TwirlyGirly

Next Wednesday, May 1, 8:00pm EDT.

Relationships in various phases including a holiday fling that turned serious, a holiday romance that turned into a pregnancy, and Americans hopeful their romance with their local islander works out. S4 Start date: 4/22/2024

Has anyone heard/read anything about Season 23 recently? Several reliable publications — such as WWD (Women's Wear Daily), Warner Bros. Discovery, Good Housekeeping , etc., — all published articles in December 2023 announcing SYTTD Season 23 would premiere Saturday, April 6, at 8:00pm EDT on TLC. But clearly that didn't happen and there have been no updates online from any sources. That's weird, isn't it?

The Denver singles unite but the marriage drama endures, as clear divisions are drawn between the men and the women; one couple revisits their chemistry to see if it's worth rekindling. And with this, MAFS season 17 is DONE! Air date: 4/24/24

Liz gets blindsided by Ed; Mahmoud packs his bags; Sophie opens up about her sex life; Emily's attempt to win over Kobe's friends backfires; after three kids, Loren wants her body back; Patrick and Thais arrive in Brazil after two years. Air date 4/21/2024

The Denver cast returns for part two of the season 17 reunions and the emotions are at an all-time high; the cast challenges one another on their truths and when a shocking new secret is exposed, there are tears, animosity and bonds broken forever. Air date: 4/17/24

One (or perhaps more than one) of the women said (paraphrasing) the men focused so much energy on the "optics" the fact they had just gotten married and were supposed to be developing a relationship with the women they were married to was practically forgotten. I know a lot of viewers think reality TV is scripted, but I recall something I read a reality TV cast member said years ago: "If you don't do it or say it they can't use it." So while shows like MAFS aren't scripted per se, at the end of each season production has hundreds of hours of film of each cast member. When reviewing the film, storylines will be suggested and the producers can certainly tell the editors to use the segments of each cast member's footage that will tell the story they've chosen for them. Although I have no idea who was gaslighting who in the husbands vs wives face-off, I'm leaning towards the grooms' side. From what I understand, there were so few men who applied for this season production had to scout social media (and perhaps do some in-person scouting at venues that attract single men) to find men and invite them to participate. I believe MAFS receiving more female applicants than male has been an issue from the show's inception, so they've always had to do this to increase their pool of available male candidates. But Denver's pool of bachelors was almost entirely* made up of men who were recruited by production. My response to anyone who expresses surprise that optics were a bigger priority to the men than forming a relationship with their wives is: "Duh. Of course they were!" Because of that this season was doomed to fail before it even began. *or entirely. I can't find the article I read that said all the men were recruited.

Jasmine worries Gino doesn't have her best interests at heart. Kobe's friends reveal shocking info to Emily. Patrick's brother disrupts Thais' Brazil plans. Things erupt between Nicole and Mahmoud. Rob distrusts Sophie. Ashley's tarot reading worries her. Air date: 4/17/2024

I think you meant to write "He was not oogling that woman in a suggestive way." 😉 They were walking around the Venice Beach area I think, and Mahmoud was just experiencing a bit of culture shock — as I bet Nicole did the first time she walked down a street filled with shops and restaurants and people going about their daily lives in Egypt. She would have been surrounded with people who dressed differently, spoke in a language she didn't understand, and whose body language and interactions with each other were guided by completely different cultural norms. So she should have expected Mahmoud to have a similar experience. Insofar as the Muslim woman he saw, I can relate to his reaction. I use a manual wheelchair full time for mobility, and when I'm out and about if I see someone else who uses a wheelchair, I notice — because it's nice to see someone who's like me. I suspect that's what was behind Mahmoud's reaction. Given the way the throngs of people in that area looked, he probably wasn't expecting to see anyone he could identify as being Muslim. Who knows — with all of Nicole's talk about how in the U.S. people can dress however they like, Mahmoud may have gotten the impression that here Muslim women don't wear hijab or follow any of the so-called rules for dressing modestly. So seeing a woman who was obviously Muslim based on her appearance may have startled him momentarily — nothing more. And one more thing: Nicole, if you don't want Mahmoud telling you what you can wear, where you can go, and who you can hang out with because of his jealousy and insecurities, then you need to keep your jealousy and insecurities in check and not assume any time he glances at another woman it's because he would rather be with her. Jeez.

