90 Day Fiance Season 8 continues with Episode 14.
Julia and Brandon’s story took a back seat for this episode, but they’ll be back for 15.
Things were looking up for Mike and Natalie and their diminished wedding plans … until Mike called off the whole thing. Why?!
In Belize, Stephanie is looking to move on, and Harris is looking to move in.
When Hazel tells Tarik’s friend about his latest shenanigans, Tarik gets a piece of her mind. How can he make it up to Hazel?
Amira is living an out of the frying pan, into the fire situation while Andrew pressures her for kids. Already?!
Rebecca is spiraling as the pandemic, her lost ring, and Ramadan throw all of her plans with Zied for a loop.
And Jovi stumbles home from his strip club bachelor party, but that’s not the only thing that has Yara furious.
Mike Youngquist and Natalie Mordovtseva
With just ten days to go until Natalie’s K-1 visa expires, all of that heel-dragging about wedding plans is looking wildly foolish … but accidentally, a little handy.
The pandemic is here
We’re treated to footage of Natalie washing her hands and disinfecting counters while Mike shops while wearing a mask. Also they have new wedding plans — in the form of just standing by the pond on Mike’s property and exchanging vows.
The pandemic “spoiled some moments”
Like many of us, Natalie expresses that COVID-19 is ruining a lot of plans. Of course, this was very early in the pandemic, before so many lost their lives. However, Natalie does also note in this episode that she and Mike had extra time to bond during the pandemic — an upside that some experienced.
Natalie calls her friend
She and Svetlana talk about the revised wedding plans and how simple they are in contrast to Natalie’s first wedding.
She has accepted it
However, she would have liked a nice wedding by the ocean with friends as guests. That is not unreasonable, it’s just not safe during a pandemic.
Heartbreaking news
Natalie has to call her mother after Ukraine closes its borders (almost exactly one year before this episode aired) to tell her that she cannot come to the wedding, there’s just no way to make it work.
Relatable
Like so many of us, she felt a lot of apprehension and uncertainty then. There’s a lot more certainty now, but the pandemic is still going. It’s hard to tell your mom that she can’t come see you and be safe. A lot of us lived that experience in 2020.
One day to go
Mike fires up the barbecue before the wedding, discussing his plans. He sounds like he’s feeling good about the upcoming nuptials.
“So, everything’s great”
Natalie in this moment is radiating chaotic energies and it’s a little too relatable, actually.
Things are looking good
Petting Mike’s arm as if it were a horse’s flank, Natalie praises him, affirms how they’ve had quality time amidst the pandemic, and seems to be in a very good mood about their wedding the next day.
And I OOP
The wedding is off, Natalie tearfully confesses. Literally the day of the wedding, Mike’s cold feet turned to ice.
“I cannot forgive him this”
Some of Natalie’s misery this season has been self-inflicted. This is not. Canceling a wedding the day of is awful — especially when it’s not in response to new information, and especially after essentially wasting months of a woman’s life. Natalie spent 89 days in a cold cabin in the middle of nowhere for this?
At least she has a ride to the airport
Mike’s neighbor Tamara has volunteered to give Natalie a ride.
Tamara was one of the few wedding guests
She describes how Mike and Natalie were both crying, and she was crying too at the news that Mike had called it off. She’d already arrived, dressed for the nuptials.
But Natalie can’t really go home
Ukraine’s borders were closed at that time. Different countries have different policies on emergency repatriations, and it’s not something that most people think about until there’s a crisis. This is a horrible situation that Mike put her in because of his own indecisiveness.
Stephanie Davison and … Harris
Thankfully, we have not seen any of Ryan since that awful night of the alleged sexual assault, which he never actually denied and seemed to feel was justified from his statements. Unfortunately, the production crew continued to film Stephanie instead of doing any of the things that would make sense — encouraging her to go home, encouraging her to seek treatment for what many viewers worry are substance abuse issues.
Time to check in with work
While Stephanie hasn’t necessarily been giving off the “girlboss” vibes that she clearly hoped to with her season, she does still have a business to run, so she checks in while on her disastrous vacation.
Turns out that Ryan’s mom keeps calling
Stephanie tells them to block Ryan’s whole family’s numbers. She’s done with him, including his mom.
Harris feels for Stephanie
Very conscious of the fact that he’s on camera, he bemoans how his estranged cousin has treated Stephanie, vowing to do better himself.
Harris “surprises” Stephanie
The surprise is simple and tasteful — they go to eat together and drink Stephanie’s favorite wine. And not just a little wine, either.
Harris wants to show Stephanie how she should be treated
Ryan, clearly, took Stephanie for granted. Harris saw what she was doing for him and clearly wants that for himself.
