'90 Day Fiance' Is it Real and Which Couples Are Still Together?

May 2024 · 5 minute read

Since 2014, TLC has been documenting couples who have received (or applied for) K-1 visas and have just three months to decide whether they are ready to tie the knot. 

90 Day Fiancé has featured over 30 couples determined to get their foreign partners to the U.S. to make their relationships official — often times, against their families' wishes and their own better judgement. 

Surprisingly, the success rate of the couples on the series is pretty impressive. "Our batting average on this show is that out of every 25 couples on 90 Day Fiancé, we've only had three divorces," producer Matt Sharp boasted revealed. "That's less than 10 percent and the current U.S. (divorce) rate is over 40 percent. It's one of the reasons why people love this show, it's so unexpected."

Since then, the show has had several successful spinoffs, including 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After and 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. 

So, how does 90 Day Fiancé work? 

First, the petitioner (the American partner) files for a I-129F petition. Then, the beneficiary (foreign partner) must apply for a visa and pass all the required steps — medical exam, interview, and provide evidence the relationship is real. Once approved, the foreign fiancé is granted permission to travel to the U.S. to live with his or her future spouse. 

After arriving, the foreign fiancé has only 90 days to get married, or they must leave the country.  What could go wrong?

Is 90 Day Fiancé real? 

While the couples are in fact real — and not actors, as some skeptics believe — just like any other reality series, the TLC show has been accused of staging scenes and editing participants in a negative light. 

Season 6 star Larissa Dos Santos claimed the show was scripted on social media, telling her fans, "Yes, I'm not perfect but I did everything to follow my heart. People don't know the show, they created characters. TLC not want to help me, they are aware of the situation. I am crying because I am a woman, I have my pride and my current situation is very sad. Really sad for me." 

How much does 90 Day Fiancé pay? 

Not much. A friend of Season 5 contestant David Toborowsky claimed the couples were paid $1,000 per episode and $2,500 to appear in the tell-all. For a season, that brings the total to around $15,000 — and technically, the money would be going solely to the American partner in the relationship, since the non-citizen is technically not allowed to work in the U.S. yet. 

This could explain why more than one 90 Day Fiancé star has set up a GoFundMe page

90 Day Fiancé couples still together: 

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