Warning! The following contains spoilers from the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way episode called "A Dog's Breakfast." Stream the episode with an HBO Max subscription and read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé's Jenny and Sumit Singh are one of the most veteran couples of the franchise, so it seems the TLC show tries to get them in wherever they can fit. Typically, I don't have a problem with this, but in the case of The Other Way Season 7, I feel like I have to speak out.
This season featured the couple in "financial crisis," as Sumit put it, and forced to move in with his parents while they try to get back on their feet. Now they're running a cafe in an attempt to gain some independence and get back on their own, but there's one glaring issue with this storyline that makes it feel as though this 90 Day couple is on the wrong spinoff.
Jenny's Refusal To Adapt To Most Of Indian Culture Goes Against The Premise Of The Other Way
The biggest appeal of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way is that it shows Americans moving abroad and adapting to a life that contradicts everything they know about Western culture. More often than not, the American is a fish out of water and is constantly surprised by the customs and expectations of their partner's family and country. Often, I feel the people on here are mostly the 90 Day couples who marry and split, because they continue not to do a simple Google search before moving abroad.
Jenny has lived in India for quite a while, and we've seen her outright refusal to adhere to the cultural norms for quite a while. I've written over the years about how frustrating it was that she didn't make a more concerted effort to acclimate to the country, and that this likely contributed to the fact that his parents took so long to accept her. Sure, the age gap is an issue, but as we saw in this latest episode, Jenny hardly makes the effort to learn or do anything a wife in India would typically do.
Jenny Is Free To Do As She Pleases, But This Isn't In The Spirit Of The Other Way
I can't help but think that Jenny and Sumit's storyline might've been more at home on 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? rather than The Other Way. This storyline isn't about Jenny adapting to India, but rather his family trying to accommodate her, and shift cultural norms in the country itself. It's certainly interesting and worth being covered on TLC, but not really representative of what I watch The Other Way for.
As happy as I am that Sumit's parents accepted Jenny, I'm not really interested in seeing her continue to cross her arms and try to argue with people when she does not even speak the same language. If this were her first year in the country, I'd totally get it, and despite Kimberly Rochelle and Tejaswi "TJ" Goswami's relationship being upsetting, I supported their storyline being similar to this.
I also like Jenny and Sumit, but am growing weary of seeing their segments eat up the lion's share of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way episodes when I could be watching other couples do what the series is designed for. Give me more people from the United States living abroad and trying to adapt, rather than highlighting an expat who has lived there for a while and seemingly learned nothing.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs on TLC on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Despite my gripe about Jenny and Sumit, this season is a blast to watch thus far, so be sure to keep up with it and see where these couples all end up.
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