“I love you so much”
Again, it is genuinely painful to watch Stephanie during this because she … should not be making decisions right now. Even if Harris is truly pure of intentions, Stephanie should get to have some time to herself.
Harris has other ideas
Shower her with respect, profess his love, and tell her how horny he is for her.
Cheers!
Harris is telling her exactly what she wants to hear.
Awkward hand-holding time
Stephanie invites Harris to spend another night … this time, upstairs with her. Time to bone.
Time to call Maria
Stephanie and Harris, both wearing bathrobes, call her friend Maria. A lot of people keep calling Maria “her psychic” but isn’t she just Stephanie’s friend? Like, whatever Maria does for a living, she did Stephanie’s tarot spread as a friend. Anyway, Stephanie wants her friend’s seal of approval.
Maria asks Harris very direct questions
Harris does mention that he wants to live in the US and support his kids (not raise them) by providing for them and their education.
Marie gives her tentative approval
Maria does allow that Harris *could* be what Stephanie is looking for. However, we’re not sure what else Maria was realistically going to say when Harris is sitting right there.
Harris wants all of the perks that Ryan enjoyed
He wants to be Stephanie’s new fiance … and says so very directly.
Time for … comfort?
This is all so weird. We know that a lot of production pressure was placed on Stephanie to take this trip, but something about this Harris storyline feels like it’s mostly from Stephanie and it’s genuine. It is a travesty that they continued to film her (and the show aired all of this) instead of trying to help her.
Tarik Myers and Hazel Cagalitan
With some of the lockdown restrictions lifting in Virginia, they meet up with Tarik’s best friend, Angela. (I haven’t sat down in a restaurant in over a YEAR but I’m just going to tell myself that everyone who filmed this was thoroughly screened including the wait staff because otherwise I will scream into the void)
They’re having issues
As foreshadowed by Tarik’s decision to wear a Thailand shirt (to quote Cardi B, “WHAT WAS THE REASON?!”), there are issues. But they’re not actually all about Minty.
There’s ANOTHER girl
Apparently, Tarik has a “friend” in the Philippines who has been blowing up his phone lately. This is not the same as Minty — he’s never met her in person or dated her — but it feels like, even in the best case scenario, a woman who wants very specific attention from Tarik.
Hazel feels hurt
Between that and Tarik’s insistence upon contacting Minty again, it feels like he’s not taking their commitment seriously.
Angela is Team Hazel
BLESS Angela. She gives Tarik a very gentle piece of her mind and suggests that Tarik block this girl. “For what?” Tarik asks, missing the point. Blocking someone isn’t a punishment, it’s just a way to cut off communication. Angela notes that Hazel has moved halfway around the world to be with him; he can make this compromise.
Hazel already told the girl to back off
But Tarik told her that he felt embarrassed by that. His feelings are valid of course and there’s a huge discussion to be had about partners setting boundaries over friendships. Sometimes, a partner trying to do that is a toxic person who wants to isolate their partner. But Hazel isn’t demanding that Tarik not be friends with, say, Angela. She wants him to cut off women who are clearly his type and clearly interested in him. That’s much more reasonable.
They’re still looking for a girlfriend
But that will be a woman whom they choose together — not a woman messaging Tarik one-on-one whom Hazel only meets later.
Tarik makes it up to her
He surprises her with an indoor picnic, which is beautifully set up and romantic and has all of the upsides of a picnic without the absolute horror of being outdoors.
It’s so good!
Hazel assures Tarik that he didn’t have to do all of this, but he wanted to — to reaffirm to her his commitment to her and how much he loves her.
Awwwww!
Some fans have their doubts about these two — some reasonable questions about their insecurities, others more bigoted “concerns” about polyamory — but they’re just so sweet together when they’re on good terms.
Andrew Kenton and Amira Lollysa
Amira arrived in Belgrade, Serbia to do her two weeks of quarantining in place before traveling to the US. She arrived just in time for massive social upheaval as the citizens of Belgrade protested the nightmarish and undemocratic power amassed by their president. (Yeah, 2020 was quite the year for everyone)
Remember Andrew’s fun times in Mexico?
Well now Amira is stuck in a much less luxurious hotel room for two weeks. Andrew isn’t even checking in regularly anymore.
They have 18 days to go
Like, a bunch of couples are cutting it close this season, but Amira and Andrew are going through with this farce without even being together.
It’s scary
Being part of historical moments is not fun, especially when there are violent state-sponsored reprisals against protesters. Oh, and there’s a whole pandemic still going.
Room service? Forget it
For some reason, the hotel was unable to access food normally (possibly due to the pandemic, it’s unclear), so Amira has to go out and buy her own food.
