Michael Jessen
Michael Jessen Biography
Michael Jessen was a 41-year-old independent and self-employed wine entrepreneur from Greenwich, CT, and Juliana Custodio de Sousa was a 23-year-old model from Goiania, Brazil, when they starred on Season 7 of 90 Day Fiance.
The pair met during a big yacht party in Croatia and quickly fell in love. But after being denied Tourist Visas, Michael -- a father of two, Max and Cece -- realized obtaining a K-1 visa would be the only way Juliana could come to America and they could make their romance last.
Juliana and Michael rarely fought during the season, except over the possibility of a prenuptial agreement, which Michael later decided wasn't necessary.
So after winning over Max and Cece's approval and befriending Michael's ex-wife Sarah Jessen (who is now married to another man), Juliana and Michael tied the knot in an intimate backyard wedding. They got married on October 12, 2019.
Michael and Juliana are still happily married and regularly show it on their social media accounts.
Juliana and Michael post about each other and their mutual love constantly, even dating back to when 90 Day Fiance's seventh season was airing on TLC.
This couple never seemed to care about spoilers!
Michael revealed in December 2019 he and Juliana were in the process of adopting her niece and nephew, who are 8 and 6 years old, from Brazil and bringing them over to the United States.
In March 2020, Michael shared a photo of himself hugging Juliana and their little black dog Howard.
"Love these two so much," Michael captioned the March 5 Instagram post along with heart emojis and smiley face emoticons.
In April 2020, Michael and Juliana revealed they had become so close to Michael's ex-wife Sarah and her new husband Sean Naso that the two couples were even quarantining in the same home together during the current pandemic.
However, in October 2021 confirmed he and Juliana are divorcing and suggested she had left him and was already dating someone new.
Michael's confirmation came after weeks of breakup speculation prompted by the pair's social-media activity.
"A quick break from my social media break to say... #HappyAnniversary @julianacustodiooo," Michael began his October 12 post on Instagram.
After posting multiple heart, cake and champagne emojis, Michael continued, "Today is only our second wedding anniversary and, sadly, our last."
The Connecticut native described his split from the Brazilian model as "a COVID-19 casualty" that won't be showing up in any statistics.
Michael went on to address Juliana and wrote, "Thankfully, you are quickly emerging healthier and stronger than ever. Some of the rest of us will likely be staying in intensive care for quite some time."
"Your experiences in life have developed in you a resilience, self-reliance, and independence that allows you to survive, and even thrive, under almost any circumstance."
"You also possess a natural and an incredibly beautiful joy, happiness, and positivity that made me fall in love with you the first time we were ever together."
Michael additionally complimented his estranged wife by writing, "Those of us who truly know you realize that the beauty inside of you is even more incredible than your beauty on the outside."
However, the father of two explained, "I understand how our situation throughout the pandemic could slowly, and eventually completely, drain you of these qualities."
"All of us were completely drained by the end of it and I did not maintain the strength of mind and the fortitude to be the husband that you wanted me to be."
Michael admitted he was under great "stress" and "pressure" to take care of his family last year.
Juliana didn't respond well to Michael's public posting and fired back with a lengthy Instagram posting of her own in which she suggested Michael was lying about why the couple was divorcing.
In her posting, Juliana claimed she had been supporting Michael financially and "felt like a maid" before the couple's split.
Juliana posted a photo of herself in Hamburg, Germany with a rainbow in the background and captioned it, "After the storm comes a rainbow."
Juliana also shared a slideshow of images featuring her lengthy statement, which began with, "Happy 2 year anniversary and the couple of years together, Michael. As you well said, only our second anniversary and our last."
Touching on the cause of their split, Juliana wrote to Michael, "You pointed [out] the COVID-19 as one of the reasons we are [no] longer together, but we all know that there are more than that."
"I am grateful for all the lessons and the moments we got to spend together and the beautiful memories with your family. As [you well] pointed out, we went through a lot together, the Covid was a hard time but the hardest part for me was to picture you as someone that would be by my side, and unfortunately, you showed something completely different."
Juliana insisted she did everything to keep Michael's family afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
"As everyone, we went through a hard time financially, but it was not a problem for me to help you, the kids, ex wife and her husband financially because I was the only one working at the time, but we all know how the situation wears out," Juliana claimed.
"I wasn't part of the family anymore, I was feeling like a maid. It was toxic to a point. I was not living the life I wanted to live."
"I needed to leave because I wasn't recognizing who I am anymore. I left my life in Europe and career to live with you, because I loved you. But I love myself more, to the point to recognize I am important, and I want to be happy," Juliana explained.
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