize with her if you forgot literally everything else that she has said and done all season.
Andrew Kenton and Amira Lollysa
While Andrew’s questionable choice to live it up in Puerto Vallarta continues, Amira is safely home in France after her traumatic detention in Mexico City. She wishes that she were having as good of a time as Andrew.
Andrew’s still at the resort
The two of them had planned to quarantine together for two weeks before coming to the US, but it didn’t work out, and now they’re both trying to figure out what to do.
Andrew has some Ideas
He says that they could just wait and see what happens … but with the K-1 visa about to run out, he tells Amira that their best bet might be for her to go to Serbia and try this whole thing again.
Oh no
Amira promises to think about it back at home (also, why does she have a framed photo of the Taj Mahal on her wall?), but it’s clear that she is NOT eager to put herself in harm’s way again.
Amira meets up with a friend
The friend reminds her that she shouldn’t just think of his needs, but her own needs, her own wants, and of course her safety.
Yara Zaya and Jovi Dufren
Jovi just got off the plane to return home and Yara was unhappy that he was drinking so early in the morning. On the one hand, that’s no way to greet someone, and time isn’t real — especially on an airplane. On the other hand, you can understand Yara — she’s pregnant, so the whiskey smell has to be hell on her senses, and she’s nervous to share the news.
She can barely even say it
Yara stars by mouthing “I’m pregnant,” but Jovi can’t hear it. Finally, she tells him — she’s pregnant.
“What?”
Jovi meets Yara’s news with confusion and then absolute disbelief. All the while, she’s getting freeform henna on her hand, and we cannot help but wonder what was going through this woman’s mind the whole time.
Jovi’s disbelief persisted
Yara admitted that she went from nervous to upset that Jovi was now just refusing to believe her pregnancy news.
Jovi tried to explain
He listed instances where Yara had pranked him about other things with a very convincing straight face. Yara said that he was exaggerating, that she lets 10 minutes or so go by and then admits the prank.
Time for more pregnancy tests
Yes, Yara spent this whole entire episode proving to Jovi that she’s pregnant. Part of that meant taking multiple pregnancy tests.
Finally, the digital test sold him
Jovi’s reaction to learning that he and Yara are expecting a rainbow baby was, well, something that had to be bleeped.
Then they settled into talking
They both agreed that Yara will be a good mom, and then teased each other about which languages their child will speak.
Mike Youngquist and Natalie Mordovtseva
Natalie has been there for an entire month but has no ring and no wedding plans.
Mike has a lot of doubts
He tries to talk them over with his mother, but she cannot answer any of this for him — this is up to him and Natalie.
Natalie’s mom, on the other hand …
Not for the first time, Natalie says that her mother is always Team Mike. In other words, she complains about Mike to her mom and her mom sees his side of things.
Speaking of complaining
Natalie very reasonably tries to overcome the communication gap with Mike by asking him for more concrete wedding plans. Unfortunately, she also chooses to neg him about the budget for the wedding, teasing that he can’t afford real drinks for the guests.
They go on a hike
Natalie gets all made up for the hike, Mike makes a mild comment about it, and Natalie is put in a bad mood … they have such serious communication issues. Mike wasn’t trying to be mean, but he should know his future wife better than he does.
Natalie gets relatable
I haven’t vibed with Natalie like this since she responded to Mike’s offer (threat) to take her fishing with “do I have to?”
So there’s some silent treatment on the road
The hike itself seems to go well, but Mike still has his doubts. He wants to use this time to bond with Natalie, but … he’s plagued by uncertainty.
Natalie just took a huge step
She has finally unpacked her belongings, putting her clothes in the closet. And it only took an entire month!
But …
They’re on totally different pages when it comes to wedding planning and their future together, and their fundamental differences seem difficult to fix. Mike needs to TELL Natalie exactly why he’s dragging his feet with wedding plans, though.
Rebecca Parrott and Zied Hakimi
The two of them are still settling into Rebecca’s mostly vacant apartment. (Not to be mean, but … she does have furniture in storage, so why haven’t they gone to get it?)
