Late last year, yet another alarming video of Paul Staehle and Karine Martins surfaced online.

This time, it was a recording that appeared to show Karine abusing Paul.

Though Karine was back home days later, 90 Day Fiance fans nervously wondered -- even hoped -- that the couple might split for good.

Now, Paul has posted new photos without Karine, leading followers to wonder if he has a new girlfriend.

Late last week, Paul Staehle shared this photo.

The simple caption read "Met a new friend."

He tagged his companion as Kas, a fellow Instagram user, who also shared the photo.

Both Paul and Kas deactivated commenting under their respective posts.

At this time, it is unclear if Paul posted the photos this way, or if one or both of them received unwanted comments and he took this step.

All that we really know is that Kas is a tattoo artist (well, apprentice) and a digital creator ... and only later disabled comments.

“It was lovely to meet a new friend @pauljasonstaehle #90dayfiance #tlc #groovy @tlc,” Kas captioned the photo.

Again, no comments were permitted, but the two were clearly not hiding.

You don't include tags like that, much less directly @ TLC on Instagram, if you're being shy.

So, is Kas Paul's new girlfriend?

"No," Kas told one of many questioners before turning off comments. "We are friends."

Some straight-up do not believe that answer. Those who do wonder why in the world the pair posted so many pics in an obvious bid for attention.

The simplest explanation, and therefore the most likely, is that they are friends -- or close enough to being just friends that it doesn't matter.

Kas is a tattoo apprentice and a digital creator, and most people could benefit from some neutral-to-positive online attention.

Showing up in mysterious photos hanging out with one fo the most controversial 90 Day Fiance stars in the show's history will do that.

At the same time, it's always possible that Kas and Paul are in some way entangled in a way that relates to the franchise.

That doesn't have to mean some sort of 90 Day: The Single Life dating scenario.

It could ... but it could also mean that Paul filmed a scene involving Kas at some point that will make sense later.

But is Paul likely to return to the show, with or without Karine?

Some 90 Day Fiance viewers would be shocked to see it happen.

After all, both Paul and Karine have been accused of abuse more than once during their toxic marriage -- and Paul has been accused of it by exes, too.

Then again, the franchise is no strange to abusers.

While Geoffrey Paschel's vicious crimes did not take place on screen, Angela Deem's monstrous emotional and verbal abuse of Michael has been shown on the show for years.

Oh, and not all of us have forgotten that time that Anfisa Arkhipchenko Nava tried to hit Jorge on camera, and production just kept filming like it was just another argument.

But, as we noted earlier, the simplest explanation is that Paul was doing Kas a favor, for his own reasons, with a little publicity.

Things with Paul are rarely as simple as you'd think, however.

And we also can't say for sure that he and Karine are done. Their toxic marriage always seems over until, suddenly, it isn't.