90 Day Fiance Season 9, Episode 6 took some dramatic shifts from earlier episodes of the season.
Following days of Bilal’s weird head-games, Shaeeda found herself in hot water once again.
This time, however, Bilal was right, and this difference almost led to a relationship-breaking moment.
Biniyam wakes up for his first morning in America, but between his work goals and a day trip to New York, he and Ariela aren’t seeing eye-to-eye.
Miona and Jibri’s mom both think that the other is being “fake,” while Jibri feels like his mom is “testing” Miona and taking things too far.
Guillermo and Kara’s sit-down with friends reveals some mutual insecurities about each other and their relationship.
Patrick takes Thais home, and things go well until the next morning starts off with a disaster.
Finally, Yvette finds out the hard way that Mohamed has a surprise list of “rules” that he wants her to follow to make him feel “comfortable.”
1.
Bilal Hazziez and Shaeeda Sween
It’s funny the little overlaps that show up between couples. These two begin the episode by discussing rules and coffee, two topics covered by other couples. Shaeeda and Bilal continue to misuse the term “OCD,” which is a specific diagnosis, while describing his extremely strict ideas about how his home should look and who should do what, and where, in his house. In other words, it is a revelation to Shaeeda that she’s even permitted to drink coffee outside of the kitchen.
2.
Mostly, Shaeeda is just anxious
She is going to the Masjid with Bilal for Jum’ah, something that Bilal very clearly explains to the camera, aimed at a Christian (and culturally Christian) audience who might be unfamiliar. For Shaeeda, what’s new about this is meeting people in Bilal’s community, including his ex-wife.
3.
He tells her to not be nervous
Bilal then gives her one of his “pranks” … claiming that she has an unsightly mass of mucus visible in one of her nostrils. She does not have that, and she knows it, and it’s not helping her anxiety.
4.
Nooooo
Shaeeda reacts with a “tap” on the back of Bilal’s head. There are two issues here — the first being that this kind of contact, however gentle, is hitting, which is not something that you do to your partner (or anyone else) without their consent. Different people have different communication styles and some are fine with elbow-nudging and playful smacks, and others are not. The second issue is that Bilal is driving.
5.
It goes from bad to worse
As calmly as possible, Bilal tells Shaeeda that what she’s doing is not okay, which for some reason causes her to fragrantly violate the boundary that he has just set. He warns her that this is (obviously!) unsafe to do to a driver. Even if we imagine that literally everyone in Trinidad is totally okay with her hands-on behavior, cars work the same way where she’s from.
6.
He warns her to not do this again
Shaeeda responds … by doing it again, “tapping” (as she calls it) Bilal on the back of his head right after he told her that, if she did it again, he would pull over to the side of the road and have her Uber the rest of the way there.
7.
She thinks that he’s joking
To Shaeeda, the two of them were just playing moments ago. Only now does she realize that Bilal was serious. They are both upset, for different reasons.
8.
The car comes to a complete stop
While Shaeeda does not have to get out of the car and wait for an Uber, she gets the message, making the rest of the car ride tense and miserable.
9.
She turns his own words on him
If Shaeeda had used his ridiculous “points” line on him any other time, we’d be cheering. Using it after the first time that she’s been truly wrong this whole season is another matter. The rest of the ride is deeply uncomfortable. He doesn’t even tell her when he picks up his kids — he just gets out of the car, and Shaeeda isn’t initially sure whether to follow him or stay behind. They don’t tell the kids, however.
10.
The tension continues
At Jum’ah, Shaeeda is separated to pray with other women, including Halalah, Bilal’s mother. However, even when mingling takes place after the prayers, she feels abandoned. Bilal chats with other members of the faith community but seems to mostly ignore her until it’s time to go.
11.
Shaeeda, meet Shahidah
Is there a more awkward time for Shaeeda to meet Bilal’s ex-wife with the very similar name? Probably not. The two have a polite exchange and hope to speak more in the future. Truth be told, at least meeting Shahidah wasn’t the biggest worry on Shaeeda’s mind — because she had so much tension with Bilal that it was almost the only thing that she could think about.
12.
Later …
Shaeeda is left to her own devices for hours while Bilal goes to take his kids to practice, and while she spends the time doing yoga, it’s strange. She’s in an unfamiliar place, so it’s not like she can just go home easily. She has to wait until Bilal is ready to talk.
13.
They do talk
They have a serious conversation — Bilal explains how disrespected he felt by her striking him, however gently, on the head. Shaeeda chalks this up to a cultural difference. They both realize that they don’t know each other as well as they thought. Notably, this is not the first lecture that Shaeeda has gotten from Bilal, but it may be the first that she actually needed to hear.
14.
Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre
Biniyam wakes up on his first morning in America (well … since his divorce from Bria). Ariela is already up, and makes him coffee from an automated coffee maker and brings it to him to compare. He calls it “hot water,” though she notes that at least this won’t give him heart palpitations like the very-strong coffee in Ethiopia. Truth be told, I could not be less interested in whose hot bean juice tastes best, but this might be an interesting conversation for coffee-lovers out there.
15.
Biniyam has MMA dreams
Biniyam wants to become a mixed-martial-arts fighter, which is a very specific aspiration for someone who comes from a country where the sport apparently does not exist. Bini hopes that this will be a “career” that he can take on to support the family. Ariela notes that MMA fighters generally make very little, with all but the big names putting most of their profits back into training. But a little dose of realism isn’t going to stop Bini.
16.
