90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days premiered its second season with two established couples and three new couples sharing their relationship stories and risky adventures abroad to find lasting love during Sunday night's episode on TLC.
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RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT?! (PHOTOS)
Each couple hopes a marriage proposal will take place within 90 days, or else one's Tourist Visa will expire.
The two returning pairs on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days are Darcey Silva, a 42-year-old who works in the fashion industry from Middletown, CT, and her boyfriend Jesse Meester, a 24-year-old from Amsterdam, Netherlands, as well as Paul Staehle, a 34-year-old who works in IT from Louisville, KY, and his girlfriend Karine Martins, a 21-year-old from Brazil.
The three new couples starring on the series are Angela Deems, a 52-year-old nursing assistant for Hospice from Hazlehurst, GA, and, her boyfriend Michael Ilesanmi, a 30-year-old from Nigeria; Rachel Bear, a 33-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her boyfriend Jon Walters, a 34-year-old from England; and Ricky Reyes, a 33-year-old photographer and videographer from Columbus, OH, and his love interest Melissa, a 28-year-old from from Colombia.
The 90 Day Fiance broadcast kicked off with fans being introduced to Angela from Georgia, who has two daughters and six grandchildren. She was also taking care of her mother, who had cancer.
Angela had been married once before, but their union only lasted for three years because she had found it difficult to trust him. Angela never thought she'd get married again, but then she met Michael on Facebook.
"He's from Nigeria and he's 30-years-old. At first he told me he was 40; I told him I was 50. But we're out of our damn minds," Angela joked to the cameras. "I never dated anybody this young, but I was like, 'I'm just going to go for it!' Michael is very sexy."
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Angela admitted Nigeria is rumored to be "the scamming capital of the world," but she just "felt so much love for him."
They talked for a few months over the phone and social media, and Michael made Angela feel appreciated and wanted. She therefore decided to travel to Nigeria despite the huge expense for the flight.
Angela confessed her friends thought Michael was scamming her, but she didn't seem to care. Since "life is too short," Angela decided to propose marriage to Michael in Nigeria and hopefully have him move to the United States to live with her.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW"I don't think he's using me, I trust him... When I go over there, I will know," Angela insisted after her hairstylist called her "brave and stupid."
Viewers then met Rachel from New Mexico, who was traveling to England to meet her boyfriend, Jon, for the first time. She had never left the country before and planned to stay for two weeks.
However, Rachel and Jon had discussed getting married. She admitted it would be "the most expensive first date" ever given she must travel halfway across the world to meet somebody for the first time, but she was "risking it all for love."
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Rachel's heart was on the line, but she wasn't the only person taking a risk. She has a seven-year-old daughter named Ella. Rachel called herself "a solo mom," but "not a single mom."
Rachel got divorced about three years ago after a three-year marriage, and she promised herself never to settle for a man again.
Rachel then met her man on a karaoke app, as they sang a duet together. When she saw Jon for the first time, she thought he was incredibly handsome and couldn't keep her eyes off him.
After singing together, Jon began messaging her. He loves to play American football, and Rachel gushed about how he has "a super hot body." She couldn't even believe such a good looking guy was interested in her back.
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Rachel now has an eight-month-old daughter named Lucy. For the two weeks Rachel travels to England, her daughter Ella will stay with her father.
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"Jon views Lucy as his daughter... He seems like the perfect English gentleman, but it's easier to promise the world when you're 4,000 miles away on a computer screen," Rachel said.
"I am constantly questioning why Jon is so willing to take me on and take on a baby having never touched me or met me before."
Jon had been in "a bad situation," and Rachel wondered if this was going to be a dealbreaker for her.
Next up was Ricky from Ohio. Throughout his life, he had an extremely hard time finding love. Not only has he been married twice, but he also welcomed two children -- one child with each woman. Ricky is dad to a 12-year-old daughter, Amber, and a 21-month-old toddler.
It was important to Ricky that he be a good role model for his daughters. He was in the process of divorcing his second wife due to a breakdown in communication and other differences.
Four months after the separation, Ricky began working out and dating online, and that's when he met a beautiful Latin woman from Colombia on a website named Melissa.
Ricky thought Melissa was "hot as hell" and they hit it off "instantaneously." He thought she was fun, playful and intelligent, as she works as a nurse. Ricky wondered if their relationship was "too good to be true."
After communicating for a while via text, Ricky attempted to video chat with his love interest. The chat didn't go well, but Melissa said it was just a poor connection and phone signal.
Amber was happy for her father, but she worried the relationship was happening pretty quickly, especially when Ricky said he had purchased an engagement ring.
"I'm traveling halfway across the globe, but life is an adventure. You have to make crazy moves, and I think Melissa is the one," Ricky told the cameras.