Her friend Melanie comes to get it
She tells the camera bluntly that she’s there to ask the hard questions. (Honestly? I almost think that Melanie was doing this as a favor to Rebecca, because the more dramatic your storyline is, the more likely you are to get picked up for a new season or spinoff)
Melanie does not hold back
She starts pointing out similarity after similarity between Zied and Rebecca’s abusive ex, who was a Moroccan man. Melanie is expressing some of the same fears that Rebecca’s daughter has, but much more bluntly.
Rebecca speaks up
Well, sort of. She all but mumbles that Zied is a dramatically different man than her ex (which is true).
Ma’am …
Melanie points out that Rebecca lived right down the hall from this room … with her ex.
This is news to Zied
He says that this makes him “jealous” and claims that any man in the world would feel that way. (Maybe i’m just too far removed from this, but it’s not clear why — he knows that she has an ex. Plenty of people live in houses where the person’s ex lives, and this isn’t even that situation — different rooms in the same building)
Rebecca cries
It was an emotional ordeal to be confronted with all of these, well, doubts and concerns. Zied comforts her.
But Zied is clearly rattled
Also, does this apartment building allow you to smoke in it? It’s not 1983. The smoking population in Tunisia is several times that of the United States (by percentage), so maybe he thinks that it’s normal.
Stephanie Davison and Ryan Carr
Stephanie and Ryan have just spent their first night together after being apart for TEN MONTHS.
There was NO boning?
Stephanie had been bragging about Ryan laying pipe four times a night, six nights in a row, but this morning we learn that there was none of that the night before.
Ryan explains
He says that Stephanie had been feeling unwell so he figured that she’d feel more comfortable if they took that night off. She counters that at this point it’s about bonding, and she’d have been fine with a quick 3-minute bang. GIRL.
Confession time
Tears in her eyes, Stephanie confesses to Ryan what she’s feared admitting the entire time — after that time that she and Ryan temporarily broke up after he was texting three different girls, she boned his cousin, Harris.
“I already knew it”
It turns out that Ryan has known Stephanie’s big shame the literal entire time. Either he really loves her enough to forgive her or … dating her is way more important to him than expressing his feelings.
WHAT?
This has been stressing out Stephanie for months or even years, and Ryan’s just casually like “yeah I know babe.”
He’s done with Harris
Ryan says that he is no longer on speaking terms with Harris, that he learned about this from his many friends who work at that hotel who saw Harris slip in and out (of Stephanie’s room).
Ryan says the right things
“You’re my woman. I love and forgive you,” he assures Stephanie. Something tells us that this is not the end of their drama.
Tarik Myers and Hazel Cagalitan
Tarik and Hazel get the notification in March of 2020 — the governor wisely issued a lockdown order for the state.
That put filming on pause
The production crew went home … but was able to return sooner than you might think.
Two weeks later …
COVID-19 had barely begun to ravage our nation, but we already see Tarik and Hazel at home, though some of this at least was filmed themselves.
They’re trying to date!
Obviously, they won’t be dating in person for a while, but Tarik has made a dating profile for them to find a woman online. You want to talk with someone before you meet up, especially if you’re looking for a relationship and not a hookup.
Hazel is battling insecurities
She worries that they won’t find a woman who likes her “for real.” Tarik lovingly assures her that they will, because she is very lovable.
Hazel explains her backstory
As a child, she knew that she liked guys and girls, but she didn’t know the label “bisexual” or anything like that. (This is why representation is so important, folks — so many people go years or even decades without knowing that there’s a label for who they are and that they are not alone)
Sadly, her parents are bigots
Hazel details how she had to hide her identity in the Philippines, only dating men and denying part of herself.
She can’t come out to her family
Hazel says that she got a grim preview of how that would go, as one of her sisters is also bisexual.
Her parents treat the sister with scorn and rejection
Hazel is afraid of rejection from her family. Bigots are not worth knowing, but everyone has to make their own choices about coming out to their family.
Poor Hazel
Now, however, things are different, because she is with Tarik.
Hazel is free to be herself
She is excited to be polyamorous and have a girlfriend, though she is a little worried that jealousy could again be a problem (just like monogamy, polyamory isn’t for everyone). But she emphasizes that her relationship with Tarik is the most important.
Tarik made the profile
He makes a “come to papa” joke but also assures fans with a disclaimer that he’s going to hide their dating life from his daughter. There was never any real doubt of this among reasonable fans, but some unreasonable fans sure had a lot to say about it, so it’s good that TLC aired his clarification.