Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé episode “How To Marry A Stripper.” Read at your own risk!
It took a minute for 90 Day Fiancé’s storyline featuring Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre to get going but, now that his MMA fight is out of the way, it seems like it’s finally time to focus on the couple’s actual life in the United States. Unfortunately, things quickly got off to a bad start, as the latest episode showed that Ariela’s family isn’t much better at handling drama than Biniyam’s.
90 Day Fiancé fans might remember that a major reason why Ariela wanted to leave Ethiopia was due to disagreements with Biniyam’s family, specifically his sisters. On the latest episode, viewers learned that her mate has his own issues to deal with in the U.S., some of which we should’ve seen coming.
Ariela’s Ex-Husband Leandro Is Still Close To Her… And Her Family
Ariela’s ex-husband Leandro, who fans learned plenty about in Season 3 of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, returned in this new episode. Viewers, of course, already knew that Biniyam doesn’t like Leandro and isn't pleased with his wife spending time with him. With that, it was really weird that the ex was even hanging out with them at all, let alone receiving invitations from Ariela to help her with the wedding festivities.
What was even stranger is that Leandro landed an invite to the Weinberg family’s Ethiopian New Year’s celebration (Enkutatash), which they presumably held for Biniyam’s benefit. One couldn't shake the awkwardness of seeing Leandro right alongside the family at the event and hearing the awkward jokes made about the both of them being there. I think it would’ve been appropriate if both parties were fine with the situation and in on the joke but, based on Biniyam’s confessionals, he clearly doesn’t want Leandro around. From my perspective, it honestly does seem inconsiderate of Ariela’s family to shoehorn her former lover in, even if it was done for television.
Ariela’s Mother Called Out Biniyam In Front Of The Family, And It Wasn’t Right
Ariela’s mother, Janice, has historically been the voice of reason in the relationship between her daughter and her beau. With that in mind, it was a bit strange to see her go after Biniyam in the midst of the party and ask her if he’s ever going to stop lying to Ariela. The moment was pretty bizarre, especially since it didn’t even fit into the context of the episode, as no one was even accusing the 90 Day Fiancé star of lying. Admittedly, it seemed somewhat insensitive of her to bring up the past, especially as Biniyam tried to explain the meaning of the holiday they were celebrating/
One may not have imagined that Ariela’s family would carry on like this, especially after all that she endured while in Ethiopia. With Ariela surrounded by friends, family, and even exes, you’d think she’d be a little less guarded and more sympathetic towards her husband, who has effectively become the outsider. Instead, it almost feels like she’s reveling in the fact that the situation has turned, and the bulk of the support is now in her corner -- and that could cause problems moving forward. We’ll just have to wait and see whether harmony or more drama awaits the two as they continue their 90 days.
90 Day Fiancé airs on TLC on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. HBO Max Subscribers may get access to the franchise at some point (thanks to the Warner Bros./Discovery merger). But for now, anyone hoping to stream the shows in the franchise needs to pick up Discovery+.
