Although lots of 90 Day Fiancé franchise couples met via the Internet, other cast members met their partners in person, in somewhat unconventional ways. Because almost all of the duos featured in the reality franchise are international, it makes sense that most 90 Day Fiancé couples met online. Dating apps allow people from countries all over the world to connect, regardless of their postal codes. Despite being based in different countries, there are still many couples featured on 90 Day Fiancé who met in person, rather than virtually.
The 90 Day Fiancé universe now has a plethora of spin-offs. With these offshoots come new couples with fresh and exciting origin stories. Although many of those stories began in the virtual realm, some feature fewer apps and more random meet-ups. For example, Ariela Weinberg met Biniyam Shibre at a taxi stand. Even though a lot of 90 Day Fiancé couples’ stories started online, their origin stories are hardly run-of-the-mill. Plenty of couples who met online did so in unique ways. For example, Jovi Dufren and Yara Zaya met on a travel app, rather than getting acquainted via a karaoke app, like Jon and Rachel Walters.
While there is obviously no correct way to meet your partner, the following five couples are all still together (one couple may be on a break), so their first meetings definitely led to long-term happiness. Nonetheless, to get where they are today, some couples certainly struggled more than others. These pairs overcame obstacles, and it’s time to discover a group of 90 Day Fiancé couples that got together in offbeat ways. Each origin story is memorable and well worth reading about.
Russ & Paola
Russ and Paola Mayfield were one of the first four couples to be featured on 90 Day Fiancé season 1. Russ, who’s considered the mature half of the partnership, was an oil rig engineer who met Paola while he was stationed in Colombia for work in 2014. While in Colombia, Russ went to a house party. He was having a casual conversation with another party attendee when Paola approached him. The Colombian model said she had overheard him speaking English and she wanted to practice that language. The two started talking and the rest is history. Russ said he fell in love with Paola immediately and started preparing to bring her over to his home state of Oklahoma. The couple has had a rough seven years filled with family issues, career and location changes, and a miscarriage. However, they are still working on their problems, and they share one young son, Axel.
Loren & Alexei
Long-time fan favorites Loren and Alexei Brovarnik from 90 Day Fiancé season 3 met in Israel in 2013 when Florida resident Loren took a trip there through an organization called Birthright Israel. Alexei was the medic assigned to Loren’s tour group on the trip. Originally, Loren was supposed to be in an entirely different tour group with an entirely different medic, but the organization changed her itinerary a mere five days before she left. When Alexei was assigned as the group’s medic, this changed both of their lives forever. The very next year, Loren decided to travel to Israel five times to visit her new Israeli love interest. Loren and Alexei welcomed their first son in April 2020 and had their second son in September 2021.
Kalani & Asuelu
Fans were introduced to Kalani Faagata and Asuelu Pulaa in 90 Day Fiancé season 6. The two met when Kalani was on vacation with her family in Samoa in 2016. Kalani and her family were staying at a resort where Asuelu was the activities director. Despite their seven-year age difference, Kalani caught Asuelu’s eye when she was walking along the beach with her father. During Kalani’s two-week vacation in Samoa, the two became friends, talking for hours and going on multiple kayaking trips. Right before Kalani returned to the U.S., she and Asuelu confessed their feelings for each other. Kalani was in love and took another trip to Samoa to visit Asuelu. Approximately 9 months later, their son Oliver was born, and after finishing the visa process, Asuelu was able to join Kalani in her home state of Utah. Despite drama with both sides of their families, Kalani and Asuelu are still together and now have a second son, Kennedy.
Brandon & Julia
Brandon Gibbs and Julia Trubkina from 90 Day Fiancé season 8 technically connected online, but they were introduced to each other by someone Julia met at a bar while on vacation in South Korea. While in South Korea, Julia was talking to another bar patron when he said she reminded him of her friend. He also asked her if she would be interested in getting to know his pal. Of course, his friend was Brandon. Julia and Brandon began talking and eventually fell in love. They decided to get engaged. Julia, a Russian go-go dancer, famously flew to Virginia to live with Brandon during the 90-day phase and began working on Brandon’s family farm. Because she didn’t like the farm work or the meddling behavior of Brandon’s parents (such as bringing up birth control before they even picked Julia up from the airport), Julia eventually convinced Brandon to move away from the farm. For a while, the couple branched out in an apartment in another part of Virginia.
Ariela & Biniyam
Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre from 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way seasons 2 and 3 arguably have one of the most interesting (and controversial) origin stories in the franchise. Ariela was married to Leandro Fosque from Argentina for ten years, but they got a divorce in 2018 because they wanted different things. Leandro wished to become a doctor, and Ariela wanted to travel. During her travels, she found a cheap plane ticket to Ethiopia. While she was there, she was waiting for a taxi outside of a hotel when she spotted Biniyam. The New Jersey local yelled, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” and the rest is history. Despite drama involving cultural differences and an infamous visit from the aforementioned Argentinian ex-husband Leandro, 90 Day Fiancé franchise stars Ariela and Biniyam are still married and have one child, son Aviel. Whether they “met cute” or not, these couples are going the distance.
