The Big Picture
- Season 10 of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé introduces Nikki Exotika, a transgender recording artist, and her Moldovan fiancé Justin. They have a complicated history, and this is their second attempt at making their relationship work.
- The first time Nikki and Justin were together, Nikki revealed her transgender identity, which caused Justin to spiral into depression. However, in recent episodes, they seem to be reconnecting.
- Nikki and Justin traveled to Moldova, where Nikki met Justin’s friends and had a positive experience. Their current relationship status is unclear, but they appear to still be together.
Season 10 of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé kicked off this year with another unusual couple. The U.S. citizen in this case is performer Nikki Exotika. Nikki (Nicole) is a recording artist with a singing career and a big performing personality and is also proudly transgender. Before showing up on TLC, Nikki was reportedly booked for a season 1 episode of E!’s Botched, but her part was left out of the episode’s final cut. She is a New Jersey native, and her foreign fiancé in this scenario is Moldovan social media influencer Igor (a.k.a. Justin). They met over 15 years ago, and things didn’t work out. After Nikki reached out a couple of years ago, the two of them met up. For the second time now, they are now trying to make things work. But with the lies and deceit in the past that ruined their love story, fans wonder if the second time is a charm.
90
90 Day Fiance
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Cast
- Natalie Podiakova, Mike Youngquist, Azan Tefou, Yara Zaya, Jovi Dufren
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Genres
- Reality
- Rating
- TV-14
- Seasons
- 9
What Went Wrong Between Nikki and Justin the First Time?
Nikki (47) and Justin (36) had met over 15 years ago on one of Nikki’s trips abroad. Nikki is from Hoboken, New Jersey, and Justin is from Chisinau, Moldova. Despite the 10-year age gap, they had a connection. Justin was swept off his feet. Nikki at the time had already gotten her sex reassignment surgery and was living a “stealth” lifestyle, meaning she hadn’t disclosed the fact that she was born a male.
After about two years of being together, Nikki revealed her transgender status. Nikki said that Justin “freaked” and was in “shock,” which in turn led him to spiral into depression. Viewers were quick to comment on the situation on social media as “dangerous”. In one of the season 10 episodes, she acknowledged her wrongdoing and seemed apologetic about her past behavior towards Justin.
2007 was the last time they were together. After catching up in 2022, Nikki arranged a trip to Mexico so that they could rekindle their love and connect. Surprisingly, Justin fell in love with Nikki again and even proposed to her. “While we were there, he did tell me that I’m the love of his life, and he proposed to me. And then I applied for the K-1 visa a second time,” she said on the show.
An Eventful Trip To Moldova Reunites the Two
Before traveling to the Eastern European country with Justin, Nikki met up with her mother for a one-on-one conversation. Her mother instantly admitted that she regretted not being there for Nikki when she was going through her transition. There seemed to be stress both on Justin’s side and Nikki’s side for going over to a small, more conservative country—with a high chance of being rejected by Justin’s family and friends.
Her mom also gave Nikki some reassurance and tried to comfort her before the trip: “But the good part is he… is telling his parents that you’re trans, that he loves you, and he’s also telling his friends that you’re trans. So he wouldn’t have gone that far if he didn’t love you. I just feel like he’s being apprehensive because this [Moldova] is a small country. Maybe he’s afraid of himself. Maybe he’s afraid for you. I don’t know… So we don’t know what kind of hate is out there. And I know you’re going through a lot of stress.”
In episode 6, things went surprisingly well with Justin’s friends. Nikki met with Ivan, Sasha, Roksy, and Sergei for drinks. Roksy, being the only other woman at the table, welcomed Nikki with open arms. Everybody’s greetings seemed genuine, and Roksy gave her positive feedback on camera: “Of course I’ve been surprised. Because, first of all, I’ve never seen he’s with a girlfriend, because he’s kind of a closed person. So he never let anyone into his private life. And second, it was the choice was surprise. Because Nikki is not standard, normal woman as we always see. So, of course, it was kind of shock for me that he’d choose to engage with a trans woman. But she’s very friendly and very beautiful.”
During their recent trip to Moldova, much was discussed and learned about each other. On one side, Justin learned more about Nikki’s feelings and wanted him to be more intimate with her. On the other hand, Nikki learned that she needed to be more patient. Nikki confronted Justin about the possibility of him not being sexually attracted to her anymore. “Honestly, I just feel like if you’re not wanting to be with me intimately, I feel rejected. And when I feel I feel rejected, I start feeling like you’re not in love with me.” Nikki said. Calmly and collected, Justin simply replied:
“Like I said, yes? Our relationship not built not on the physical. It’s more like soul, like something, like heart, like something, different vibes. And when we’re talking about the physically, I need a little time with you. In nice, yes? And then I feel some, my man energy coming up and looking ‘who is that woman there’?”
Where Do Justin and Nikki Stand Today?
By the looks of it, Justin and Nikki seem to be together. In July, Nikki posted an update on Justin’s visa application process. The caption read: “I love him so much. We been waiting now 13 mo for our K1 Visa – within these 2 months we should be getting an answer”. If the timing is right, then they should have already received an answer by now. However, neither one of them has publicly disclosed his visa application status. However, according to Justin’s Instagram, he seems to still be in Moldova, promoting different brands. Since no further news about their relationship has been disclosed, one can only assume they are still very much together, just miles apart.
During episode 6 dinner with Justin’s friends, Nikki opened up about her backstory. She mentioned that she had appealed to using prostitution as a means to make a living before she could make a career as a performer. YOn November 14, Nikki uploaded a story to her Instagram, commenting about the friend-meeting episode.
“Hey guys, what’s up? Just Nikki Exotica. I’m back. I needed to take some time off social media.. hmm, I kind of liked last night’s episode. You know, I know, I shocked a lot of people because I guess they weren’t expecting me to say that. But I want people to understand that… people who are trans don’t have an easy lifestyle. And the time that I came out, and not having the support from my family, was really hard. So, having that struggle and being in the streets, having a way to survive, and having an only way, was…that’s what… I had to do what I had to do. So… but I just never judge someone for their past and just accept them for who they are. And make sure they have a nice heart. And a good person. That’s all.
On the topic of Justin, Nikki added that many of the viewer’s comments help understand Justin better and be more patient with him:
I also want to say something else. Is that…watching back, you know the episodes, and seeing myself on camera. And… how I act, it’s kind of like therapy for me because I can kind of like see my flaws, and see my faults of what I’ve done or how I treated him or how I’ve reacted in a situation where I could have acted differently, so uhmm… I mean I think it’s good in a way because it makes me work on myself harder and be more patient with him. Uhmm, and be more understanding because, you know, I wasn’t having that before but hearing masses of people and their…opinions, it really made me think a lot, you know? So, I do have to understand his side and where he comes from, and his culture, and all that.
90 Day Fiancé is available for streaming via Discovery Plus.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
