S1. E13 I Promise You'll Be Happy

[kitkat343]

"An angry Chad leaves his final date in tears. Harold and Michaela must decide on their future. Michelle meets with Pavol before it's time to head home. Stanika and Noureddine try to make long distance work"

 

first aired August 6, 2023

[sainte-chapelle]

Wow Chad is a prick. His way or the highway. If he screams at a virtual stranger in public imagine how he treats his partners. She dodged a bullet. 

[Doublemint]

I hope things work out for Harold and Michaela.  Chad is out of his depth completely.  I can't stand Michelle.  She's so loud and open.  Have a little mystery girl.  Hope Stanika makes it with Noureddine.

[sainte-chapelle]

Just now, Doublemint said:

I hope things work out for Harold and Michaela.  Chad is out of his depth completely.  I can't stand Michelle.  She's so loud and open.  Have a little mystery girl.  Hope Stanika makes it with Noureddine.

I like Harold but he was super presumptuous wanting to spend the night with her etc. Hopefully he doesn’t push her away. He seems so crestfallen but she didn’t say no….she just said she needed more time, I appreciate her honesty and so should Harold.

[Doublemint]

1 minute ago, sainte-chapelle said:

I like Harold but he was super presumptuous wanting to spend the night with her etc. Hopefully he doesn’t push her away. He seems so crestfallen but she didn’t say no….she just said she needed more time, I appreciate her honesty and so should Harold.

Yes - agree!  (I'm watching 2 shows right now, back & forth with Crappie Lake on Bravo.)

[Elizzikra]

Ugh. Chad.

First - he's drunk.

Second - does he really not understand why his life and Marias are so different and why someone might not be ready to uproot her entire life and move to a completely different country to marry some guy after only TWO DATES???

What a fucking moron. I can see why he has three failed engagements; what I can't understand is how he found three women to even agree to be engaged to him in the first place.

Chad makes me embarrassed to share a nationality with him.

[sainte-chapelle]

1 minute ago, Elizzikra said:

Ugh. Chad.

First - he's drunk.

Second - does he really not understand why his life and Marias are so different and why someone might not be ready to uproot her entire life and move to a completely different country to marry some guy after only TWO DATES???

What a fucking moron. I can see why he has three failed engagements; what I can't understand is how he found three women to even agree to be engaged to him in the first place.

Chad makes me embarrassed to share a nationality with him.

So many red flags. I’d honestly be afraid to be alone with him.

[Meowwww]

That idiot yokel, I don’t even know his name. “THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH!!!!”  As he runs off in a snit after 2 dates.  He totally wants a mail order bride.  Why is he so angry?  He should be alone.  The three ex-fiancées dodged a bullet.   He’s abusive! 
ETA you all say his name is Chad.  I’ve been with a hothead mean person like him. He sets out to hurt and own. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Meowwww

[Elizzikra]

I have been working in the past few years to not comment on people's bodies so I hate to say this, but I am so worried for Michaela. She seems like such a lovely person and she is so tremendously thin. That may just be how she is wired, but she does have a lot of the physical characteristics of people I have known with eating disorders.

I wonder if there was a major mismatch of expectations between the Americans on this show and their matches. As many have said, the matches seem to have been sold on "going on a few dates and maybe finding romance, plus - hey you get to be on TV." I think the Americans were all told (or at least not corrected in believing) that they were going to get mail-order spouses. The only one who didn't seem to expect that was Michelle. Honestly, she was really the only one to come out of all this with what might be a viable romance.

[sainte-chapelle]

11 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I have been working in the past few years to not comment on people's bodies so I hate to say this, but I am so worried for Michaela. She seems like such a lovely person and she is so tremendously thin. That may just be how she is wired, but she does have a lot of the physical characteristics of people I have known with eating disorders.

I wonder if there was a major mismatch of expectations between the Americans on this show and their matches. As many have said, the matches seem to have been sold on "going on a few dates and maybe finding romance, plus - hey you get to be on TV." I think the Americans were all told (or at least not corrected in believing) that they were going to get mail-order spouses. The only one who didn't seem to expect that was Michelle. Honestly, she was really the only one to come out of all this with what might be a viable romance.

Spoiler

I heard via Instagram that she was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing radiation. Extreme weight loss can be a symptom, she was likely sick at the time of filming and didn’t know it or it was filmed just after treatment. She seems like a nice woman, a straight shooter. I hope she is doing well.

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by sainte-chapelle

[Chalby]

I have to respond now, even though I'm only halfway through the program. I still cannot stand Chad, (Mr Dangling Chad to me). Lol

He is rude, argumentative, unreasonable, and unattractive. Why he thinks any woman would want to suddenly jump into a marriage/relationship with him, after a week (or 2 dates) is beyond belief.

