90 Day Fiancé is known for their often mismatched couples, especially when it comes to language (Season 7’s Anna and Mursel), culture (Season 4’s Nicole and Azan), and religion (Brittany and Yazan from 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 2). Some of the most stark differences, however, come from the age gaps that are often on display. While it’s not always a recipe for disaster — after all, Mark and Nikki from Season 3 of the show had a record 39 year age difference, and they’re still together as far as anyone knows — it leads to some serious issues more often than not.
So who clashed, and who made it work? I took a look back at some of the most memorable age gap couples from the TLC franchise and checked in with where they are today.
Evelyn and David — 9 Year Difference
While their nine-year age difference isn’t actually that jarring (and we wouldn’t bat an eye if they were 28 and 37), the fact that Season 5’s Evelyn was only 18 when they planned to tie the knot set off alarm bells for more than a few viewers. It didn’t help that she was the youngest star to ever appear on the show who wasn’t someone’s kid, sibling, or friend — but the fact that she and her husband-to-be appeared to share similar religious and romantic convictions actually helped set them back on equal footing. Both had agreed to wait for marriage to have sex, and that meant (for the most part, at least) that no one was getting unfairly taken advantage of. These two went on to tie the knot, and they’re still together today.
Ashley and Jay — 11 Year Difference
At only 20, Jay was only seriously young when he starred on Season 6 of the show. Ashley, however, was 31, and she was already a mother of two. It was clear they were simply at different stages of their life. That didn’t mean they weren’t both down to party, though. It just meant that Ashley was looking for someone to be faithful to her, and Jay was still looking to get his hook up on. While we’re perfectly happy to suspend our disbelief and take the mom at her word that her husband really was a good step-father to her kids, it seemed these two were always headed for splitsville, and they definitely arrived. After tying the knot, splitting up, getting back together, breaking up, getting back together, and breaking up again, it seems they’ve finally gone their separate ways for good.
Danielle and Mohamed — 15 Year Difference
The couple became well known after starring on Season 2 of the series, but it wasn’t just their relative ages (41 and 26, respectively) that made them stand out. Frankly, fans were suspicious of these two from the jump, and it’s easy to see why. While Danielle seemed earnestly into the younger, handsome man, his own depth of emotion paled in comparison. While he was occasionally sweet with her, fans wondered just what it was that he allegedly loved about her — besides the fact that she was his ticket to the States. Apparently proving them right, the husband and wife’s marriage went sour almost as soon as they tied the knot, and they’re still on awful terms to this day.
Michael and Juliana — 19 Year Difference
The Season 7 pair seemed like something you’d hear about in an international-dating-gone-wrong horror story. At just 23, Juliana was a young modeling who was living the good life. At 42, Michael was a father of two who had his own expensive tastes. Right off the bat, he gave her access to his credit card, and fans were just waiting for shit to hit the fan. However, these two somehow proved everyone wrong. Not only did they manage to show that their love was real, they even got Michael’s ex-wife, Sarah, on board enough to officiate the wedding. Now, the mom and step-mom are close friends, and the couple even started quarantining with Sarah and her own new husband when the coronavirus pandemic came stateside.
Angela and Michael — 22 Year Difference
It’s not actually that scandalous to see a 31-year-old with a 53-year-old, but age became an issue for this couple when it came to Michael’s culture. Throughout their appearances on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, 90 Day Fiancé, and 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After, Michael made it clear that he was looking for a wife to have children with. The issue? Angela is menopausal, and while she was hoping to have at least one good egg left, a doctor told her the chances of her getting pregnant on her own were slim to none (and that’s being generous). On top of that, Angela already raised her kids — and now she’s helping raise her grandkids. While these two haven’t given up yet (on each other or the idea of having a baby, which has led them to continually bug Angela’s daughter into forking over one of her own eggs), some fans think it’ll only be a matter of time until their marriage falls apart for good.
David and Annie — 24 Year Difference
Despite the fact that the Season 5 couple have nearly a quarter of a century difference in their ages, that never seemed to be an issue for them. After all, they met organically while both out in a bar in Thailand, not on a dating app where David was trolling for younger women or Annie was fishing for a sugar daddy. These two just seemed to genuinely like each other. Instead, their primary problem was money — and with David’s friend footing the bill for a lot of their expenses, including a dowry that listed two water buffalo as part of the price. Now, though, it seems like this couple is doing just fine on their own. Not only have they landed a steady pay check from 90 Day Fiancé’s Pillow Talk series, they also just scored their own Facebook Watch spin-off: Spice It Up with David & Annie.
Kenneth and Armando — 26 Year Difference
Season 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way introduced us to Kenneth, a 57-year-old grandfather, and Armando, a 31-year-old single dad. Though they have one of the biggest age differences on the show, it never seemed to be an issue for them. Kenny was happy to sell his home, move to a new country, and become a step-father to his soon-to-be husband’s daughter. The real divide here is the language one. While Armando is fluent in English, his daughter isn’t — and Kenny’s only learned a paltry baker’s dozen words in Spanish. Despite that, fans are rooting for them to make it work.
Jenny and Sumit — 29 Year Difference
Much like Kenny and Armando, Jenny and Sumit from The Other Way seem to be totally unbothered by the nearly 30 years between them. That isn’t true for all of their loved ones, however. While Sumit’s parents initially welcomed Jenny into the family, they thought she was just their son’s friend. When they found out that the woman who was older than Sumit’s mom was actually his boo, things went south and fast. That said, the couple has continued to carry on strong regardless of the obstacles in their path. We wouldn’t be surprised if these two actually made it down the aisle by the end of Season 2.
Ed and Rose — 31 Year Difference
Is it any surprise that 54-year-old Ed is part of the “age is just a number” crowd? The Before the 90 Days star (who became one of the most well-known faces in the franchise after getting the shit meme’d out of him) claimed that he initially just wanted to be friends after realizing Rose was only 23 but she was the one that took things further. Their position as parents might’ve put them on even footing, but it seemed that “Big Ed” was already trying to be the boss of his girlfriend. It didn’t help that Rose actually seemed to be the mature one in the relationship despite being three decades younger. Before their season was even over, their romance had gone down the toilet — and fans were glad to see it get flushed away. Age may just be a number, but this romance was nothing but toxic.
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Images: TLC