But that can come later
Biniyam won’t have his work visa for months, so right now he’s seeing New Jersey for the first time. She says that life here is faster-paced than what Bini is accustomed to, and she’s excited to show him her culture and her way of life and she hopes that they both understand each other as a result.
17.
Biniyam definitely likes the place
His line about “living like rich people here” aligns with some 90 Day Fiance experiences, not so much with some others. That’s always neat to see.
18.
Ari wants him to try a bagel
On the one hand, it’s part of her heritage as a Jewish girl who grew up in the Northeast. On the other, it’s hard to think of a funnier way to prank someone unfamiliar with many American dishes than to have them try a bagel with lox. It’s a specific, often acquired taste.
19.
Then, a day trip to New York City
Biniyam is taken in by the city, saying that he almost hurt his neck from looking up at buildings. He also tries a water fountain for the first time. It’s interesting, because some 90 Day Fiance stars are leery of tap water because they come from places where only bottled water is potable. In contrast, Biniyam says that he has had water directly from rivers — ill-advisable near any human settlement.
20.
Bini wants to live in New York
He knows that the rent is expensive, but it’s his hope that the salaries will keep up with living expenses. In case you haven’t noticed, that is very much not the trend in most of America.
21.
Ariela feels taken aback and overwhelmed
She’s finding the prospect of paying rent for the apartment that they already have hard enough, and she has no idea how she would support the three of them in one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Ari has lived abroad for most of her adult life, but she knows how expensive the rent and utilities already are, and she knows that all of this is on her shoulders while Biniyam prepares to pursue his MMA dreams.
22.
Jibri Bell and Miona Bell
While Jibri is away doing band stuff, Miona is left at home … and is kind of uncertain with what to do with her time. She can’t work yet, she doesn’t really know anyone here yet, and she seems to be the sort of person who is outgoing.
23.
Her new space is also a challenge
Her dad built the family home in Serbia, and it has several floors. While some of her castmates are in awe of their new dwellings, Miona feels cramped in Jibri’s parents’ South Dakota home. While some of the structural differences are weather-related, it’s an adjustment to find herself in a ranch style home in one room.
24.
There’s a larger issue
Miona feels like Jibri’s family is being “fake nice” while she is accustomed to a blunter, more direct style of communication that doesn’t tiptoe around topics.
25.
Miona learns to do laundry
After discovering that American washers are simpler than what she’s accustomed to using (for the record, American washers used to have detailed temperature settings; it’s unclear if the change to hot-medium-cold was meant for consumer convenience or because most clothing doesn’t require as precise treatment as it did in past generations), Miona realizes that she didn’t need Mahala to show her. But while Jibri’s mom is there, she asks about one of Miona’s tops.
26.
Dial M for Modesty
Mahala asks Miona, as delicately as possible, if she could dress more “modestly” around the house, and seems especially concerned about how she dresses in front of Mahala’s husband. It’s awkward and weird and a bit intrusive.
27.
Naturally, Jibri confronts her over it
Jibri talks to his mom about how she is clearly “testing” Miona and how much he dislikes that she’s pushing things this far.
28.
Mahala feels blindsided
She tells the camera that she feels like Miona is being “fake” by telling Jibri this instead of her, mirroring Miona’s concern about her. In all seriousness, it makes sense for Miona to take things up with Jibri, just as it makes sense for Jibri’s parents to bite their tongues about Miona in the interests of politeness.
29.
No “kung fu” therapy, please
Jibri tells his mom that he wants her to act as his mom right now, not to slip into therapist mode. That’s a fair request. Overall, he’s not happy and Miona isn’t happy, and something will need to change.
30.
Kara Bass and Guillermo Rojer
Kara and Guillermo meet up with Kara’s friend, Hillary, and with Hillary’s fiance, Cooper. Kara acknowledges to the camera that Hillary is one of her most skeptical friends when it comes to this romance.
31.
So, what’s their biggest relationship red flag?
That’s not Hillary’s actual question and we’re sure that she was asked by production (if not by Kara and Guillermo) to ask these questions on camera, but the answer turns out to be … that Guillermo is alarmed by Kara’s drinking sometimes, because she will go out to party and doesn’t want to stop, doesn’t know how to stop. Different people indulge themselves in different ways, but it does lead to disagreements — including one instance in which she tossed his clothing out a window, back in the DR.
32.
The clothes-tossing happened over an ex
Kara and Guillermo reveal that they both sometimes read each other’s texts (so weird), and that Kara at one point found that Guillermo had used a line on an ex that he later used on Kara, which she felt cheapened it, which led to a big fight. Messy nonsense.
33.
So what’s the verdict?
Hillary and her fiance, Cooper, note that Kara and Guillermo — between the fights and the phone-reading — seem to have a lot of insecurities that make her wonder how ready they are for marriage.
34.
Patrick Mendes and Thais Ramone
Patrick drives Thais towards his house. She is enjoying the houses, and comments on how different the roads are (the US does have a famously robust international highway system). She is also delighted as she sees Patrick’s neighborhood and his house.
35.
It’s a nice house
Of course, even as they pull in to the driveway, they note that Patrick’s brother, John, is already home.
36.
Thais loves the house
But the voiceover, of course recorded on a different day, shares how Thais doesn’t understand why Patrick’s older brother lives with him. She explains that Patrick often changes the subject to avoid giving her a clear answer. Fans already suspect that John may have had personal or professional troubles that required some help, but we can also understand Patrick not wanting to say that on television right away.
