The 90 Day Fiancé franchise has featured many questionable relationships, including some marriages involving religious men. Although numerous cast members are religious and are not problematic, there are multiple cases of religious men trying to justify their relationships with younger women or control the women they date due to their religious beliefs. Discover which religious men in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise angered fans with their relationship views.
When it comes to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, cast members have surprised viewers with “age gap” relationships. The extended franchise features many instances of younger women being pursued by older men, as well as older women seeking out younger male partners. Viewers have judged some of these relationships for being inappropriate, as power imbalances appeared apparent. However, franchise fans are particularly annoyed by the older men in the franchise, who started dating and marrying younger women on religious grounds. Using religion to justify questionable relationship choices has not gone over well with viewers.
While some 90 Day Fiancé cast members are called out for their relationship age gaps, other franchise relationships feature controlling partners. Viewers have watched 90 Day Fiancé partners gaslight one another, while other people have used their religions as a means of controlling their partners. Fans have voiced their anger over witnessing a number of franchise women being coerced into changing to fit the beliefs of their husbands. This is because many of the franchise men who are vocal about their religions blatantly break their own religious moral codes. Find out how the following religious franchise men have offended viewers.
Ben Rathbun
The 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days season 5 newcomer Ben Rathbun joined the current season late. However, in no time flat, he was called out by viewers. Ben, who is in his 50s, was married to his ex-wife for decades and had four children with her. Now, the former pastor is using his faith to justify dating Mahogany Roca, a Peruvian woman whom he thought was 24 (she is actually 22). Ben has said numerous times that he believes God brought Mahogany into his life and thinks that God wants him to pursue her, even after Mahogany told Ben not to visit her in Peru. Ben remains fixated on making things with Mahogany work despite her obvious lack of feelings for him because he thinks it is “God’s plan.” Many viewers find it is convenient that “God’s plan” for Ben happens to be a 22-year-old woman who is the same age as his daughter.
Steven Johnston
Steven Johnston appeared on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way season 3. He was accused of religious hypocrisy and using his Mormon faith to control his now-wife, Alina. He told her he had to convert to Mormonism to marry him, even though Alina was raised to think that Mormonism was a cult. TOW‘s Steven expected Alina to remain a virgin until marriage, and abstain from drinking caffeine or alcohol, among other Mormon rules. However, Steven did not hold himself to the same high religious standards that he held Alina to. Steven revealed to Alina that he slept with numerous women, including while dating her. Meanwhile, he continued to chat with other women after their marriage. Therefore, it appears that Steven used his religion to dictate how he expected Alina to behave.
Alan Cox
Alan Cox appeared on the very first season of 90 Day Fiancé and remains happily married to Brazilian beauty, Kirlyam Cox. While Kirlyam is beloved by franchise fans for her sweet nature, some viewers can’t get past how the couple first met. Alan, who is eight years older than Kirlyam, met her when she was just a child and he was on a Mormon mission in her hometown. 90DF‘s Alan and Kirlyam later met again and started dating when Kirlyam was older, but viewers remain disturbed by their initial meeting. Alan also angered viewers by crushing Kirlyam’s modeling dreams when he said that her posing was against his Mormon faith. Although the couple is still married and they are happy parents, some viewers remain skeptical of Alan.
David Vázquez Zermeño
David Vázquez Zermeño is another religious cast member who pursued a woman younger than him based on his faith. David was 27 when he married Evelyn Cormier, who was only 18. David appeared to have a strange relationship with sex, as he notoriously refused to discuss it on camera. Many viewers thought that David wanted to be regarded as a nice guy, though there was something more sinister lurking beneath the surface that he tried to conceal with his faith. 90DF‘s Evelyn revealed that the couple split a few months ago, which led to her opening up about their marriage and accusing her religious husband of mental and emotional abuse. She said that their relationship lacked any sort of passion.
Josh Strobel
Many viewers were unhappy with the relationship between Josh Strobel and his now-wife Aleksandra Iarovikova, due to Josh’s faith. Like Steven, Josh used his Mormon faith to change many things about Aleksandra. Josh had her convert to Mormonism, which dramatically changed her life. Aleksandra loved drinking and partying and worked as a go-go dancer, though she gave up her entire lifestyle to suit the rules of Josh’s church. While Josh came across as far sweeter and more sheltered than Steven, viewers were nonetheless unhappy to see how much control religion had over their relationship, even though the duo stayed together.
Benjamin Taylor
Before the 90 Days cast member Benjamin Taylor is another man who concerned viewers due to the way that his faith affected his relationships. Ben is married to his Kenyan partner Akinyi Obala, but their relationship has definitely not been perfect. Ben was extremely controlling of Akinyi and used his faith to justify his actions. While Akinyi is also religious, 90 Day Fiancé fans were nonetheless concerned about the way that Benjamin tried to control Akinyi, which creeped viewers out.
