As a 90 Day Fiancé blogger, podcaster, writer, and all around superfan, I am asked all the time by people who have not watched the show where they should start. With spinoffs, and couples that span multiple iterations, new fans need some type of a guide that ushers them into the world of 90 Day.
Well folks, your wish has been granted. I have compiled my definitive ranking of every season of 90 Day Fiancé, as well as its spinoffs. So grab some popcorn and your best boxed wine and settle in for some binge watching, as I break down the best seasons of this crazy universe, from worst to best.
18. 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days Season 4
Also known as the season where no one ended up together — except maybe yes-she-is-real Lana and David — this is without a doubt, the worst season in the entire franchise to date.
This cast is a boring, vapid, dreadful, downright unmitigated pile of crap stuck to the bottom of your shoe. No matter how much you try to wash it, the stink still follows you around and you’re reminded of it every time a Big Ed meme pops up in your Instagram feed.
17. 90 Day Fiancé Season 7
If there was an award for most boring season in the history of ever, we've found our winner. This snoozefest is not even redeemed by the appearance of Michael and Angela, whose story is pretty stale in this go-around. We did get a kicker with the denial of Michael’s visa but really, was that such a surprise? If there was anything else that happened this season, I missed it because I had more exciting things to do, like watching paint dry.
16. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After Season 4
Who was even on this season? What ever happened? Oh, and Paola and Russ bored us some more.
15. 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 2
More of Sumit lying to Jenny, Jenny crying it isn’t fair; Ariela having a baby in Ethiopia; and Jihoon and Deavan getting married, which, given what happened with them, was just sad to watch.
14. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After Season 3
A fun mix of couples past (except why are Paola and Russ here again?) with mildly entertaining antics but mostly forgettable storylines.
13. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After Season 5
We got to see Paul running some more, and more of Angela in Nigeria, which are some of my favorite things.
12. 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days Season 2
The season where we were introduced to Rachel and her most-definitely-punched-a-guy’s-eye-out fiancé Jon, and Rachel’s ever-present “it’s not fair” whining. Enough said.
11. 90 Day Fiancé Season 1
Worth watching mostly because it was the season that gave us the gem that is Kirlyam, the doe-eyed Brazilian cutie, and her slightly dorky, yet somehow not-at-all-creepy husband, Alan. This season reminds us of what the show was in its infancy.
10. 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days Season 3
Rounding out the Top 10 was TLC’s third trip down the aisle with Before the 90 Days. We see Darcey, again, but this time with Tom, and her desperation hitting an all-time high. Who can forget her half-naked-on-the-bed antics on her first night in London, but keeping her eye on the prize when she met up with Stacey and Florian in Albania.
We were also treated to Boring Ben trying to negotiate a bride price in Kenya; Muslim-convert Avery wanting to move to Syria, cause no biggie; and who can forget Caesar running all over Mexico, and beyond, by himself because Maria most definitely was on her way? This season brings joy in the same way your third Zoom meeting of the day does while your dog has diarrhea and your toddler finger paints with it.
9. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Season 2
Despite the inclusion of Paola and her lap dog Russ, this season still makes the Top 10 because Danielle’s hunt for an annulment and her efforts to get Mohammed deported were delightfully messy, Jorge and Anfisa’s relationship went from bad to worse, and Chantel and Pedro’s families were just crazy enough to keep us interested. This was kind of like the Miller Light of seasons: weak flavor but still gets the job done.
8. 90 Day Fiancé Season 5
This season ranks in the Top 10 mostly because it was the season we met David and Annie, an undeniably queen of the franchise. It was also the season Luis screamed about owl devil worship to Molly who would later come to her senses and kick him out, but only after learning they already secretly got married.
We also saw more of Nicole and Azan’s journey to nowhere, and watched Josh push Aika into modeling. This season was like that third glass of wine you definitely don’t need but certainly makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
7. 90 Day Fiancé Season 6
This was the season when the show went from light trash TV to the dumpster fire it is now. It is often seen as the dividing line between when OG fans stopped watching and when fans of the current show started watching.
