Lessons From 90 Day Fiancé & MTV's Catfish

I recently finished watching the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way "Tell All" and although my first instinct is always: "is it really even a Tell All without either Darcey or Angela?" it did not disappoint.

Sooo many questions:

Did Evelin get a boob job?

Does anyone care about Ellie and Victor?

Is Sumit's family ACTUALLY opposed to his marriage with Jenny or is a large portion of the drama so that they can keep getting paid for appearances?

What the hell was up with the lace collar on Taelor?

Why did Shaun say she thought Steven's activities were a surprise? I'd been waiting for the threesome bomb to drop since we met him. He's just not the monogamous kind; nothing wrong with that in general, but there is something majorly wrong when you're trying to force yourself to be something you're not and taking down innocents like Alina with you. The real surprise was for once a "Vanessa" on the show was not a stupid bimbo who dated Colt-Eee.

Sadder thoughts: Kenny...heartbreaking situation with his kids and possibly having another baby. I'm sure I wasn't the only one on the verge of tears watching the dad of three picking between loyalty to his kids and the emotional needs of his new spouse.

Positive thoughts: Ari looks amazing! And finally Wish got told off! YEASS!

ET Clip

If there's anything I've learned from watching trash TV like 90 day and MTV's Catfish, it's that if something sounds too good to be true, or too extreme, or too fantastical and it's told to you online? Dig a bit before you let yourself get swept away by the details. Don't be a Darcey. (Heaven help me, I'm going to admit publicly I actually really care about her and she's been a fav of mine since the beginning.)

With the never humble but always genuine (behind the plastic) Darcy in mind, I am passing on a couple tidbits I wish she'd employ for their next season of Darcey and Stacey that have kept me safe from deception the last few years.

1. Photos may be worth a thousand words but all it takes is a "right click" to discredit them.

This one is from Catfish. Next time you are presented with a picture you aren't sure you believe is a true representation, run it through a search engine. No, it won't help you avoid being the next Big Ed meal (somehow those ones always manage to slip through) but it will disprove other lies. Right click the image in your browser and choose "Search Google For Image". You may be surprised what it returns.

2. Watch for sudden changes in style and tone.

If a person's written words change from barely ordered to something that seems professionally edited, take a pause and consider why. Now, it could be you've got a Steven on your hands who acts like a moron but is actually quite verbose and may well be one of those types who switches styles often. Or...it might be they copied the words they are sending you and somewhere out there those sweet nothings have been said so many times they've gone from nothings to somethings, aka big fibs.

Grammarly is a good place to start here (besides the obvious copy and paste in the search bar). A lesser known tool for plagiarism checking, Grammarly is nowhere near as bullet proof as TurnItIn but it's a decent back-up.

3. Past Actions Speak Louder Than Current Words

If you're interacting with someone who has a flare for drama like Angela, take everything they say with a grain of salt...or cake. Should we believe everything Angela accuses Michael of doing? No. Should we believe her Nigerian husband is faithful? No. Should we believe they are BOTH in it for the money? 100%. The only drama worth getting sucked into that involves people like Angela is when it's on reality TV. And unless you're a reality TV star getting paid to do it, don't lie online, folks, or you'll end up like Miaaa-cull with cake on your face. You can't hear the audience groaning everytime you tell it, but they are—even if they're too kind to let you lose face.

So, what is the purpose of this cheeky article?

Ta...da...

The Chronicle is hoping to launch a 90 day Fiancé column! We have a columnist in mind and a plan for a twist so that it's not just another boring recap, but what we'd love to find is fellow viewers, folks who wouldn't mind being a participant in some "Pillow Talk". Our casting call is for people who aren't afraid to let it out with their comments...but won't exaggerate.

Message Les if you're a loyal 90 Day Fan Fam member, too. xo

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