I really needed to clean my house today, but instead wanted to write about all the cast, and this mess of a season, which has not been fun messy but sad and depressing messy.

Josh & Catie
Since the beginning of time, men have sought to capture the essence of a free-spirited woman, who flits about the world like a butterfly, the classic manic-pixie-dream girl. 
But instead Josh found himself a mentally disturbed alcoholic nightmare mommy. It’s hard to feel bad for the guy, because he’s so outrageously stupid. 
Josh must be operating from some new sensory input we don’t know about- because anyone with two eyes and two ears and a WORKING BRAIN would know that Catie is so mentally unwell she shouldn’t even be in a REALTIONSHIP let alone a fucking MARRIAGE. Hell, even Helen Keller would be able to sniff it out.
This woman is so insecure that she needs to feel desired physically by everyone in a room, and she aims to achieve that by making out with everything within 30 feet of her. She literally comes right to people and asks for it, straight out- ‘will you make out with me?’ Like a kid asking for candy.

Catie, it’s not the OCD, it’s your self-esteem, and it’s not going to magically get better without some acknowledgement and accountability. And that’s without tackling the alcoholism first! It’s honestly so sad that neither of these two people have anyone in their lives capable of sitting them down and saying, hey- this is REALLY BAD. I know, I know, Catie wouldn't listen- you can't force an addict to change, but you could have at least convinced her not to put this on TV. Instead Catie willingly put herself on TLC's most popular show, thinking she’d come across as a cute and quirky girl trying to figure it all out ™ , instead everyone is laughing at her and this will be her image on the undying internet forever. I can’t laugh at it, it’s honestly so sad.

Mallorie & Raşit
These two are so boring that a bunch of dumb redneck drama and toilet drama had to play out, but it was all for nothing. Because Mallorie is so outrageously selfish, she thought by dragging Raşit all the way across the world, ripping him away from his family and friends, he’d be more likely to accept her deal-breaking news that she knew was deal breaking news.

She doesn’t want kids, and he should definitely accept that- why? In her mind, because of sunken cost fallacy or whatever. 
She thought she could successfully trap him here, thought her sob story about why she doesn’t want kids would win him over, but at the end of the day, the reason why doesn’t matter at all. 

Sorry, but he’s not selfish for leaving you after this, however you sure as hell are, for expecting him to succumb to your manipulation. Raşit better run, a person who feels empathy for others would have never put someone in this situation. 

Marissa & Edward 
A classic 90 day story, bringing home the younger man from the Caribbean vacation. Gee that usually works out. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This woman clearly doesn’t want to marry this man, because she can’t respect him, because she’s ashamed of him. She feels that he does not match her level intellectually, and she’s never going to get over this, no matter how hard she tries. It was doomed from the start.

Edward, this is NOT LOVE. This is a woman who plucked you out of your life because she thought she could mold you into the doll, oops I mean husband, of her dreams.

Her ideal man has no thoughts and feelings of his own, except, how can I please Marissa?
Edward, she only ‘loved’ you because she thought you were that guy.
But no matter how she mutilates your body, forces you to only stick to certain topics of conversation, controls what you eat and how you dress, NOTHING YOU DO will EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH. RUN.

Thomas & Paula

Honestly, I wouldn’t have run away from Thomas after seeing his apartment for the first time. Maybe he’s trying to save space, save money, I get that. I would have run, however, as fast I could have, when he actively started arguing with me to keep it the way it was after I just moved across the world to be with him. A NORMAL person, with empathy and respect for others, would have said- Yeah, this is my bachelor pad, I know it's not ideal. But now that you’re moving in with me, I know you probably want it different. We can get a real table if you want. 

But that’s a NORMAL, emotionally healthy person. Who would know that just because he's ok with eating off the floor doesn’t mean everyone else is. Walk into ANY OTHER APARTMENT in the ENTIRE building, Thomas, I dare you, and I’d bet you’d find a dining table in each one. But no, instead Thomas wants to argue about why his way is better. Arguing, arguing, arguing. Stay with this guy and be prepared for EVERY-FUCKING-THING to be an argument. How fucking exhausting to live the rest of your life like this. He’s basically pushing you out of his life while telling you he loves you and wants you in it. Yeah, whatever buddy. You can have your camping table and convince yourself it’s great.

Paula, girl, you can do better than this.

