90 Day Fiance: Why Ariela Is Having Doubts About Moving To Ethiopia

What would you do for love? On 90 Day Fiancé, some literally cross oceans. Each season, the TLC show follows different couples who must tie the knot with their love within 90 days of their entry to the United States on a K-1 fiancé visa, or else face deportation. While many couples radiate authentic love and sacrifice, other couples are much more complicated on their path to marriage or divorce. Take Jorge and Anfisa, for example, who split up after Jorge was imprisoned on marijuana charges. Or Danielle and Mohamed, who filed for divorce right after their season came to an end without an ounce of chemistry or love between them. 

In fact, the show has been so wildly popular that, in 2019, it was TLC's second most popular show and its biggest franchise with multiple spinoffs, according to USA Today. In one of its spinoffs, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, which features Americans moving abroad for marriage, couple Ariela and Biniyam are in the thick of the hurdles that come with intercultural and interfaith relationships. 

Shortly after meeting Biniyam, whom she crossed paths with in Ethiopia three years after her divorce from an Argentinian man, Ariela received news that she was pregnant with her new beau's child. As Ariela revealed the news to her parents, this was not the first time around for Biniyam, who had previously had a child with an American woman and lost contact with his first son after they moved back to American without Biniyam.

Things only got more complicated when Ariela planned to give birth in Ethiopia so that Biniyam could be present for their baby's arrival. But, even on that trip, Ariela was not exactly pumped for what Ethiopia might bring. "I was excited, but after this trip my excitement is slowly dissipating," she said about moving to the new country, per E! News. "I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions. Biniyam and I are starting all over and I'm having the baby in less than 3 months, so there's really not a lot of time to get to know each other again. And I'm not really sure how to handle it."

Biniyam, on the other hand, seemed pumped. "When I see Ari pushing her cart with her pregnant belly, I felt so happy," he told viewers. "I'm so happy. She's here for me because she loves me." While we can only hope that second time's the charm for Biniyam, Ariela still seemed unsure.

Although Ariela has previously stated that she "always loved Ethiopia" and the country was "never the problem," per ScreenRant, she remained unsure about making the move from her hometown of Princeton, N.J. At the airport, where she shared an emotional goodbye with her parents, Ariela revealed that she was not 100 percent confident in her decision. "If I wasn't so tired, I might have a nervous breakdown," Ariela said, per TV Insider. But when her mother encouraged Ariela not to hide her doubts and "let them come out," Ariela reinforced her plans to stay in this new country. "Am I making the right decision about where to live? I don't know. But I definitely want Avi to be with his father. That's no question," she said.

That's probably because Ariela shares some concern with her parents about adjusting to Biniyam's homeland, admitting that it was not what she expected, as well as adjusting to her partner's busy schedule. "This is one of the most different cultures that I've ever experienced from American culture," Ariela explained. While there are likely rough times ahead for this couple, we hope that Ariela and Biniyam will eventually strike the right balance and find a way to effectively blend their lifestyles as they embark upon their forever together.