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90 Day Fiancé: The Data

Turning my escape from data into data
Excel | Python | Illustrator | Adobe Animate | GitHub

fiancé illustrations by Leigh Sellinger

intro

For years, I listened to friends extol the joys of watching 90 Day Fiancé - the mismatched couples, the painful awkwardness, the drama, and all the red flags - so bright, yet so overlooked. But I, admittedly, thought I was above all that reality TV nonsense. After all, I was a loyal subscriber to PBS and the Criterion Channel. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and suddenly there was a lot more time to spend in front of the TV - because there was, quite literally, nowhere to go. So, this time, when a friend suggested 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way (TOW) - selling it to me as 'essentially a travel show' - I was finally ready to give in - and I haven't looked back since.

Eventually running out of The Other Way episodes, I began to work my way through the classics: 90 Day Fiance, season 1... then season 2... then 3.... the pandemic dragged on... I juggled work and grad school, and yet, still I managed to make time for the Fiancés. This reality TV show became my much needed escape from reality.

Much as I had never expected to watch the Fiancés, I certainly never intended to craft a school project around them. But here's the thing about studying data that no one tells you - a lot of data is pretty depressing. After semesters of digging into income equality and soaring home prices, I needed even my data to be an escape. And that is how we landed here - a data visualization project about the Fiancés.

data / process

Not surprisingly, there was no ready-made data available on the Fiancés. My first task was to compile a spreadsheet with the basic facts: names, ages, locations, couple status, etc. Wikipedia was a helpful source, as were countless articles and blogs. I limited my scope to eight seasons of the original series, and three seasons of The Other Way - apologies, in advance, to all the Before the 90 Days die hard fans. Unsure if a dataset comprised of 58 couples would be enough to sustain an entire project, I also explored global marriage statistics. Regretfully, the two datasets did not come together into one cohesive narrative, but, rather, co-exist as two tandem story lines.

Once all data was gathered, I used Python to perform exploratory data analysis. Initial graphics were created with Python, refined with Adobe Illustrator, and interactivity was added with Adobe Animate. Animate, not a standard visualization tool, felt like a good fit for this not standard data project.

What follows is, at best, mildly informative and, hopefully, slightly more entertaining. But, if you, too, are looking for an escape from data - this very well may be the data visualization for you.

(graphics are interactive and best viewed on a desktop)

the fiancés...

a few brief introductions, for those of you unfamiliar with the Fiancés
Russ and Paola

Russ & Paola

One of the couples that started it all, Russ and Paola appeared on Season 1. Like all couples they had their ups and downs - Russ lost his job, his Mormon family was not thrilled when Paoloa wanted to be a lingerie model - and yet, they are a Fiancé success story: happily married with a child.

Anfisa and Jorge

Anfisa & Jorge

Surprisingly, Jorge and Anfisa made it down the aisle. Less surprising, the marriage did not last. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong - could it be the couple's volatile and physical fights? Jorge's arrest for having 293 pounds of marijuana in his car? Jorge managing to find a new girlfriend while in prison probably didn't help matters. Ultimately it came down to, as the divorce filing stated, 'irreconcilable differences'.

Kenny and Armando

Kenny & Armando

The first same sex wedding in the Fiancé franchise, Kenny and Armando appeared on two seasons of the The Other Way. Kenny tearfully left his family in Florida to start a new life with Armando in Mexico. After having many concerns for their son's life choices, Armando's family finally came around and, in the end, everyone had a great time at the wedding. All while Kenny, never one to hide his emotions, cried through it all.

fiancé fast facts

*Fiancé data was collected in January, 2022 - and is most likely already outdated (these couples break up and reunite at lightning speed)
(click on graphics for details)

58


couples

29


countries

27


states

18-58


age range

a world of fiancés

the Fiancés are a diverse bunch - representing 29 countries and 27 states
(click on map icons to match the couples)

map key
fiance map key

and now some global-ish data

The global data I present is far less worldly than the Fiancés. Referencing OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) data, I looked at marriage-related statistics for 50 countries. Rather than visualize global averages, I opted to focus on the nine countries with both the most robust data and the highest populations: the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Korea, Spain, Poland, and Australia.
(click on countries for details)

map key
global map key

marriage

while global marriage rates dropped, 90% of the Fiancés still made it down the aisle
Chantel and Pedro

Chantel & Pedro

One season alone could not contain the extended family drama of fan favorites, Chantel and Pedro. Their marriage did little to quell family tensions. There were the accusations of disrespect from both sides, and even, at times, physical altercations. Still want more? Don't worry, the couple went on to star in three seasons of their own spin-off, The Family Chantel.

