On the Season 3 finale of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre were still in Kenya.
They knew that this was not a long-term solution.
Ari and Bini’s plan was to go to the United States, which meant that Bini had to first return to Ethiopia.
But he would be returning alone, without Ariela. She’s never going back to Ethiopia.
On the episode from the week before the finale, the immigration attorney counseled the couple on what they could expect.
Just 19 days from then, Biniyam would be interviewed for his K-1 visa.
(Fortunately, Ariela had started the paperwork long before, even though they were unsure if they would use it)
The attorney’s advice was that things would look best if Ariela were right by his side, just in case.
The interview is for Bini, not for her.
But if they wanted to ask Ariela any questions, things would work best if she were physically present to answer.
The attorney didn’t spell it out, but it looks more like a "real" relationship if you’re both clearly living together and physically spending time together.
Is that super screwed up in a world where long-distance relationships are extremely common and travel is unsafe due to an ongoing deadly pandemic?
Yes. But it’s the truth. Immigration is under so many restrictions that any excuse to discredit their relationship could come into play.
Despite this, Ariela explained that she just couldn’t see herself returning to Ethiopia.
Not for the interview, and not ever.
All things considered, even as important as this is, this may have been the right call for their long-term relationship.
"I know it doesn’t make sense," Ariela admitted on the finale.
"But it’s going to be so hard for me," she explained, "after everything that we’ve been through."
To Biniyam, Ari expressed: "I’m nervous about it."
"When I decided to go back to Kenya, you saw how broken I was," Ariela pointed out.
"At the time I thought, I’ll never go back to Ethiopia," she recalled.
Ariela continued: "Then now all of a sudden, you know, the lawyer is like, ‘Oh, you have to go.’"
"She just threw this information at me, like, now. So, I don’t know," Ari said.
To his fiancee, Biniyam reminded her to focus on the future.
This is a big move for their relationship and their family.
To the cameras, Biniyam reacted the way that he has every time that Ariela has expressed any opinion or desire that was not his own.
"I feel like she’s overreacting," Biniyam told the confessional camera.
Bold words from the man who only started making an effort to be a decent partner a few weeks ago.
"I wish she would just come back with me," Biniyam continued, "because she can help me be ready."
He predicted: "If I don’t get a visa, I know Ari, she go back to the U.S."
"I don’t want to lose my baby again," Bini stated. "Like, I don’t want to lose my family again. It’s very hard."
Biniyam has emphasized multiple times how traumatized he was by losing his ex and his first son, Simon.
But as heartbreaking as that is, a growing number of fans wonder why he says this but continues the same behaviors.
Even if we (unlike his ex-wife, his ex-girlfriend, and Ari herself) don’t believe that he’s a cheater, he has been a very poor partner many times.
"I just want to help you at a distance," Ariela assured Bini.
She said that she would also help him to practice over the phone.
"I don’t have a plan. But I don’t have to have a plan right this second," Ari admitted.
Ultimately, Biniyam left to return to Ethiopia on his own to prepare for the interview.
That was likely for the best, as seeing all of the people and places might have reminded Ari of his many betrayals.
They clearly made the right call, because they filmed the Tell All side-by-side and in person, meaning that Biniyam was in New York.