Tensions are high as the entire Denver cast returns to revisit the most shocking moments from their season and reveal why their relationships have become so contentious. Air date: 4/10/24

I disagree Natalie is "mentally ill." What I see as her issues: 1). She wants to get married and have children, but she's close to, at, or past the age at which it's no longer possible for her to conceive without (expensive) intervention that has no guarantee of success — and she knows this but can't admit it to herself. Hence the reason she pursues men with such obvious desperation. It's also why she tries to get men to commit to monogamy in their relationship on the second date, while at the same time making clear to them she sees no point in dating any man unless they are also on a path from dating —> engagement —> marriage —> family with her. Show of hands, please, from all the single men on this planet who would agree to be on a dating —> engagement —> marriage —> family track on their second date with a woman. I see no raised hands and I'm not surprised. 2). Although she speaks English fairly well (certainly much better than most of us who post in this topic speak Ukrainian, I suspect), her English comprehension is lacking. This, combined with her defensiveness (stemming from major trust issues) results in her interrupting mid-sentence anyone who is speaking to her — to defend herself against what she thinks they said, and were about to say — about her. Usually the person who was speaking will try to get her to stop talking so they can explain what they were actually saying, but that's like trying to stop a runaway train, because... ...after giving her version of what she's certain the other person was saying and why that absolutely wasn't true, Natalie then accuses the other person of something she's just as certain they did or said: i.e., when Natalie insisted Mike's mother called her a hooker. By the time Natalie pauses long enough to take a breath, the individual who was talking to her has completely forgotten what they were saying when she interrupted, and now wants to correct whatever she claimed they did or said in the past. Which is yet another losing (verbal) battle. Rinse and repeat. Being an age at which your ability to conceive may be hovering close to zero, wanting a husband and family but not being in a long-term committed relationship that might possibly lead to achieving those goals, can certainly result in someone feeling desperate. Not allowing that desperation to show isn't something everyone can do, and it's not a sign of mental illness if they can't. Extreme defensiveness rooted in trust issues— even when the manner in which it's expressed runs counter to achieving someone's personal goals — is also not a sign of mental illness. Would Natalie benefit from therapy? Possibly (heck, a lot of people we share this planet with would) — but only if she goes willingly because she recognizes the way she approaches relationships and interacts with others may be what's preventing her dreams from being fulfilled. None of what's been shown of her in any of the 90 Day series in which Natalie has been a cast member has indicated she's ready to take responsibility for those behaviors though, so even if we all agree she needs therapy, it's a moot point right now.

Manuel and Ashley's beliefs are at odds; Mahmoud threatens divorce; Sophie's friend reveals news that gets Rob fired up; Liz's mom has a talk with Ed; Kobe's friends' opinions impact his marriage with Emily; Jasmine considers leaving the US. Air date: 4/7/2024

I'm not speaking to the fact Jasmine's kids have fathers and how that affects her bringing them to the U.S. as another poster mentioned; just what I'm quoting here. Once you list your children on the K-1 application you have one year to bring the children to the U.S. There's no requirement that because you listed them you must bring them. So listing them on the K-1 wouldn't have obligated Jasmine to bring them to the U.S. at all. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jasmine has access to her own little handheld computer with which she could have easily accessed what a K-1 visa applicant needs to do to bring their kids to the U.S. If this was as important to her as she wants us to believe, why didn't she look it up and confirm with Gino that he was doing everything necessary to make it possible to bring her children? Was her mind otherwise occupied planning more unnecessary cosmetic surgery to think about her kids? That's not Gino's fault.

Kobe's dad has a big surprise for him and Emily; Sophie is puzzled by Rob's romantic gesture; Ashley uses witchcraft to get Manuel to open up; Jasmine begs Gino; Mahmoud's wandering eyes anger Nicole; Liz says yes to the dress. Air date: 3/31/2024

Oh my God, Natalie. Would you PLEASE. JUST. SHUT. UP! Thank you. I feel much better now. 😊