90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way finally brought Statler and Dempsey Wilkinson face-to-face, but it was far from a loving reunion. The couple ended up fighting over Statler's lack of enthusiasm to be there, and the episode indicated it was tied to the financial issues with the van we've been confused about as the story unfolds. Following the episode, Statler spoke out on social media about her poor attitude and gave her perspective.
Statler has faced a lot of criticism from 90 Day Fiancé viewers who either saw the episode on TLC or with their Max subscription. Weeks after making comments on social media suggesting she and Dempsey are no longer together, Statler took to Instagram Stories (via Reddit) to explain why she was in such a bad mood when seeing Dempsey at the airport:
You can't just take a break from filming - even when you're needing sleep. This was a very long day and filming had only just begun b/c it was morning in England when I arrived. I knew I was expected to do a full day of filming (which did happen) and I was already past my point of being over it. Dempsey was well rested and hadn't been working as she had quit her job two weeks before. Meanwhile, I was still working full-time.
The flight from the United States to the UK is no short journey, and there's a considerable time difference on top of it. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't be up for filming an entire day of 90 Day Fiancé content shortly after landing. At the same time, I can see why Dempsey would be hurt by Statler's attitude, given how excited she seemed about the van life based on the behind-the-scenes pictures.
Being on the TLC franchise can be a struggle, and there are many married 90 Day couples who split after a couple of seasons. As she explained why she was so upset during the latest episode of The Other Way, Statler added a confession that she actually never wanted to be on the show in the first place:
I didn't want to be a part of the show and Dempsey respect that- at first. While visiting, she talked me into doing the show again saying it would make her happy. I said no til the last second. Was super bummed b/c/ it meant I'd have to wait for filming to go back to England and it would all be filmed which was rough for me the first season.
Statler and Dempsey's first season on 90 Day Fiancé was pretty brutal and featured one of the worst Valentine's Day dates I'd ever seen. The couple did end up surviving Season 6 of Before The 90 Days, but had a lot of their personal lives put out in the open for viewers to criticize.
Being a reality star can take a toll, especially when being on 90 Day Fiancé can make you a trending topic online. Statler has seemingly seen some of the comments about her playing a victim and pushing the blame on Dempsey:
To the people calling me a 'perpetual victim,' if I wanted to be a victim, I'd share the real traumas in my life. But I don't talk about many things that I've been through. There's some seriously heavy shit I don't discuss. Instead, I try and open people's minds on the adoptee and neurospicy aspects. I'm not a victim so F off with that BS.
Who knows if the fandom will back off, especially after getting multiple reactions from Statler throughout the season thus far. Dempsey, in comparison, has largely avoided mentioning 90 Day Fiancé on her Instagram page and is instead talking about traveling the world.
Her silence about the season may further indicate she's not interested in revisiting that story, though it is interesting considering the allegation that she pushed to appear on the show. Perhaps as the season continues and Statler makes more comments, Dempsey may go public with a response.
We will wait and see as 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way continues in the meantime on TLC on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Here's hoping there's some happiness in Statler and Dempsey's storyline on the way, though, given how it's rumored to shake out, I'm not optimistic.