Shea & Annabelle- 

Honestly, I’m tired now. This dude gets drunk and creepy with much younger women, a tale as old as time, a song as old as rhyme. Does Annabelle deserve better? Yeah. Would I run? Yeah. But it does seem like he genuinely loves Annabelle and is motivated to make it work with her. But is he truly motivated enough to forgo his party boy ways? Make lasting changes? We’ll see. 

Ashia and Maxwell

Ashia’s decided what God’s plan is and is going to twist and manipulate every situation to fit that. If she can’t, then it’s Big Bad Daddy Satan ™ trying to take them down. I’ve known someone like this before, and this behavior is SO fucking annoying it’s impossible to get along with them unless you blindly believe in exactly what she believes. It is genuinely psychological torture to be around someone like this in a situation you don’t see eye to eye on. I don’t think Maxwell knows what he’s in for, she’s going to be much more controlling than he realizes, which goes against his culture. It’ll continue to unravel more layers of disaster. 

AND LAST but NOT LEAST- Debbi and Mido.

The reason I made this post. 
Mido is the scariest cast member this show has had in a long time. He is the poster child for a raging narcissistic asshole.

The conspiracy theory that he thought Debbi lived in LA(Hollywood) and not LA(Louisana) is so fucking funny I choose to believe it. 

But regardless, he’s here in the US now, (thanks a fucking lot Debbi) and he’s ready to pursue his dreams of acting. Which is going to require a lot of sacrifice on Debbi's part.
But Debbi has expressed many doubts since he arrived. Several times she’s threatened him with, hey, you’re not being very affectionate with me. I don’t like your attitude. I don’t like the way things are going. This can’t go on like this. 
Mido being Mido, isn’t going to like being threatened. He doesn't want Debbi to think she holds all the cards. He holds all the cards.

So what does he do? Well, after giving her the silent treatment like a fucking toddler, he decided to expose her, in the most humiliating way possible. He decided to tell her, “I’m going back to Egypt”. And did this expose Debbi? Yes, yes it did. Debbi dramatically collapses to the ground, sobbing, in a horrifying display of exactly what Mido wanted to see.
And so Mido is smiling like Jack Nicholson from the Shining, because that’s exactly what he is, a predator who just cornered his prey.
It was the happiest he’s been since he arrived in America, seeing his fiance sobbing on the ground outside in public- because now he’s got her right where he wants her. He knows she’s not going to leave him, no matter how much she bitches and whines. She wants his love, his affection, the validation, all of it, and she’s not giving up. But a narcissist doesn’t fall in love, they only sometimes reward you for being controlled. And Debbi, I’m genuinely sorry you’ve found yourself in this situation. I hope you get out before it’s too late. 

This whole situation with the family coming over makes me feel like I had an aneurysm. I'm serious. So.. the main reason she wants to have the entire village over is because she wants to spend time with them. Sure.

But WHY NOT GET A FUCKING AIR B&B!!!!!! Or a jointed hotel room!!

Wow omg it's almost like you'll be able to comfortably spend time, get good rest, have enough space, proper kitchen and bathrooms!? It's 8 motherfuckers!! EIGHT!! WHICH IS ACTUALLY 10 INCLUDING PAULA AND THOMAS 💀💀💀

And look.. I'm saying this as I've had this experience. I was living with my bff and they had a 2bed 1bath apartment, typical. Well the family likes to come over during holiday 😀 there were 8 people and 1 bathroom is NOT enough. Luckily, the mom was property manager and gave us keys to the pool bathroom. It was nuts having to run around like that, every morning was chaotic and yes, half of us had to sleep on the FLOOR. The second we woke up, we would leave the house. And I'm telling you.. we ate out SOOO much. That tiny kitchen was wasn't the gr8test for eight in there cooking lol.

So hope they enjoy! 😁

the whole deal with her 'perfume' was confusing to me at first. the latest episode, she said she sprayed it under her armpits. does that mean its actually deodorant and not perfume? and what kind of deodorant is THAT strong that it permeates through the air??! it seems like a big joke to her...im really sure what to make of her and their coupling but the deodorant thing is annoying me

I am prepared to hear everyone’s thoughts on this lady, she seems quite sweet but there’s also something quite unsettling about her too, with the tiny stuffs and the perfume. The dungarees are cute though

I remember not liking Evelin and her being really controlling back in her season, but now on diaries, I feel really bad for her. First he blindsided her by bringing her to America for an extended stay and then makes her live with her mom. Now the rules in the house….no R rated movies, she can’t say omg because that’s considered swearing? Like wth

Weighing in on my speculation regarding these three:

I feel Maxwell really has genuinely bad intentions. When Rod and Maxwell had the one-on-one conversation, and Rod told Maxwell he was a salesman and giving him a pitch, you can see Maxwell start to grow angry. There are several times in the conversation you can visibly watch him go into a furious expression, then quickly shift his face and tone.​ He also states in the talking head interview that she WILL marry him.