Marriage Rates

out of every 1,000 people (1970-2019)
(click on charts for details)

divorce

declining in the United States, seemingly increasing every where else
Danielle and Mohamed

Mohamed & Danielle

Somehow in a series ablaze with red flags, Danielle and Mohamed still managed to stand out as one of the more disastrous couples. There was the 15 year age difference. That Danielle already had four children probably didn't simplify matters. Oh, and she lied about her resources and debt. Not that Mohamed ever seemed true in his intentions. The fact that they even made it down the aisle (minus the whole 'kiss the bride' part of the ceremony) was shocking - but their divorce, well, that part seemed pretty inevitable.

Divorce Rates

out of every 1,000 people (1970-2019)
(click on charts for details)

marriage age

we're all getting married a little older
Jenny and Sumit

Jenny & Sumit

The 30 year age difference was only one factor working against Jenny and Sumit. Miraculously, Jenny forgave Sumit for his initial catfishing. And, although Sumit's parents never embraced the relationship, they did relent to the marriage after the family's astrologer said it was futile to fight it. And, after nine dramatic years, these two finally exchanged vows and officially wed.

Average Age at Time of First Marriage

(1990-2019)
(click on charts for details)

children

how long before we get a spin-off series for the children of the Fiancés?
Loren and Alexei

Alexei & Loren

Alexei forgave Loren for having strippers at her bachelorette party. Loren relinquished her dream of Alexei becoming an underwear model. And now the couple is blissfully married with two children.

Birth Rates

average number of children born per woman (1960-2019)
(click on charts for details)

predicting which couples will stay together

Curious if certain factors (more than other factors) determine if a couple stays together, I entered my Fiancé data into several machine learning models. Results were mixed, but possible contributing factors to a successful relationship included: the gender for the US fiancé, age of the international fiancé, the couple's age gap, which nationality was older, and how the couple met.

Although machine learning yields interesting results, those results are not easily interpreted, nor ideal to visualize. In an attempt to better understand which factors determine if a couple will stay together, I broke down and visualized each factor individually.
(click on charts for details)
stay together key

how the couple met

which region the US fiancé is from

which continent the international fiancé is from

couple's age gap

older gender

gender of US fiancé

older nationality

age range of US fiancé

age range of international fiancé

missed opportunities

As my focus was initially on which couples made it down the aisle, I limited my research to two series: 90 Day Fiancé and 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way - neglecting the 14 other series included in the Fiancé franchise. It was only when I conducted an impromptu Fiancé focus group (a bit too late into my project) that I realized the majority of fan-favorites appear on spin-offs not included in my research. (I also learned that the show I really need to be watching is 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days.) As to not disappoint the most dedicated fans, I wanted to at least include a few of the stand out personalities not represented in my Fiancé dataset.
Angela and Michael

Michael & Angela

Angela and Michael actually do make an appearance on Season 7 of 90 Day Fiance - but their romantic journey started with Season 2 of Before the 90 Days and continued with Seasons 5 and 6 of Happily Ever After. After connecting on social media, this unlikely pair, with a 20 plus year age gap, seems to have made it work. They have persevered through Angela's daughter Skyla opting not to provide an egg for Angela to carry, Angela throwing a cake in Michael's face, endless visa delays, and your standard trust and honesty issues.

Ed

Ed

Regardless of which spin-off series he appears on, or which lady he is dating - 'Big Ed' is a controversial fan favorite, big enough to stand alone. He has appeared on Season 4 of Before the 90 Days, Seasons 1 and 2 of The Single Life, 90 Day Journey, and Bares All. After getting his heart broken by Rose, Ed went on to a rocky and unlikely relationship with Liz. The two have apparently been cast for, yet another, Fiancé spin-off - so his story is far from over.

Darcey and Stacey

Darcey & Stacey

After first appearing on Before the 90 Days, Darcey and Stacey, received a dedicated spin-off series documenting their romantic endeavors as well as their numerous plastic surgeries. The twins have undergone nose jobs, cheek lifts, liposuction, boob lifts - and most recently (so recent as to not be depicted in the above sketch) 'fox eye' surgery.

final thoughts

I started this project, concerned that 58 couples was not enough to develop a full story - and I ended this project realizing that 58 couples was too many. My data was too broad to capture the nuances that give 90 Day Fiancé its charm. If only I had documented every time someone said, "There's something I have to tell you...", and the number of times that phrase was followed by an admission of some sort of criminality. If I were to do it all over again I would ditch the global stats and round out my wide ranging data with detailed specifics from one season, maybe even take a deep dive into one couple. But there'll be no do overs. It is time, once again, to let the Fiancés be my escape from data.
sources Wikipedia, TLC, OECD
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