She’s doing all of this alone
Between spending time locked up in Mexico City and spending time during the protests in Belgrade, Amira’s world tour is not looking fun.
All of this for Andrew
Andrew is great with kids, so it’s good that he has this job and is not a travel agent.
Speaking of kids …
Andrew decides to pressure Amira to promise children to him before she even arrives. Amira tells him that she’ll want to wait and, among other things, be on good terms with him before having children. (He also wants to take her camping? Hard pass)
DUDE
Andrew is acting this way on camera. We’ve been patient with Andrew, conscious of how his portrayal can be twisted by editing, but some things are just genuine and the guy needs to not apply pressure like this. Honestly? They should not have tried to do this during the pandemic. It’s not like the other couples who were caught up in the middle of things. You take the L, you get a new visa later, and you do it then.
Andrew spoke to his mom about it
Talking about flight plans, he worried that Amira was going rogue on him and that she seemed distant.
Then …
Amira did not get on a flight, Andrew learns and reveals. That … sounds like a smart move on her part, all things considered, but this could also be a misleading scene.
Rebecca Parrott and Zied Hakimi
Rebecca has 60 days to wed, which sounds like a lot compared to some of the other couples, except that Zied’s last-minute revelation that he’s unwilling to we during Ramadan *or* cohabitate before marriage during Ramadan is throwing a wrench into Rebecca’s plans. Also, so is the pandemic.
Now, with furniture!
Rebecca and Zied try to talk out the logistics of their wedding plans. Not even a courthouse wedding seems viable right now with the lockdown in place, but hey, at least they have furniture.
Rebecca is not happy with this curveball, however
She notes that Zied seems to be only a strict adherent one month out of the year. On the one hand, we get that she’s frustrated — and he definitely should have told her. On the other hand, none of us get to define how someone else practices their faith.
“Really, I want to marry you”
Zied assures her. It’s just terrible timing on multiple levels, honestly.
Then …
Rebecca laments having lost her engagement ring and is searching everywhere for it.
She searched her car, now she’s looking at home
The only downside to having furniture is that a ring is easier to find in an empty room.
She thinks that Zied doesn’t care
This is supposed to be some sort of super tense moment, but like .. Zied is playing a game and there’s no telling if it’s something that can be paused or if its’ a coop, so it’s unclear if Zied can just stop and help.
Rebecca is sent spiraling however
Zied being chill about her misplacing the ring has her feeling like he’s a different person (Rebecca, why?), the pandemic and Ramadan are interfering with her plans … and Rebecca can’t just go “okay, we marry when the courthouse opens, that’s life” and is instead having an existential crisis
She goes to see her daughter
Tiffany tells Rebecca that maybe her losing the ring is a “sign” that it’s not meant to be. By the way, don’t do that when someone loses a piece of jewelry. If they want to interpret something as a “sign,” fine, but it’s a crappy thing to say to someone.
Jovi Dufren and Yara Zaya
Jovi gets home from his stripclub bachelor party at 1:26am, or so the production and microwave would have us believe. He’s really living by his “who goes home at 11:00?” BS.
He wakes up Yara
Yara, who had a fall the day before and has a flight the next morning, was asleep — you know, like a responsible adult.
Ugh
Jovi of course smells like alcohol, which wouldn’t be an issue if this weren’t a regular thing for him. She didn’t want him drinking and instead he, well, drank.
Yara is already packed
She tells Jovi that he needs to pack for their flight the next day.
Honestly, it’s like he’s feral
Jovi sat down on the bed in the same jeans that he wore to the strip club? Even pre-pandemic (this would have been early February of 2020), that was gross. (And no, viewers did not get a look at the goods after he removed his jeans even though his boxer-briefs were form-fitting)
The next day, Yara was mad
Jovi doesn’t seem to care about her feelings or her concerns or respect her wishes. It’s not even that he feels that she’s setting an unfair boundary — he just lets her set boundaries and then he ignores them because he’s having fun.
It’s more than just the bachelor party
Yara tells the camera that Yara made her sweet gesture of inviting his mom to their no-guests wedding meaningless … because, like a drunken fool, Jovi just invited all of his friends to the wedding. It would not be unreasonable to call off a wedding at that point.
Jovi acts like this is some sort of Yara Problem
Yara is so angry that she doesn’t want to speak to Jovi, and he’s acting like she’s being unreasonable instead of processing her very reasonable emotions since he doesn’t seem to care about how she’s feeling. It doesn’t mean that Jovi doesn’t care, but he’s not acting like it, and that’s going to feel the same to Yara either way. He needs to be better.