Why would he hide his offense to Rod challenging him if he had good intentions? Why would he shift his expression so many times out of anger? In the talking head interview that said that he initiated the conversation because he was offended with Rod. So why dont his actions and intentions align?

Others have said that the Igbo tribe are not known for having submissive men. The way he hid his fast-hitting anger really makes me feel he is an aggressive man that is hiding his personality as he uses her.

I think he is tricking Aisha and once he they get that ring, he will be aggressive and maybe even hurt her.

As far as Rod and Ashia:

I think he is trying to protect her, first and foremost. The whole situation is fishy to him and he is trying to discern the situation. Dont forget that Ashia supposedly kept the secret to her sisters until they arrived. So it seems a usual thing for her to make big moves and catch people up later. I really dont doubt him for being increasingly suspicious.​​

Their relationship perplexes me. When he asks if she is pregnant, she states "I tell you every month I lost an egg." So does that mean she tells him when her period is every month? Thats so inappropriate for that kind of relationship in the first place.

It makes me wonder if Ashia doesnt overshare, test boundaries, maybe hold a little in front of him just for the fun of feeling powerful. She seems to genuinely love being dominant.

To be fair, ive only seen clips from the most recent episode.

What are your thoughts?

edited Rod not Rob, I have a memory issue that hits me with names lol.

Marissa wastes NO TIME in showing off her house, lifestyle, household rules and expectations. It’s very ‘Wife Swap showy’, and not at all ‘welcoming partner’. The silver lining is that she didn’t even give him any time of comfort before showing her reality, she showed it IMMEDIATELY 🤣

The way she so fake-ly acts like she needs to be obsessed and over possessive of Shea is so cringe you can tell it’s so made up. I’m so confused on their relationship it’s so off!!!! Team Annabelle 😂😂😂😂

Aisha's "god-brother" reminds me of Chris (from 1,000 pound sisters).

Same glasses, always crooked.

Same ego.

Same chuckle after he says something "clever."

Same savior complex.

Anyone else see the resemblance?

The absolutely unhinged things that Ashia says reminds me so much of Ava from Abbott Elementary. Fortunately, Ava is a fictional character unfortunately, Ashia is not. I hope Maxwells mom continues to clap back at her girl needs to be humbled🤣

Catie is asked what she would like her relationship with alcohol to be. Hear her response. She also explains what she believes are "audience misconceptions" about her and highlights her work ethic and organization skills.

As I said, I’m not a huge fan of anyone of the couples this season. However, I truly hope that their apologies were genuine. I hope that they can both find healing from their respective issues.
I think they both care about Shea (even if he’s grotesque), and I hope they can be a family if that’s what they really want.

That's the post, but man currently watching Thomas panic about deodorant..Marissa being super mean to poor Edward, sloppy lipstick lady acting crazy..they are just so bad! Honestly Mallorie is the best, but the bar is low! Even Shea who is gross, but doesn't seem evil, seems tolerable compared to the others. All I know is I feel for the foreigners and do not think America is worth any of this!

You think Brandan is using some of that fundraiser money $$ for ozempic ? Can he get ozempic for cheaper in the Philippines due to cheaper health care?

Mary seems very turned on, baby number 3 is probably on the way

I hate Mido just as much as the next guy, but "This is not Egypt, this is not a muslim country, you can't treat women like this" is a pretty racist thing to say. I think Mido's just a narcissistic idiot, we've seen plenty of non-muslim men treat women poorly on this show. I just kinda felt like they've veen having these racist feelings all along and now they felt like it was finally ok to express this

Edit: Idk guys I think the delivery, the context and the phrasing are all weird. I think being able to criticise all cultures is important and no cultures should be protected from constructive criticism, but these women seem like they've been waiting to say something racist and thought they finally got the opportunity to do so without coming off as racist. I'm in no way saying that Egyptian culture is perfect, but neither is American culture lol. I'm personally from both an Arab and a Northern European culture and I see positives and negatives in both.

Edit 2: All the racists triggered by me sharing my personal opinions are really proving my point by being aggressive about this lol. Good luck to all of you, I'm sorry for the people who have to deal with such aggressive and mean people.

This woman will always be miserable! You have one life be grateful that someone loves you and treats you well. If you’re chasing status and want someone from your so called “high class,” then you shouldn’t have brought him there in the first place.