He should never have come over, and those girls should not have been put through that. He was so rude to her, and she was being totally honest with him. As Jack Nicholson would say "He can't handle the truth".

It's no wonder none of his relationships have worked out. What's the common denominator in marriage and relationship failures? Chad.

[DEL901]

8 hours ago, Meowwww said:

That idiot yokel, I don’t even know his name. “THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH!!!!”  As he runs off in a snit after 2 dates.  He totally wants a mail order bride.  Why is he so angry?  He should be alone.  The three ex-fiancées dodged a bullet.   He’s abusive! 
ETA you all say his name is Chad.  I’ve been with a hothead mean person like him. He sets out to hurt and own. 

And why should anything he has been through matter to someone he has only been on two dates with.  But even it it was more, his “trauma” doesn’t mean he is owed sex or marriage.  Classic “nice guy”/incel.  

[Stuckathome]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

been on two dates with

Two very superficial, on camera dates with zero chemistry. Even on 90 day fiance, the quickee marriages usually come after months of texting. She met Chad at the airport. TF. His "apology" was weak and pathetic----again, Juan is the worst matchmaker. 

Regarding the spoiler with Michaela.

Spoiler

I wonder if that is what she was doing, radiation treatment, and not working, when she was gone and out of touch with Harold when he came to visit her. She seems like a lovely person and I hope she is getting the best care. 

I do think Norredine is a love rat, but hey, if he treats Stanika well, doesn't just use her and dump her once he gets the green card, who am I to judge? I feel that way about all these transactional marriages---as long as both sides go into it knowing it is transactional, what is the harm? 

[HorrrGoodnight]

15 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I have been working in the past few years to not comment on people's bodies so I hate to say this, but I am so worried for Michaela. She seems like such a lovely person and she is so tremendously thin. That may just be how she is wired, but she does have a lot of the physical characteristics of people I have known with eating disorders.

 

Michaela is very thin, but she did say on the last date that she usually wouldn't have such a nice meal at home, maybe bread and eggs for dinner. Maybe her resources are limited? She seemed to mention being hungry a few times on prior dates as well. 

[bichonblitz]

My, my. Chad has quite a temper. He is repulsive. Mowing lawns for recreational fun is as cultured as he's ever going to get. 

I'm still rooting for Harold and Michaela. Harold has said he is on the spectrum and doesn't always pick up social cues. He went overboard with the ring but turned it around nicely and made it a friendship ring. If I were Michaela I wouldn't want to move from Prague, either. It's supposed to be a gorgeous place to live.  

Stanika seems kind of crude to me. Her personality is harsh. Norredine wants the green card and Stanika is going to make him work for it. 

[Stuckathome]

20 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

Stanika seems kind of crude to me. Her personality is harsh.

yes, I would say she is a loud and sassy woman, but she seems to have a kind heart. Even that second date, she shut it down but I felt she did it in a respectful, polite way. And I think the date agreed----they were not well matched. 

I wrote this on the thread for a different episode, but overall, it was ONLY the men on this show who treated the experience the same as going to the store to pick up an item off the shelf. Chad, Mark, Harold---after just seeing the woman for a few mins or if she didn't run off screaming they immediately gushed about how their matchmaker did a great job and she was just what they wanted. They wanted to lock her down and ask her to pack her bags. As if they didnt' have a list of wants of their own, or a family or dreams to consider. Like they were picking a dog at the shelter. The women seemed to actually focus on like, the actual chemistry and conversations, etc. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Stuckathome

[judylo]

Chad is repulsive in so many ways, but I just can’t get over the fact that mowing lawns is his only interest in life!

[ChristmasJones]

Chad is disgusting. No sane woman would get near him with a ten foot pole. I hated that the only thing he EVER said about the women was that they were beautiful - as if he is entitled to a beautiful woman. Dude brings ZERO to the table. Mowing a lawn as a hobby? He seems like one of the most boring people I've ever seen.  The only way a dude like him would find a wife is if it was the 1800's and he was a farmer and some desperate woman needed a husband so she wouldn't starve to death. 

[Matty]

Adios, Chad. Colombia, and its women, will not miss you. He's an embarrassing caricature of a country hick. The end credits said he is engaged to a German woman he met online. What are the odds of the fourth engagement lasting? Maybe she already broke it off after the show aired.

Wishing Noureddine and Stanika good luck. I think it will be eye opening for him when he arrives in Mississippi. If he's expecting to arrive in the land of milk and honey and the bright lights of big city USA - NY or LA - Jackson will be a letdown.

