Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 5 episode "My So-Called Wi-fi." Read at your own risk!
The latest episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way was one of the hardest to watch so far if you're invested in Kimberly Rochelle and Tejaswi "TJ" Goswami's storyline. It turns out the fight about their apartment was only the beginning of their problems in India, but I'm not surprised about this in the slightest. It seems like 90 Day Fiancé is building up its own storyline trope in which women from the United States are blindsided by the country's cultural norms, and I'm probably not the only one who saw this plotting coming a mile away.
"My So-Called Wi-fi" revealed that while Kimberly and TJ reconciled over the apartment fight and made some compromises on how to move forward in arguments, their troubles definitely haven't all been resolved. 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way showed Kimberly in a pretty heated fight with TJ's brother Yash, which was first seen in a clip that can be viewed below:
Kimberly was shocked by how Vash chastised her, but she really shouldn't have been. In fact, had she used a Max subscription to go back and stream past franchise storylines, including one that came up as recently as last season, she might have reconsidered completely shifting her life over to India to be with TJ entirely. Let's revisit some of Kimberly's issues with TJ's family, and how this has been a recurring storyline we've seen before with others.
It's Not Odd In India To Live With Your Family After Marriage, And Care For Your In-Laws
In the United States, it's fair to say that while families are close, it's not extremely common for entire family units to live together in the same space. From what 90 Day Fiancé has "taught" viewers about India, it's not only more common, but it's expected that when women are married that they will move in with their in-laws too. From there, the new daughter-in-law will be responsible for housework, as well as for caring for her in-laws in their old age. It's also fair to say that they're fairly low on the totem pole in terms of hierarchy, so being lectured by even a brother-in-law is par for the course.
These norms, in addition to the lack of children, were why Sumit Singh's parents were so against his marriage to Jenny Slatten, who is almost his mother's age. It didn't make sense that she'd be capable of caring for them when she was in the same boat, and Sumit would likely need to care for her.
Jen Boecher dealt with the same ageist struggles with Rishi Singh and wasn't on board with being the housekeeper for his extended family. They ultimately broke up because of these issues, though hinted in that season's tell-all that they were still talking. Regardless, these customs are not new for Indian families, so it's odd for Kimberly to believe she'd be the exception to the rule.
Kimberly Arguably Has A Better Situation Than Similar 90 Day Fiancé Castmembers
Kimberly may not have as much freedom in India as she would in the United States, but it is worth noting her potential in-laws are far less strict than other families we've previously met in the franchise. For example, they permitted TJ to add an entirely separate apartment floor onto their home so he and his partner can live with some measure of privacy.
It's also worth noting that TJ's family was accepting of him marrying a foreigner, which is not always a given in India. Mainly, it seems that's acceptance is often tied to the how quickly and fully someone adheres to the cultural and social structure that locals would be accustomed to, and it's possible Kimberly could be on the outs if she insists on maintaining her American values. As I said, I'm not surprised by this drama at all and wish more participants would do enough research to realize what they're getting into.
I will be surprised, however, if Kimberly can ultimately get her way and get to live the way she wants in India. TJ does seem supportive of her and that he cares for her, but it remains to be seen how willing he'll be to push back against his family on that. If we see that, perhaps I can forgive 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way for feeding this all-too-familiar storyline yet another time.
Catch new episodes of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way on TLC on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. I'm rooting for Kimberly and TJ to find some peace in their relationship, though at the moment, I'm not sure it's going to be possible for them in India.