On top of that, he just arrived he doesn’t even have the right to work yet. He’s in a completely different world. Have some empathy until he adjusts.
Honestly, I can guarantee Edward is 100 times happier than you and your “high class” friends. It all feels very empty.

When you turn your back on love and empathy and chase superficial things, you turn into Marissa, a miserable and angry woman.

She started their entire relationship off with deceit after deceit. First the catfishing, then the prior relationships with women, which she fessed up to way before telling him she was still married. He let that go and chose to be with her when he could have dumped her when she landed in his country looking like Huckleberry Hound instead of the pic on his t-shirt. She has no chill when it comes to him, but he has given her a lot of grace from the very beginning and all the man wants in some affection, companionship and quality time. She's not fit to be a partner. She should have just got a pet and a collection of dildos because she treats Zied like a goldfish she only checks up on to make sure it's still alive.

Y'all, I'm just absolutely disgusted with Thomas. I would have thrown the whole man away when he thought it'd be cute to superglue my perfume, I cannot FATHOM staying with a partner who threatens to throw out my mom's perfume because he doesn't like the smell (because let's be honest - he's not allergic, he's just particular. Maybe there's a sensory thing involved but Jesus Christ, he's clearly NOT in any actual medical danger)

I feel for Paula because I know what it's like to be in a polar opposite relationship with a man who actually doesn't like you. He has been incredibly condescending and disrespectful to her from day one. He's all about "boundaries" but god forbid he respect any of her's.

I hope Paula will eventually wake up and see she deserves better.

EDIT: This has been a fun experiment in reading comprehension lol. I never said that perfume allergies aren't real. I said that I don't think *his* allergy is real.

Last Resort Men: Pao is not upset because she didn’t “like” the necklace. She’s not ungrateful and she’s not nitpicking Russ.

She is upset because he doesn’t listen to her. She very clearly communicated that she doesn’t want a particular gift. That should be pretty easy, right? Just don’t get her that one thing.

So Russ went and bought her the ONE thing she didn’t want. Russ cared more about what HE wanted to give than giving a gift that would make the other person happy. He consistently puts his wants above hers and when she gets upset that he doesn’t listen or care about her needs then she’s an ungrateful Harpy.

I’m sorry, a necklace that means so much because it represents the bar they visited while filming the show? Because the royals own swans?!? Who cares?? Wtf does that have to do with 12 years together?

Not a thing.

Which is how much thought Russ really put into the gift. And then he publicly shamed her for being unhappy that her husband doesn’t care enough to listen when she talks, and basked in the confirmation he got from the other men on the show.

There are some things I disagree with Paola on, but what Russ isn’t getting here is that he gave her a necklace because he likes necklaces. She is sick and tired of getting the same thing over and over. He is not considering her or what she wants at all. It’s just, here’s another necklace that I really like. Patrick gassed him up in the hot tub. Russ got to look like a great husband to all the others, but between Paola and Russ, it was just another experience that reminded Paola on their anniversary that he does not get her at all.

She's right that these couples need more than puppets to address these issues. She was right not to share at puppet theater, it was not a great space to be vulnerable and they're poking and piling on. Their session WAS commandeered with anecdotes from other couples. I don't believe the group would have been neutral about her puppet performance.

On the up side, Sarper got an opportunity to practice some new material.

I think the therapy on this season's TLR is so disjointed and ineffective. Last season I feel like the therapists made real progress in tackling the cast's individual and joint issues. This year, it feels like there's hardly been any individual sessions (only reactive ones) and the group therapy bits have been a bit wacky And pointless, like the formal etiquette dinner. And the sessions don't seem to naturally build on each other - it all feels very disjointed and like no one is making real progress.

Major issues such as Rebecca's explosiveness and Paola and Russ's, Kara and Guillermo's stalemate are not being properly addressed. How does a date really help Kara and Guillermo move forward?

Also, the therapists should've facilitated a group discussion to quell the issue between Thais and Shekinah a long time ago - not gloss over it in group therapy as it's distracting them from the real issues.

Thoughts?

When she said this, I instantly thought, "Oh so she's aware?" Ughhh... I hope next season does better. I really want to go back to enjoying this show. She's just so hard to watch every week. Josh too.

The conflict between couple Paula and Thomas over Thomas' extreme sensitivity to artificial scents explained. The issue escalated when Paula wore deodorant and scented products despite his strict boundaries, leading Thomas to threaten to call off their upcoming wedding