90 Day Fiancé is a juggernaut of a reality franchise, with the mothership TLC show spawning a number of spinoffs over the last six years on the air. So, it was no surprise that the network was early to announce 90 Day would have one of the first iterations of a social distancing show with cast members from across the franchise filming themselves adjusting to their new normal as the coronavirus changed life as we know it.
90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined could easily be written off as a cash grab, but the final product is a fascinating look at lives of people from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds around America just living their lives. Sure, the spotlighted cast members in the show essentially got to control what they showed of their lives, what they think their reality is, and that made the series premiere all the more interesting.
Colt and mom Debbie
Colt, a software engineer for a slot machine company in Las Vegas, was part of 90 Day Fiancé proper and later 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? and 90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk. Hist footage featured plenty of cats, discussion about life with his mom, Debbie, and talk about his ex-wife Larissa. "I haven't heard from Larissa in a very long time," he said. They're legally divorced now and have no connections to each other anymore. The last time he saw her was at her third arrest. "I wish her well," he said.
Colt had a camera on when he informed his mother about a rather unpleasant phone call. "I just got off the phone with my boss and…I no longer have a job," he said, his voice cracking. So, Colt and Debbie broke out the butterscotch schnapps and drank to brighter days ahead.
David and Annie
Veterans of 90 Day Fiancé, Happily Ever After? and Pillow Talk, David and Annie shot themselves driving around giving friends toilet paper and shopping in an Asian market. David explained they had received threatening and anti-Asian messages—Annie is from Thailand—and they felt safer in the Asian food market. Their footage was generally light, aside from the whole threat reveal, with Annie dancing around and telling cameras they have a healthy and happy sex life. There was a whip involved.
Cortney
Cortney appeared in the first season of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days where she went to Spain to meet her internet boyfriend. Their chemistry was strong, but not strong enough to overcome jealousy and trust issues. Now, she's in Naples, Florida with her "friend" Andy from Germany. Cortney works as the brand ambassador for Andy's period cup company. She went to his house for the weekend, but is now stuck there. They're constantly fighting, she said, and she wants to go home, but she's scared she'll silently infect her parents if she goes back.
"Andy calls me his girlfriend and thinks we're in a relationship," Cortney told cameras. But that's not how she sees it. "I'm trying to be nice right now, but I kind of hate him," she said.
Danielle
Danielle was originally on 90 Day Fiancé season two with Mohammed, a man she quickly married and eventually divorced in a bitter end to their relationship. Right now, she's living her kids and grandkids—there are seven people total in her Ohio home—and still working as a caregiver to mentally handicapped adults. Danielle said she hadn't seen Mohammed in three years, but they have forgiven each other and are back in contact, building a friendship. She told cameras she was worried about him on the road, he's a truck driver.
Elizabeth and Andrei
Elizabeth and Andrei got their start on 90 Day Fiancé proper and have had cameras on them pretty much ever since. They captured themselves still bickering about money and the financial help Elizabeth gets from her father (she's a property manager with his company, but her salary has been cut in half since the pandemic), grocery shopping and doing puzzles. Andrei gave viewers a tutorial about how to shower, including tips to wash your beard and butt, and baby Eleanor made a number of appearances in their home footage. "We're just kind of taking it day by day," Elizabeth said.
90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined, a limited series, airs Mondays, 9 p.m. on TLC.