The Biggest Winners & Losers Of Before The 90 Days Season 5
Season 5 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days was a wild ride, and there were many winners and losers that stood out to fans. While some cast members were applauded, others were raked over the coals. Most stars from season 5 rank somewhere in the middle and have both supporters and critics, but there were a few outliers who are all or nothing.
Though season 5 provided viewers with a lot of great content, there was also a significant amount of controversy. Yet again, TLC failed to properly vet the 90 Day Fiancé franchise cast members and not one, but two stars have been busted for offensive social media activity. One of them was fired and the other should be fired, and that wasn’t the only dark cloud over this season.
This cast definitely brought the drama this season, but there were complaints that there were no genuine couples fans could root for. While many of the season 5 stars got mixed reviews, there were a few who came out of the season looking like heroes, and others who have become villains.
Fans couldn’t stand Ella Johnson, but her long-distance boyfriend Johnny came out of season 5 smelling like roses. Johnny was thoughtful, logical, and patient in the face of Ella’s unreasonable demands. Viewers didn’t get to see a lot of Johnny this season because he was in China and never made it to Dubai, and that might be why he’s so well-liked. The show didn’t delve into Johnny deep enough to uncover anything bad about him. Instead, fans gushed over how cute his son Stormy is and Johnny’s overall good vibes. While most of his castmates have been heavily criticized, Johnny is easily one of the most well liked.
Throughout the season, Mike’s actions on and off screen have cemented his status as the most despised star of season 5. In the early episodes, Mike was teased by fans for his awkwardness and inexperience with relationships. However, Mike’s offensive social media behavior and treatment of Ximena turned viewers against him. Now, Mike is trashed online more than any of his other castmates. If Mike was hoping going on the show would boost his popularity with the ladies, he can guess again, because he’s now joined the ranks of loathed franchise cast members like Ed Brown and Angela Deem.
Hamza Moknii’s mother Hayet, affectionately dubbed “Momza” by fans, stood out in season 5, and it wasn’t just because of her phenomenal bone structure. The single mom’s story touched fans who empathized with what she went through as a divorced woman in a Muslim country. She truly seems to have Hamza’s best interests in mind, and it’s why she so readily opened her home to Hamza’s fiancé Memphis Sandoval. Though she clearly has her doubts about her son’s relationship, Hayet still supported Hamza’s decisions and was very welcoming to Memphis. Her big heart and understanding nature have been praised by fans who like Momza better than Hamza and Memphis combined.
There are a lot of fans who suspect that Alina went on the show for “clout” and wanted to promote her music career and modeling. However, if that was the plan, it backfired horribly. Viewers didn’t love the way Alina treated her love interest Caleb Greenwood, and they criticized her for being pushy. But when Alina’s history of racist social media posts came to light, all hell broke loose. There were immediate calls for Alina to be fired from the franchise and cut from the show. Surprisingly, that’s exactly what TLC did, and a lot of Alina’s journey presumably never aired. Alina has the dishonor of being the only cast member to be edited out of an actively-airing show, and that’s gotta sting.
It’s likely that no one is enjoying Ben’s cringey love journey more than his ex-wife Lisa. Ben has looked like a fool this season, and he’s been mercilessly dragged online for his creepy and predatory behavior. But Ben’s love interest Mahogany Roca has also been screwing with him, and it’s been hilarious to watch him squirm. Hopefully Lisa has gotten the schadenfreude she deserves and is getting a kick out of watching her terrible ex-husband look like a chump on national TV. It’s a fantasy many jilted exes have, and Lisa actually got it, which is a big win.
Gino should be thanking his lucky stars that he appeared on the same season as Mike, because Mike has diverted most of the negative attention from Gino. Earlier in the season, the bomb was dropped that Gino sent his girlfriend Jasmine Pineda’s nude photos to an ex, and he was rightfully slammed online. It was a disgusting and violating move on his part, and it flipped the script for the couple. Jasmine, whose jealousy was once criticized, now seemed like the victim in her relationship, and all fans’ vitriol came down on Gino. Though Mike has stolen the spotlight as season 5’s biggest villain, Gino is still considered a total dirtbag by many viewers.
Before the 90 Days’ popularity is at least partly due to the amazing international locations featured on the show. This season, the locations were incredibly beautiful, and the sweeping shots of lush Colombian waterfalls, colorful Istanbul markets, Peruvian desert oases, and more made viewers want to book a trip immediately. There were a few locations that didn’t inspire quite as much wanderlust, like Tunisia and Idaho, but the majority of the places that were filmed were absolutely stunning. The Tourism Boards of all the countries featured on season 5 owe producers a hefty kick back.
This season, half of the American cast members were from Michigan, and it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the state. The questionable actions of Gino, Memphis, and Ben had viewers wondering what’s in the drinking water in Michigan (besides toxic levels of lead) that would make them so problematic. Each of the three Michigan residents have been highly criticized for their actions this season, and they’ve made their home state look really bad.
Not everyone (or every place) came out of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days looking good, but some came off exceptionally bad. However, even the villains this season can at least enjoy their notoriety, as fans always remember the winners and losers of a season.