’90 Day Fiance’ Stars Ben and Akinyi Share Wedding Update After Her Visa Was Delayed
Wedding bells on pause? 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days couple Ben Taylor and Akinyi Obala shared an update on how their visa application was affected by the coronavirus pandemic during an appearance on TLC’s limited series, 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined.
“All we’re waiting on is Akyini’s final interview and she can come to the U.S. With the coronavirus, all the embassies have closed at this point. So all interviews were canceled,” Ben said during the episode.
The couple is currently in a long-distance relationship. Ben lives in Phoenix while Akinyi is still in her native country of Kenya.
They were first introduced during season 3 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. Ben, who is a divorced single father, traveled to Kenya to meet Akinyi for the first time after meeting online. Ben had to get approval from Akinyi’s brother, father and the elders of her community before he was allowed to propose to her. He also had to follow tradition, which meant he needed to pay a “bride price” to Akinyi’s father in exchange for her hand in marriage. Since Ben could not afford the full dowry upfront, which was an undisclosed amount of money, Akinyi’s father agreed to accept the payments in installments.
Once the bride price was settled, Ben and Akinyi were considered married in Kenya. But their marriage would not be legally valid in the United States, which means he still had to file for a K-1 visa for Akinyi, which allows the fiancé of an American citizen to legally enter the country under the condition the couple marries within 90 days after the foreigner’s arrival.
During their segment on 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined, Akinyi admitted relocating to America was not her first choice. “My preference would be Benjamin comes lives with me here in Kenya. But because he has his son there, that’s his No. 1 priority for him. So he cannot leave his son,” she said.
Still, the couple continued to plan their marriage after they had to push their wedding date back due to the delay in Akinyi’s visa process. They set another wedding date for August 29, and Akinyi shared her honest feelings about tying the knot this summer.
“I feel like Benjamin is rushing with the marriage. I want to wait the full 90 days to get married because I don’t know what kind of life I’m going to have in the United States. I want to learn different things and get comfortable and he’s rushing me, when I feel like I don’t want to be rushed,” she said.
It seems like waiting is not an option for Ben. “Long-distance dating is strenuous. I don’t see it being a long-term viability. We’re already two years into that process,” he said.
90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined airs on TLC Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
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