Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days Season 8 premiere, “Now Boarding.” Stream the episode with an HBO Max subscription and read at your own risk!
The 2025 TV schedule may be winding down for many shows, but 90 Day Fiancé keeps its fans entertained all year long. As such, Season 8 of Before The 90 Days premiered weeks before Christmas, and gave us a whole heap of new couples to obsess over as we prepare for episodes yet to hit the 2026 premiere linup.
Every couple participating in this season has some appeal for me, but, as is often the case, a few stories grabbed me more than others. While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict how I’ll feel about them a month from now, I have a sneaking suspicion fans will be talking about these new 90 Day stars more than others.
Forrest And Sheena
From the moment I saw that Sheena could monitor Forrest‘s every move from the Philippines via security cameras, I knew we were in for something special. From his girlfriend’s frequent surveillance to going to the sex store with his mother, I have a feeling we’ll get a lot of wild moments with him once he and his mom go to see Sheena abroad. I haven’t felt this confident that I’d love a storyline since that season with Rayne and all her talk of vampires, so I can’t wait to see what next week brings.
Laura And Birkan
I can’t shake the suspicion that Laura and Birkan‘s 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days storyline is all a setup so that she and her “best friend” Michal can play out the plot of something I’d expect from an upcoming Hallmark movie. She even basically admitted she had romantic feelings for Michal, and that he was the one refusing to move the relationship forward because of past traumas. All of these confessions, and we haven’t even met Birkan yet? This storyline is going to be messy.
Emma And Ziad
The moment I learned Emma was an identical twin, I was hooked. While it doesn’t seem as though we’ll get to see much of her sibling, Izzy, as the premiere already ended with Emma meeting Ziad in Morocco.
Of course, the couple was already hit with the recurring trope of “Western woman upset and uncomfortable about the cultural norms in the Middle East.” It’s like none of these people do any research or watch the show before applying to be on it. We’re barely a year removed from Tigerlily Abdelfattah experiencing this same culture shock, and we’ve seen plenty others before her.
I don’t have high hopes for Ziad and Emma’s relationship working out, but I do imagine TLC quietly has plans to feature more of Emma and Izzy in the future. Darcey and Stacey Silva have had quite a run in 90 Day Fiancé, and even got their own spinoff at one point. Could Emma and Izzy be in the running for the next major franchise stars of TLC?
My Thoughts On The Rest Of The Couples So Far
I don’t single out these 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days couples to imply the rest are boring, because there is something interesting to me about everyone involved, as for the ones not mentioned, here’s what drew me in about their story:
- Jovon and Annalyn – Can you really be married if you’ve never actually met each other face to face? I guess we’ll find out how that works once this story really gets rolling.
- Rick and Trisha – Rick has five kids, and Trisha is trying to get him on the line for number six. I don’t blame him for having concerns, and suspect her ghosting him for weeks at a time was because he’s not the only person she’s talking to.
- Lisa and Daniel – 90 Day Fiancé really loves to give us the storyline of older American women going after much younger men from Africa. That said, the twist that Lisa was a lesbian for two decades prior to meeting him was quite a twist.
- Elise and Joshua – I knew from the time she first appeared on 90 Day: Hunt For Love that there were future plans to include her on 90 Day Fiancé. Elise checks off all the boxes in terms of what makes a superstar in this franchise, and while I may not believe her relationship with Joshua is destined for marriage, I guarantee she’ll give us an entertaining storyline.
- Aviva and Stig -An American travels to Belize to start a serious relationship with a famous rapper. What more could we want? I’m just hoping he’s better than some of the other past musicians we’ve seen on the show.
Overall, it’s a good group, and a good mix of couples from all around the world. I can’t wait to see them all in the same room for the tell-all special, though that’s still quite a ways away.
I’m excited to continue watching and see what all happens with these couples as new episodes of 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days to air on TLC on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. This season is already off to a strong start, so I can’t wait to see how these storylines shape up in a few weeks.