Mohamed Abdelhamed Demands Yvette Arellano Choose Him or a Bikini on 90 Day Fiance (Recap)
Memorial Day Weekend’s episode of 90 Day Fiance saw some new, ugly sides to a few cast members come out.
Season 9, Episode 7’s most dramatic moment went down with Mohamed and Yvette, from start to finish.
An awkward dinner with Yve’s friends led to rehashing an old argument in the car, with Mohamed making it clear that he expects a lot more changes from her.
In Princeton, Ariela takes Biniyam for dinner with her family, but her siblings have questions and concerns. Can he reassure them?
Bilal and Shaeeda’s blink-and-you-miss-it scene involves some genuine romance and a heart-to-heart.
It is a very welcome break from the Lifetime Original psychological thriller Bilal’s been putting on.
Emily and Kobe clash over seemingly everything. Who will end up in the (literal) driver’s seat of their relationship?
Jibri takes Miona to meet his amazing grandmother, but just because their outfits match doesn’t mean that they see eye-to-eye on everything.
Kara takes Guillermo to her high school reunion, where he comes face-to-face with her ex. One revelation could forever change how he views Kara.
1.
Yvette Arellano and Mohamed Abdelhamed
Yve and Mohamed are ready to go out to dinner to meet up with her friends, who will be meeting him in person for the first time. However, Mohamed calls out Yve’s outfit, asking her to wear a longer jacket because her underwear shows through her dress in some lighting. This is a common issue with a lot of clothing, but a dealbreaker for him. Yvette agrees and gets a long jacket, but she is clearly a little taken aback that this is how the evening is beginning.
2.
No wine, thanks
While Jen, Rochelle, and Tatiana are free to drink wine, Yvette has agreed to Mohamed’s request that she only drink on special occasions now. She has also removed pork from her diet. She is not Muslim herself or interested in converting, but she is doing a lot to make him comfortable.
3.
What does Mohamed think of Yve’s friends?
He thinks that they’re weird, mostly. He feels like they are dressed in a certain way to test him and his reactions — Rochelle, at least, is wearing a low neckline, though looking back at Yvette’s introductory episode, the skin coverage is comparable to how they dressed when they just met up with Yve.
4.
Time for a “lightning round” of questions
Realistically, you don’t get on the show with your friend if you’re not going to ask some tough questions or otherwise stir the pot, so that’s just what they do. They ask Mohamed about his prior relationship experiences. He had one serious ex, but she broke things off because he does not have money. He confirms that he has never slept with or kissed anyone before Yve.
5.
Oh?
Yvette previously gave him rave reviews, however vague, to her friends, so they ask how he even knew what to do. Jen asks a natural but over-the-line question, which is whether Mohamed learned what to do from adult.
6.
Mohamed is clearly scandalized and offended
He says that he would be shocked if anyone for any reason discussed this in his community in Egypt. Of course, he’s on a reality show, he’s experiencing a different culture, and Jen is a adult therapist who is accustomed to very direct relationship conversations. But even in America, blunt discussions of adult and adult usually take place between trusted friends who are both comfortable with the topic, not with strangers. Usually.
7.
Mohamed tries to reassure them that all of his expectations are straightforward
Yve disagrees, telling him delicately that some of the things that he wants were not clear before he moved. Having seen him chastise her for talking to the plumber one-on-one and then for wearing a short jacket over her dress, that much is clear.
8.
Mohamed pushes back on “controlling” being a bad thing
He says that he sees this as being “protective” of Yvette, which is also how his culture views this sort of thing. It doesn’t go over well. Mohamed tells the camera that he can tell that Yvette’s friends are judging him, but insists that it’s wrong for them to do so.
9.
The car ride home is worse
Mohamed in the car says that he is “not okay” but that he held back his true thoughts at dinner for her benefit. It is fair for him to feel that he wasn’t respected, and Yvette acknowledges that. But he then tells her that he’s disappointed in her because he felt that him telling her to change clothes was a “private” conversation (even though it was on camera) and not to be shared with her friends.
10.
