Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way episode “Written In The Stars.” Read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way titled its latest episode with Jenny Slatten and Sumit Singh in mind, possibly because of the “good news” the couple received following an extended stay with Sumit’s parents, Sahna and Anil. After the family’s trusted astrologer declared Jenny and Sumit’s relationship as being written in the stars, Sahna vowed to be nicer to Jenny and said she'd no longer stand in the way of Jenny's relationship with Sumit. It was a heartwarming moment, right up until everything that followed reset the couple’s already uncomplicated storyline. This was kind of the final straw in convincing me that it’s time for 90 Day Fiancé to move on from Jenny and Sumit.
Sahna and Jenny’s heart-to-heart felt like a step forward in the 90 Day Fiancé star's relationship with Sumit’s family, but Sahna and Anil's confessional proved otherwise. While she may very well genuinely try to be nicer to Jenny, Sahna revealed that she still would not agree to a marriage between them, and said she ultimately hoped Jenny and Sumit’s relationship would fail. She only decided to step back in the hopes her hands-off approach would impact the relationship in a way that Sumit would be inspired to end it himself. 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way painted the moment as overtly positive, but honestly, it’s just the same story with Jenny and Sumit as it’s always been.
To make matters worse, Jenny put Sumit on the spot immediately after his parents left and asked when he wanted to get married. Sumit, of course, balked and said he wasn’t ready yet (although there have been rumors about such an engagement in the past). 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way once again showed that, even without any major presumed obstacles in the way, Sumit still won’t commit to marriage with Jenny. Perhaps there’s another unspoken reason Sumit won’t commit, or perhaps he knows his parents still won’t actually approve of the marriage.
Jenny and Sumit’s storyline is stale. Without a marriage to push the next step of Jenny’s integration into Sumit’s family and thus into Indian culture, there’s little reason for fans to feel invested. Even their split at this point would be a more significant advancement after countless episodes rehashing the same drama the couple’s faced since they’ve joined the franchise.
I’m not saying Jenny and Sumit need to spice up their personal lives for the sake of fan entertainment, of course, and their happiness is key here. But I do think TLC should opt out of inviting them back for future seasons until there’s actually a significant development or three in their love lives. There are just too many other exciting stories for the franchise to follow.Perhaps 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’s remaining episodes will disprove such assertions, but based on the way things have been, I’m not optimistic.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs over at TLC on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Season 3 overall has been a strong entry for the spinoff, even with its occasional low points. It certainly has me excited for the upcoming season of 90 Day: The Single Life, as the Discovery+ series (which premieres Season 2 Friday, November 12th) was pretty impressive in its inaugural run.
