Kalani Faagata and Asuelu Pulaa have had marriage struggles since before they were married.
A chance encounter led to a pregnancy that quickly turned into a marriage and a second child.
Despite numerous marital difficulties, the two seemed doomed to be stuck in an unhappy marriage forever.
But after Kalani called out Asuelu early this spring, a series of other clues have dropped that the two are heading for divorce.
Asuelu has charmed his fans and followers for years by showing off Samoan dances, something that he has done on 90 Day Fiance and on social media.
While often veering dangerously close to exploitative, these performances have earned him lifelong fans.
Kalani’s no-nonsense (well, maybe some-nonsense) attitude has brought in a sizable fan following … and she is currently a brand ambassador for Savage X Fenty.
For a long time, social media has been the last bastian of their marital happiness.
The show, which of course is edited to show the highs and lows of couples as months of footage are edited down to a few hours and a tidy storyline, has shown them on the verge of collapse more than once.
But now, even Instagram is throwing up major signs that Kalani and Asuelu will soon be exes.
But we should first talk about how absolutely miserable the two looked on 90 Day Diaries just a couple of months ago.
Kalani admitted that she felt “at a breaking point” for some unsurprising reasons.
Asuelu was not behaving responsibly or fulfilling his role as her partner or as a father, and that was taking its toll.
That Asuelu just … walked out in the middle of the conversation probably didn’t help much.
But we mentioned social media. Shortly after that 90 Day Diaries moment aired, Kalani shared that Asuelu had unfollowed and blocked both her and her fan-favorite sister, Kolini.
Fans were unsure of what to think? Were they still living together? Because that’s probably a bigger deal than Instagram.
But in the months since that blocking, Asuelu has not mentioned Kalani or being married.
Kalani has said that there are “lots of changes” coming in their future.
These are changes that she hopes “will make everyone happier” … which is so vague that it could mean anything from a divorce to redoubled efforts on their marriage.
A fan recently asked Kalani if she and Asuelu are still together, and she actually answered.
Kalani promised: “I’ll explain at the end of the month.”
That is certainly mysterious, but could mean anything from TLC-related contractual obligations to needing to iron out those changes before announcing them.
Well, we are now in the final week of May, so the clock is running out on Kalani’s announcement.
Maybe it’s a new house. Maybe it’s divorce papers. Maybe it’s related to an NDA or the cast announcement of another season.
If we don’t know in a week’s time, then we’ll have even more questions for Kalani.
A lot of people have tried to blame marriage problems on family meddling, but Kalani and Asuelu aren’t Chantel and Pedro.
Yes, Asuelu’s mother and his sister have been extremely combative and caused financial and emotional strain on the marriage.
Some of those moments remain burned into our memories.
But Kalani’s family has, if anything, helped the marriage last longer than it should have — especially since her dad has misguided ideas about marriage and divorce.
The reality is that Kalani and Asuelu may share things, from their sons to a sense of humor, but they are fundamentally different people.
Sometimes, differences work out for the best in a marriage. But when they have radically irreconcilable ideas about what it means to be partners … what hope can there be for their future?