This dredges up an old argument
Apparently, they had a huge fight late in the summer and went a couple of days without speaking because Yvette ended up wearing a bikini while on a family trip, because she did not have a one-piece. Mohamed, who first reached out to her after seeing a pic of her in a bikini, had extracted a promise from her that she would not wear bikinis anymore. Yve felt that him wigging out about her wearing one out of necessity on a family trip was unfair, while Mohamed feels that he’s being reasonable and she’s backtracking on her promises to change for him.
11.
He feels that she’s backtracking
Yvette very clearly feels that he’s picking fights over trivial things.
12.
It’s him or the bikini
Mohamed tells her that she’s free to wear whatever she likes … OR she can get married to him. Not both. She’s changed her diet, her drinking, and cleaned out her closet for him, but he expects more, plus unexpected things like his rule about talking to the plumber, but to him, her arguing means that she’s valuing a particular bathing suit over their relationship.
13.
That hurts
At home, Yvette tells the camera that she doesn’t feel like it’s fiar, and that she doesn’t understand why Mohamed is acting this way if he loves her.
14.
She sleeps on the couch
Sleeping in separate rooms to cool off is sometimes necessary, but they clearly have underlying issues and long-standing resentments to work through if they’re going to have a chance. Yvette’s friends have doubts, and whatever we think of their direct questions, if they stirred up these important topics, they were doing Yve a favor.
15.
Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre
After a few moments of cuteness with little Avi, Biniyam video chats alone with his sisters, Mimi and Wish, who are quick to poke fun at Ariela and her grudge over having wine splashed in her face. Their joke, that Ari is “drunk” from the wine, makes Biniyam laugh, but he halfheartedly reminds them that she’s their (future) sister-in-law.
16.
His sisters are worried about him
They want him to be able to stay in the US because they want him to have a close relationship with Avi and potentially with his first son, though there are a lot of questions and doubts about that unusual situation. In other words, from his family’s perspective, this whole K-1 visa journey is about his son, not about his future wife.
17.
Speaking of family, he’s about to meet hers
Biniyam is no stranger to some of her relatives, but this will be a family dinner. He’s nervous to make a good impression, especially since he knows that at least some of her loved ones have suggested that she break up with Bini instead of just being miserable for years (which is, you know, common sense advice).
18.
Time for dinner
Biniyam is anxious to make a good impression, but her family has had enough time to realize that they have a lot to work on as a couple. They are also clearly troubled that he wants to be an MMA fighter, not only because it is dangerous, but because they’re not sure that this will make him a breadwinner even if he does well.
19.
So … what about when they nearly broke up?
Ariela’s sister Kristin overheard part of one of their fights when Ari was in the US for Avi’s surgery, and Biniyam explains that all of the going out with friends and partying that he did was a “mistake” because he wanted to keep busy without Ariela and Avi there.
20.
What about in the past?
Kristin then asks about how, seemingly every time that she would call Ariela or Ariela would call her in Ethiopia, Biniyam was not home. We don’t get a clear answer in this episode (in the past, Bini has made it clear that this is just what he wants to do and that he thinks that it’s weird and embarrassing that Ariela wants to know where he is), but it’s clear that Ari’s family worries that he will take up the same habit again one day.
21.
Awkward
Biniyam explained that his sisters suggested that Ariela could just sign green card documents even if they’re not still together so that he can stay in the United States. It’s an awkward thing to say at all, even if it’s not his actual plan. It’s even more awkward to say on international television. Ariela’s family’s discomfort is palpable.
22.
Bilal Hazziez and Shaeeda Sween
In their very short segment, Bilal and Shaeeda go on a walk on a “cold” night, where he surprises her with a romantic boat ride — exactly what she wanted. There, the two can talk.
23.
Things are serious but also very sweet
Shaeeda affirms that Bilal is the one for her. She also mentions that she wants kids. While Bilal is still shying away from saying “well I don’t,” he does open up about his fears — of another divorce, and especially of another divorce involving new children. That’s not the whole truth, but it’s the truth. Progress.
