Spilling the tea! The drama on TLC’s hit reality TV franchise 90 Day Fiancé is through the roof, which sometimes leads fans to wonder if the show is actually real, if the storylines are fake, if certain conversations are scripted, if scenes have been staged or if the couples are real people or just actors.
One of the first former cast members to speak out about the show and how it’s filmed was Chris Thieneman, and his wife, Nikki Cooper. The couple appeared on 90 Day Fiancé season 5 as part of pal David Toborowsky‘s storyline with his now-wife, Annie Suwan. They also returned when David and Annie continued their storyline on season 3 of the spinoff, 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?
Shortly after their appearance on the show, Chris and Nikki filmed a mukbang video in May 2018 for their YouTube channel, which is a type of content in which personalities eat a large quantity of food while talking to their audience. For their chat, Chris and Nikki chose the topic of reality TV and answered fan questions.
“Is it scripted?” one fan asked during the video, titled “Our ‘Reality’ TV Experience.” Chris responded, “Well, absolutely part of it is. No question. Some of it is real and then teased with and added to, subtracted from.”
“I wouldn’t say that there’s a written script that’s like, ‘Hey, read this line, read this line,'” Nikki added. “But there are times where there are different people or producers that come up to you and say, ‘Oh, I think it would be cool if you do this,’ or ‘I think you should say this.'”
One of the most shocking scenes in franchise history happened between David, Annie, Chris and Nikki. At the time, David had been living abroad in Thailand, which is where he met Annie. The Louisville, Kentucky native was hoping to move back to America with Annie to start their American dream, but he did not have a job lined up back home. Since Chris was well-off financially, he offered to let David and Annie crash with him and Nikki in their family’s home during a group dinner. But in exchange for a place to stay while they got on their feet, Chris asked Annie if she would give him regular massages, which shocked his wife, who was pregnant at the time.
Nikki previously spoke out against the scene on Facebook shortly after and claimed it was scripted. During the mukbang, Chris explained why he decided to go along with requesting a massage from his friend’s wife in front of his own wife.
“There isn’t any other excuse than stupidity,” he said. “The first scene, the original scene I never asked for a massage. Not until Adrienne, the director, encouraged me to say it in front of the whole cast and crew did I let a little peer pressure set in. Once I knew it was an open request, I didn’t have time to think (which in hindsight I obviously didn’t think at all). I wanted to be a team player and just went with it. Afterward, I even told Nikki, ‘I never felt comfortable saying that.’ But it was too late then. I was naive to think that since I wasn’t a real cast member that I wouldn’t be singled out. I will own up to my mistake. But as I have said before, we have been nothing but respectful and helpful to Annie.”
TLC and Sharp Entertainment have not responded to In Touch‘s previous requests for comment.
Keep scrolling below for more 90 Day Fiancé stars opening up about their experiences on the show and whether or not it is scripted or fake.