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Darcey said it was love at first sight, and even though she's 20 years older than him, their chemistry was undeniable. Jesse's parents, however, are not comfortable with their age gap, and she felt insecure.
"He's a dominant alpha and it bothers me, but I still feel like Jesse is the one," Darcey said as footage played of Jesse demanding she never drink alcohol again.
It had been six months since Darcey saw Jesse, and he was about to come to the United States for the first time. Unfortunately, there had been "a lot of miscommunication and fighting" between them, and Darcey hoped things would be better this time.
Darcey and Jesse already broke up once -- and she announced it on social media -- but Darcey intended to solve their problems once they reunited in-person. Darcey called it "the most pivotal time" in their relationship, but she could easily envision him as her future husband.
Darcey got a new look and lost some weight, and she was ready for Jesse to see her looking her absolute best.
Rachel was then shown meeting with two of her girlfriends for dinner. She had been keeping a secret from them in fear of getting judged, but she decided it was time to come clean. Rachel revealed she was hoping to get engaged and Jesse paid for Lucy's daycare at the time.
"The thing is, with Jon, he technically does have a record of some sort," Rachel said, adding that he's been convicted for fighting "multiple times." The most serious fight was apparently when Jon was denied a visa to come to the United States when she was ready to give birth to Lucy.
We then caught up with Paul, who was working in IT and living with his parents at the time. Paul had already traveled to Brazil to meet his "perfect" partner, as she lived in a remote town on the Amazon river. There was a chance of hijackers, diseases, and more.
Paul found the language barrier difficult, and the couple ran into some problems when Karine learned of his criminal past. (He went to jail for arson and also had a restraining order issued against him by his ex-girlfriend).
Paul said, however, Karine was willing to accept him for who he is. After four months apart, Paul was shown packing up his belongings for another trip to see his future wife.
Paul intended to stay for 90 days and get married to Karine. Paul hoped Karine would be able to move to America with a green card after exchanging vows, but he needed her parents' permission first.
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Since Karine's parents didn't approve of his record, Paul worried Karine was "keeping her options open" and flirting with other men online. While he really cared for Karine, he didn't want to just be "her meal ticket" to come to the United States.
After Angela shopped for an engagement ring for Michael -- a decision her daughter, Scottie, didn't really agree with -- Ricky was featured telling three of his friends at a bar that he was ready to propose marriage again.
Ricky showed off the diamond ring, and his friends were concerned, especially because he was sending her money every week.
Before Angela took off, she admitted to her daughter that Michael kept zero photos of her on his phone. Angela said he was taking precautions because he could be put in jail for scamming if police found such photos, but Scottie considered that a red flag.
Ricky's friends called him "a gentle giant" and said it was necessary to watch out for him. Ricky was advised to be careful and cautious, but he intended to follow his heart.
Paul then headed to the airport with his mother, who had no idea her son was planning to get married. Paul had sex toys packed in his bag as well as gifts for the girl he loved.
Paul was "terrified" of the trip because he had to show Karine's family all of his paperwork and arrest documents. There was no telling how Karine's parents would react to his record, and he was afraid to go home "brokenhearted."
Meanwhile, Ricky revealed to Melissa that he was going to travel to Colombia to meet her, and then she grew distant over the course of several days.
Fluid communication and great chemistry suddenly turned into "one-liners" from Melissa, and Ricky thought that was weird and disconcerting. She would simply reply "okay" to his long text messages. Ricky, however, attributed Melissa's reluctance to nerves, and her behavior didn't change his desire to meet her.
"If this doesn't work out, I will be extremely upset and heartbroken, but this could be the love of my life," Ricky told the cameras. "Once she sees how I am as a person, hopefully I can win her heart."
As for Darcey, she was anticipating Jesse's arrival in New York City. They were going to spend the day in a hotel before meeting Darcey's family.
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Jesse was so happy to see Darcey as well, but they had issues in the past due to her insecurities. He called their relationship "dysfunctional," saying there was "continuous fighting" and "continuous drama."
The purpose of the trip was to see where they stood, and Jesse hoped Darcey had worked on bettering herself.
Darcey thought Jesse seemed more thrilled about being in America than he was about seeing her. He asked questions and wanted a sightseeing tour, but she said his comments came across "belittling and demeaning."
"I don't feel he's 100 percent accepting of who I am. I just feel at times I'm not good enough," Darcey vented to the cameras. "So do I appease him? I just want us to be a team. We'll have to see how this trip goes."
Meanwhile, Rachel was packing for her trip, and she was bringing her baby with her. She was nervous about meeting Jon in person, and this was the first time she could see how they'd function as a family.
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Rachel knew this gathering was a little crazy, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life asking, "What if?" She knew she could be returning home from all of this "either engaged or devastated."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
