It’s great to be a fan of the 90 Day Fiance franchise, because there are so many spin-offs now that fans can watch the finale of one show then tune in to a new season the next night. That’s exactly what was experienced this week. 90 Day Fiance: Before The 90 Days aired it’s reunion on Sunday night then season 2 of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way premiered on Monday.
We can watch the carnage of couples that have fallen out by the end of filming, to meeting new pairs that give us all the feels of hope and promise in a new love. One couple from The Other Way really stood out. They seem to have a very uplifting and respectful love for each other despite the cultural and age difference. They are Armando Rubio and Kenneth Niedermeier, also the first male same sex couple of the 90 Day Fiance franchise.
Kenneth and Armando spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the new season.
Kenneth moved to Mexico from St. Petersburg Florida to be with his love after meeting online. They began chatting on a support group for gay fathers and formed a strong bond as friends first.
While they are “excited” to be representing their community as the first male gay couple, Armando admits some apprehension. He has yet to come out to his family. This will be an important aspect of the couples’ story line because Armando’s family will be appearing on the show, but they think they are participating in a documentary.
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Armando revealed that it was unlikely his family would have filmed if they knew the truth about his sexuality. “I’m a little nervous, personally, not knowing what to expect,” he explained, “I’m recently coming out so, you know, putting it out to the world is a big step for me.”
This sounds a bit like Stephanie Matto and Erika Owens. Erika came out to her parents on the show, while Stephanie was not ready to do the same. In regards to Stephanie and Erika’s relationship, Kenneth said, “I’m sure it was portrayed accurately. What a lot of the times people don’t realize is same sex couples have the same problems as everybody else. They have the ups and downs–some make it, some don’t.”
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Armando thinks the backlash Stephanie has gotten about being unwilling to come out to her mother is unfair. He attributes their problems to insecurity, regardless of what triggers it. Armando explained, “Some people look down on them for what they went through or how their story turned out but…it’s something anybody goes through in any relationship–straight or homosexual.”
Both Kenneth and Armando hope their story can inspire and help viewers who are struggling with their sexual identity. Kenneth said, “it’s amazing to show people that two men can love each other and have a great life together.”
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After forming an friendship online, it was Armando who made the first move. Kenneth admitted being surprised because of their age difference. He is 57 and Armando is 31. “I was surprised because of the age difference,” Kenneth explained, “I said, ‘What about our age difference?’ and he said, ‘I don’t care.’ And once he didn’t care… it’s been the best relationship I’ve ever had.”
Armando explained that he fell for Kenneth’s personality, and the age was just a number at that point. “By the time I found out his age, you know, we had already been talking a lot,” he said, “we had already laughed a lot, so I had gotten to know him as a person. I really liked his personality. As you can attest, he looks younger, so again, it wasn’t like I was seeing, like, an old guy or anything like that. By the time I found out his age, it didn’t matter, you know, we get along great. And I’m an old soul, so we kind of balance each other.”
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Armando and Kenneth are very aware of the challenges of sharing their lives with the public. But, Armando and Kenneth are ready to face anything together. “He’s been the one person that’s always supported me,” Armando said, “so, no matter what happened, he was my happiness, and no matter how things go with my parents or anybody in the world, nothing is going to take that away from me.”
Though these two seem very solid and supportive of each other, they will have their share of struggles. Kenneth points out issues that any couple could face. “You’re gonna see some ups and downs with us, you’re gonna see some difference because of our culture, and some differences in our parenting styles,” he revealed, “it’s not all roses. We’re very emotional people and it does come out.”
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Kenneth hopes viewers skeptical of same-sex love will reconsider their position on the matter. “Give our story a chance,” Kenneth said, “especially to the people that might not believe in same sex relationships. Give ours a chance, to watch our story, watch it unfold and they might just see a love story, and they might change their mind and their heart.”
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way airs Monday nights at 9pm on TLC.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ARMANDO AND KENNETH? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WATCHING THEIR STORY? DO YOU THINK ARMANDO’S FAMILY WILL ACCEPT HIS TRUTH?
[Photo Credit: TLC]