From the explosiveness of Ashley and Jay breaking up and reuniting on repeat amid questions of his fidelity, Jonathan and the Fernanda arguing about moving to Chicago (only for both of them to end up there later, but separate), and the absolute shit show that was the origin of Colt and Larissa, this season was like watching a car crash — and you just couldn't look away.
6. 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 1
This makes the Top 10 mostly because it was a first for the franchise. The concept of the American moving oversees tantalized us because culture shock took center stage. More specifically, the promise of seeing entitled Americans try to adapt to a foreign country's culture, while screaming “I am an American!” into an empty chasm was always delightfully enjoyable.
This inaugural season of The Other Way did not disappoint. From Corey not speaking a lick of Spanish, to Jihoon struggling to get a job, to finding out Sumit was married (!) — this spinoff reminded us what made the 90 Day franchise so enjoyable in the first place.
5. 90 Day Fiancé Season 4
This was the season we were graced with Jorge and Anfisa — specifically, Anfisa's red bag with her "maykup." (If you're not familiar with the pop culture moment, please see the video below.)
We were also met with Nicole not respecting the anti-public displays of affection culture in Azan’s home of Morocco and the beginning of Chantel and Pedro’s long (and still continuing) TLC journey. This season was like the first shot of tequila of the night, but not that smooth top shelf stuff, this was the burns the whole way down and bites you, but you go back for more because YOLO.
4. 90 Day Fiancé Season 3
By this season, TLC had started shaking off the new show jitters, but hadn’t yet jumped into crazy town territory yet. What resulted was a season full of genuine love, but also a lot of WTF. The latter exemplified in Mark (58) buying his new bride Nikki (19) the exact same car he had bought his ex-wife and trying to give his daughter's used clothes to Nikki as well (his daughter, Elise, is older than Nikki and wasn't into the hand-me-down idea).
Also this season: Melanie married her vacation fling; Alexandra tamed her wild ways and converted to Mormonism for Josh; and Loren and Alexei and Kyle and Noon were just… normal. It was a refreshing blend of authentic love stories and relationship challenges mixed with "holy shit is this for real?", which made the season eminently watchable.
3. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Season 1
As the first foray into what happens after the "I Dos," this season was the golden age of Happily Ever After? when the question mark was still a question and we genuinely didn’t know what came of the couples after their trips down the aisle. (Before being able to check up on them on social media.) And more importantly, we still cared what happened. I mean, after Mohammed didn’t kiss the bride, whatever became of their marriage? Season 1 of Happily Ever After? answered that question for us and it does not disappoint.
2. 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days Season 1
Where do I even start with this gem? TLC’s inaugural season into the period between meeting online and meeting in person hit it out of the park. So much happened, that I need to break it down point by point:
- Darcey almost died on an escalator and was gifted the ever-desired appreciation ring
- Paul went swimming in the poop water with his penis sheath and ran from machetes
- Antonio needed some spay from Swit Corney
- Abby couldn't keep her old white dudes straight
- Larry refused the lechon, despite cashing in his 401k to go see Jenny in the Philippines
This was like finding a second high after the buzz of the original 90 Day Fiancé wore off.
1. 90 Day Fiancé Season 2
This is unquestionably the best season of the franchise. Maybe it’s my nostalgic — perhaps naïve — optimism of the potential of the series, or maybe its just TLC’s casting of long-distance, cross-ethnic love overcoming family and culture, but there are so many reasons to love this iteration of the show.
First, there's free spirt hippie Chelsea who uprooted successful Nicaraguan boy-bander, Yamir, out of the popular Myla-Vox and transplanted him to her tiny town in Nowehereville, Illinois where her parents suggest he get a job in meatpacking. There was also Danielle, queen of Sandusky, Ohio, and Mohammed who visited an immigration lawyer on the morning of their wedding, which was held during Ramadan (so no kissing the bride).
Don't forget about Danny of Pennsylvania and Amy of Cape Town, South Africa, the sweet, young loves who met on a church mission trip in Australia and wouldn't have premarital sex. They seemed a bore-in-the-making, but Danny’s openly racist parents made their chaste courtship go from snooze to battlefield and well-worth watching. Whatever magic blend of casting and culture it had, this season continues to be what the rest of the series chases, furiously to recreate.
Images: TLC