24.
Emily Bieberly and Kobe Blaise
Emily and little Koban greet Kobe early in the morning. Emily admits to the camera that she feels bad that she and Kobe couldn’t spend the night together, but it’s her responsibility as a mom to put her son first — and she knows that it’s just a matter of time before things are running more smoothly. At least, she hopes so.
25.
Kobe still has a lot to learn
He wants to bond with Koban, but part of that just means taking care of him, including changing his diapers. Emily hovers a bit, but she has 17 months of experience doing this, and her advice IS helpful to Kobe.
26.
They do the same routine with the car seat
If you put on a diaper wrong, usually this just means that it comes off or is a little more abrasive than it should be — not great, but not the end of the world. Doing a car seat wrong can have much more serious consequences, so even people with lots of childcare experience often want to be guided through a new seat or a new child. But as much fun as the cameras are having making Emily look like a control freak for [checks notes] helping her fiance learn to care for their son, this is a prelude for a much more real conflict.
27.
What is even happening here
This is not the first time that Kobe has tried to insist that he should drive, even though they’re in a town that Emily knows intimately but is new to him, in a country that is new to him. He also thinks that it’s hostile of Emily to insist upon driving her car, but doesn’t seem to feel that it’s equally hostile of him to insist upon driving. Emily does the driving — they’re planning to tour the town — but Kobe is clearly unhappy, and he’s not hiding it. We might have to wait until the Tell All to understand what this is about.
28.
Kobe isn’t super impressed, but …
Kobe has traveled the world, so this mid-sized town in Kansas isn’t really wowing him the way that Virginia suburbs wowed Guillermo. But … that’s not really what medium-sized towns (or large towns, or small cities) are for, in Kansas or elsewhere. Emily tries to direct some of the conversation to the town, including pointing out spacious homes that she’d love to have one day. Kobe, however, brings up that he thinks that her hands-on approach to everything is hurting their relationship. Emily sees it, but also explains to the camera that she’s very set in her routine with Koban, and that’s not easy to change for either of them.
29.
Kobe and Koban get some time together
While Emily’s mom is nearby, Kobe and Koban spend some time together because they need to bond, and given the choice, Koban is always going to go with the familiar adults like his mother or grandparents.
30.
It goes pretty well
Kobe calms Koban by reading to him, and it’s very sweet.
31.
Until it goes wrong
Emily arrives in the nick of time (it’s possible that someone, like a producer or her mom, covertly texted her to come back in) to stop Kobe from trying to feed Koban “ground nuts,” which is what he calls peanuts. Emily notes that Koban has never had them, and that they could be a serious choking hazard, which results in yet another disagreement between them.
32.
Maybe there’s a cultural difference, but …
… Emily is right. Koban is 17 months old. That’s generally old enough to taste peanut itself (common, severe allergens are best avoided for babies but are usually okay to sample for toddlers unless a doctor recommends otherwise), but a solid 31 months too young for the average child to eat whole peanuts or parts of the nuts. They’re a choking hazard, and that’s not about culture — it’s about the human windpipe and how tiny it is at those ages. But while this is a safety issue, Kobe seems to take it personally.
33.
Jibri Bell and Miona Bell
Jibri takes Miona to mee this grandmother, Cheyne, who has immense rural lesbian vibes. Miona is glad to meet Cheyne, and they seem to get along better than Miona does with Jibri’s mom.
34.
This is what she wore to work in the stable
Jibri and Miona have begun wearing matching outfits sometimes (his idea, apparently), but mostly the goofy farm work angle is a backdrop for them to have a conversation about current issues.
35.
Miona is bristling under the house rules
Cheyne is not surprised, she tells Miona and also the camera. She says that it will ultimately be up to Miona whether these rules eat away at their marriage or not.
36.
Miona has another issue, however
She wants her beach wedding. She’s a beach person, apparently, and this is her dream — well, a beach wedding and moving to Los Angeles. Jibri’s dreams are slightly more realistic, and he fears that he may have to win the lottery if he’s going to meet Miona’s expectations.
