Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé episode “Different Ex-pectations.” Read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé Season 9 has definitely brought some wild storylines to viewers with its new cast, and the last few episodes have further proven why franchise vets Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre continue to appear on the TLC series. The couple’s move from Ethiopia to America had its hurdles, which has certainly extended beyond Biniyam’s dream to become a professional MMA fighter in his 30s. The latest episode once again featured Ariela’s ex-husband Leandro, and in ways that sorta justified Biniyam’s underlying concerns about him.
Leandro was still in town following the previous 90 Day Fiancé episode, in which he was a guest for Ariela’s family celebration of the Ethiopian new year. If Leandro’s presence there wasn’t already awkward enough, the latest episode really took it over the top with Ariela planning to go wedding dress shopping with him. The pair never actually went through with that plan, however, thanks to the possibility of Ariela being pregnant.
The whole drama — which I’ll squash right now by revealing Ariela wasn’t pregnant — started with Leandro getting pretty personal by asking when she last had her period. I don’t wager many women share that kind of sensitive information with their ex-husbands, so that scene was oozing immediately awkward vibes. Ariela then sent Biniyam and Leandro to fetch a pregnancy test together so they could get answers, even if it couldn't answer why Leandro was still so involved at this point.
For those that don’t remember, Ariela was still married to Leandro when she met Biniyam, and when she became pregnant with their son Avi. As such, it’s safe to speculate Biniyam played a solid role in that marriage’s collapse, so it should definitely be somewhat weird and uncomfortable for everyone involved to be sharing in this journey together, even if it was probably set up sepecifically to create drama and suspense for 90 Day Fiancé viewers.
Ariela was amused by her ex-hubby and future husband seeking out a pregnancy test together, but it’s easy to see how Biniyam might be concerned by the nature of her and Leandro’s relationship. To me, a man asking his engaged ex-wife about her menstrual cycle just feels a couple of steps beyond how involved Leandro should be in the 90 Day couple's current situation. It wasn’t Leandro’s place to offer his input at all, really, and he would’ve been much better off just heading for the airport than joining in the pregnancy investigation.
The latest 90 Day Fiancé is just another example of Ariela and Biniyam’s time in the U.S., which hasn’t gone well so far. In fact, it seems like the couple was much more financially stable over in Ethiopia, so it’ll be interesting to see whether or not they return there, whether its for future seasons or not. If the end up sticking around the States, they’re both going to need to find some steady income soon, and maybe spend less time hanging out with exes.
90 Day Fiancé airs on TLC on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Season 9 is still rolling strong, but with new shows debuting each and every week, now might be a good time to start browsing for some other ones to pick up to prepare for when the season ends.
