After some emotionally fraught moments, this season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way continues to heat up. The reality TV series captures intense discussions about merging families, cultural differences, and meaningful gestures.
Episode 13 is full of gestures showing that the cast members want to make things right with the loved ones in their lives. In this week’s scenes, we see difficult conversations about whether the couples really can survive in their shared life abroad.
Joanne’s Kids Share A Piece Of Their Mind
We pick up with Joanne and Sean in Ireland after they’ve informed their kids that they’ve actually been married for two years. Joanne understands that her sons are shocked by the news, and she takes them on a walk to give them the chance to share more about their feelings without Sean around.
Joanne admits she should’ve told her sons sooner, but that the longer she waited, the more difficult it became to admit the truth to them. She tells the cameras that she can see the hurt in their eyes, and her younger son Jesse calls the situation “confusing.” He asks his mother where she’ll be living, and Joanne admits she wants Ireland to be her “home base.” The boys would be welcome to join her, she says, as long as she got approval from their father.
Joanne expressed how seeing her kids’ reactions filled her with regret and made her resolve to do better going forward:
It was a bit naive of me to think that they would be happy and jumping for joy. I just dumped a world of worry onto my kids’ shoulders, and the last thing I want to do is hurt my kids.
For her part, Sean’s daughter Bella says she’d be happy to have Joanne move in with them. Only time will tell how the living situation shakes out for the newly blended family.
Simultaneously, Joanne’s friend Noelle calls Joanne’s mother Donna to update her on the situation, explaining that Joanne’s sons were “taken aback.” Neither Noelle nor Donna seems to be onboard with the idea of Joanne moving to Ireland. Donna especially feels territorial about her grandsons moving out of the country and seems determined to prevent it from happening.
For his part, Sean notes that he feels incredibly stressed, knowing he played a role in making Joanne’s family upset by the news. Though Joanne explains that her sons will eventually come around to their marriage, he remains skeptical.
James And Meitalia Talk More About Tough Subjects
While driving around town, James talks about how they’ll be able to earn a living in Indonesia. Since the banana chip business doesn’t seem like it’ll work out, he wonders if they can make a jewelry business work similarly to the way they had back in the U.S.
Another tough conversation comes up about their dog, Jojo. The policies are such that if Jojo were to come to Indonesia, he wouldn’t be allowed back into the States if the couple had to return. To make matters worse, they also can’t afford to fly back to Maine to visit him.
Later that evening, James asks Meitalia what would happen if he couldn’t stay in Indonesia permanently. She says she’d consider leaving with him, but that she wants to ensure things don’t get to that point. As James remains on the fence about having kids, it seems that the future for the two of them continues to remain a little fuzzy.
Josh Plans A Surprise For Lily
Meanwhile, Josh works on showing his affection for Lily to prove that he really does love her. He plans a surprise for her in the form of a dance lesson, a gesture that means a lot to Lily. An instructor teaches them a traditional Chinese routine, and as Josh whirls Lily around the dance floor, he tells her he loves her, telling the cameras it was exactly the kind of “reset” they needed in advance of their wedding ceremony.
Corona Finds Like-Minded Folks In Iceland
Corona heads to a meetup of other Black people living in Iceland, curious about their experience in the country. The group is also made up of transplants, which gives her hope she’ll also be able to settle in there. At the meeting, they tell her that she’ll have an “adjustment period” getting acclimated to the cold, and that some of them also relocated there for love.
One woman talks about learning the language as quickly as possible, recommending taking classes and talking to Icelandic kids to practice. They even joked that the kids were more direct about never having been around Black people before, asking earnest questions about their skin and hair.
Though some of them had been in the country for as long as 30 years, they all noted it wasn’t the easiest transition. One group member talks to the cameras about how Corona will have her work cut out for her:
It can feel as if you are an outsider, so the challenge for Corona to be successful in Iceland is getting to know people and getting involved in the culture and learning the language.
The group was honest about how Corona may need to steel herself when it comes to finding a job at the hospital. If she doesn’t have a good grasp of the language, she may be passed over for native speakers. Later, when Corona goes to meet with someone at the hospital, she learns that all her midwifery courses would be taught in Icelandic, which shocks her. She feels like the news is “ripping her dreams apart.”
Corona also learns that she’s missed the application date for the year, further devastating her. The hospital employee tells Corona that she’d likely need two years before she’d be able to learn the language and enroll in the appropriate courses. As the harsh reality hits her, we’ll have to wait and see whether she decides a life in Iceland with Ingi is worth delaying her career dreams.