Last November, 90 Day Fiance fans were shocked to hear that Larissa Lima was a deadbeat mom.
Reports came out — sourced from social media, initially — revealing that Larissa had children.
Clearly, she did not bring them with her to the US.
Fans then heard that Larissa’s children were in two different homes back in Brazil.
Larissa offered a minimal explanation at the time.
But now, on her Instagram Stories, Larissa is once again addressing this deeply sensitive topic.
Larissa Lima is a mom
She has two children back in Brazil. At this point, she’s been in the US for over a year. Fans have a lot of questions about how Larissa could go without her kids for this long.
Last year, she offered some explanation
Larissa said that she had found herself both “financially and emotionally unable” to care for her kids.
She didn’t abandon them, strictly speaking
Larissa said that her daughter had been adopted by the girl’s aunt, and that her son was living — on a temporary basis — with his father.
It was a hard pill for fans to swallow
Whether they were seeing Larissa argue with Coltee or party and enjoy her life, they found it hard to put themselves in her shoes.
What was her real priority?
On the show, Larissa didn’t discuss her absent children, focusing more upon marriage drama and expressing her desire for money.
Now, the topic is no longer off-limits
“In the next episode,” Larissa promises in her Instagram Story. “You will hear about my kids.”
It sounds like she doesn’t feel free to speak … yet
“My court case is on May 30,” Larissa announces. “And it is the last thing holding me back from what I want to do.”
She is looking forward to her freedom
“I will be free to do everything,” Larissa predicts. “And finally 100% free of drama.”
She has plans for the future
“In the future,” Larissa shares. “I will help people to prevent them from getting arrested.”
Larissa doesn’t want to see others endure what she experienced
“[Specifically],” Larissa says, she wants to help “immigrants who never [got] arrested before, like me.” She was arrested three times between June of 2018 and January of 2019. Each time, Colt Johnson had accused her of domestic violence. Larissa has accused Colt of lying, and said that he was the one who hurt her.
Even if it means airing her dirty laundry
“Yes,” Larissa confirms. “I want my personal history to help people.”
And there’s more about her kids
“My kids will only be addressed with my family, my boyfriend, and my closest friends,” Larissa insists. This sounds like a fairly similar policy to that of her castmate, Ashley Martson, who is also a mother-of-two (though Ashley’s kids live in her country and also her house). Ashley has kept her kids away from the cameras.
She’s tired of badmouthing the Johnsons
“I will not spend my time talking about the people that lived with me,” Larissa says, clearly making a reference to Coltee and to Debbie.
She says that that’s not who she is
“That is not part of my character,” Larissa affirms. It probably doesn’t hurt that part of her divorce agreement with Colt enjoins them both from lying or otherwise disparaging each other.
She’s tired of the blame game
“To point fingers and blame others,” Larissa writes. “Is something I will not do, as it will be a hypocrisy.”
She wants to be truly free and unburdened
“No longer will I give anyone the power to hang something over my head,” Larissa vows.
So, to translate
It appears that Larissa is saying that she’s looking forward to her final court case, but doesn’t plan to turn around and launch verbal attacks on Colt. She’s also saying that fans will hear about her kids soon on 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? … but that she doesn’t want to put them front-and-center on her social media or in interviews. That sounds like a healthy boundary.
But … what are her plans?
She’s a mom, and her son, at least, is only living with her husband “temporarily.”
Larissa can’t bring them over right now
That’s a long and potentially expensive process. And right now, she’s living with her good friend, Carmen. While Carmen has been very caring and generous with Larissa, opening up her home to a couple of kids mgiht be a bit much.
What about Larissa’s boyfriend?
Larissa mentioned very directly that she can tell her boyfriend, Eric Foster, about her kids — sharing more with him than she does with her fans and followers.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves
They’ve been dating for a few months, now. He’s only in his twenties. We know that some fans have whispered about hoping that Larissa and Erickee settle down and that he adopts her kids, but that’s basically just fanfiction at this point.
We likely won’t hear the full story, ever
Larissa may have very good reasons — beyond “financial and emotional” unavailability — for leaving her kids with other relatives. We wish those children the best, of course. It must be hard for Larissa to enjoy herself, knowing that some fans assume the worst, but not wanting to tell all even to defend herself.
Let’s look on the bright side
Larissa’s kids were never around Colt or Debbie! Debbie, we’re sure, is fine with kids. But no child needs to run across Coltee’s notoriously expensive porn collection. Ugh.
Besides, it was a volatile household
Even when there weren’t loud, vocal arguments or alleged physical fights, there was so much tension in that house. Kids deserve better.
We’ve been hard on Larissa
Particularly on last season of 90 Day Fiance, Larissa came across as demanding and maybe a little paranoid. Over time, we all came to see how Larissa’s paranoia about Colt’s flirting was beyond justified, and that she’s a much happier person now that she and Coltee are no longer together. Sometimes, it’s not the person — it’s the toxic situation.