For Michelle and Pavel and Harold and Michaela, I think the phone calls and texts from Prague will eventually wind down and become non existent. 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Matty

[1011101010001]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:54 AM, Stuckathome said:

I do think Norredine is a love rat

Aren’t they typically good looking?  

On 8/7/2023 at 2:01 PM, bichonblitz said:

Mowing lawns for recreational fun is as cultured as he's ever going to get.

He must be crushed in the winter.

On 8/7/2023 at 2:01 PM, bichonblitz said:

Harold has said he is on the spectrum and doesn't always pick up social cues

I wonder if he has modeled his approach on romcoms, where the guy always acts too soon and is over the top yet gets rewarded for it.

On 8/7/2023 at 2:01 PM, bichonblitz said:

It's supposed to be a gorgeous place to live. 

Although working 12-hour days doesn’t leave much time to enjoy it.  

[1011101010001]

5 hours ago, Matty said:

Jackson will be a letdown.

Didn’t they have no water for several months?

[Quof]

On 8/7/2023 at 9:54 AM, Stuckathome said:

I do think Norredine is a love rat,

Here he is

 

Spoiler

showing Gordon Ramsay around (yes, his name has been confirmed as Nordin Jamal. 

 

[Stuckathome]

So, based on that spoiler for Nordin 

Spoiler

I feel even more strongly that this was all scripted scripted scripted. He is looking for a way out of Morocco to advance his career. I mean, he probably does pretty well if he is showing Gordo around. What was STanika's job? She had her own company? Real estate? Guessing this will be a boon for her work as well. Although why you would want the world to know that you hadn't EVER had a date at age 30 something, I don't know. 

 

[essexjan]

I hated Chad from the first moment we saw him and I spotted the circular worn patch in his rear jeans pocket where he usually keeps his tin of chewing tobacco. Redneck garbage person.

Harold is emotionally immature and inexperienced in relationships, but I think if he can rein it in a bit, there might be a chance with Michaela, as they do have the same kind of nerdy interests. Rather than spending money on a ring for her, he should have offered to pay for a plane ticket so she can visit him (although, no doubt, production will pay for that and film her entire trip).

I hope Stanika and Noureddine work out. They seemed to have genuine chemistry, which is really unusual on these shows.

[sainte-chapelle]

Well this doesn’t sound good at all. Very sad.

Spoiler

https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/match-me-abroad-harold-starts-michaela-cancer-gofundme/

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by sainte-chapelle

[DEL901]

4 minutes ago, sainte-chapelle said:

Well this doesn’t sound good at all.

  Hide contents

https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/match-me-abroad-harold-starts-michaela-cancer-gofundme/

 

Omg. Poor Michaela.  And no wonder Harold got mixed signals from her.  

[essexjan]

Oh, that is terribly sad. I hope it is a good outcome for both Michaela and Harold.

[1011101010001]

Good news that they met the goal in less than four days.  

[ChristmasJones]

Sadly I don't think this will have a good outcome, although of course I only hope for the best for Michaela  - she is a lovely person. The article linked says the cancer spread from her ovaries to her stomach.   I appreciate Harold doing a gofundme for her.  

An update posted by Harold on the GFM, 8/16/23, says "Michaela, and I have been amazed and humbled by the amount of support we have received. There are not words enough for how grateful I am. Need is limitless and care is finite. The love shown and support is greater than I dreamed. Thank you all for the Donations and support"

Edited August 18, 2023 by ChristmasJones

[Elizzikra]

4 hours ago, ChristmasJones said:

Sadly I don't think this will have a good outcome, although of course I only hope for the best for Michaela  - she is a lovely person. The article linked says the cancer spread from her ovaries to her stomach.   I appreciate Harold doing a gofundme for her.  

An update posted by Harold on the GFM, 8/16/23, says "Michaela, and I have been amazed and humbled by the amount of support we have received. There are not words enough for how grateful I am. Need is limitless and care is finite. The love shown and support is greater than I dreamed. Thank you all for the Donations and support"

That is a sweet comment from them. I'll keep a good thought for her; it does sound pretty serious. Cancer sucks.

[ChristmasJones]

Kind of dark, but do we trust Harold to give all the money to Michaela? I'll put my answer in spoilers 

Spoiler

I think he would. 

 

[cinsays]

24 minutes ago, ChristmasJones said:

Kind of dark, but do we trust Harold to give all the money to Michaela? I'll put my answer in spoilers 

  Hide contents

I think he would. 

 

without a doubt, he would