Last month, one of 90 Day Fiance‘s most visibly unhappy couples hinted at a looming divorce announcement.
Kalani Faagata and Asuelu Pulaa have been struggling for years.
In recent months, things have been even worse, with Asuelu blocking his wife on social media.
But no divorce announcement has come. And some fans fear that Kalani is simply stuck with Asuelu.
Earlier this year, 90 Day Diaries caught up with Kalani and Asuelu.
Their shared misery was etched into their faces, palpable in their voices.
Their hostility even apparent on social media, how in the world could they last as a couple?
That episode aired months ago. It was filmed months before that.
It has been even longer since either of them have shown any sign of the other on their social media pages.
If we hadn’t seen that they are living together, these would be clear signs of a separation — nothing concrete, but strong hints.
This is not the first rough patch in their marriage, which some would characterize as one long string of rough patches.
Kalani has repeatedly expressed her frustration with Asuelu’s childishness and lack of responsibility.
Asuelu does not like that Kalani has her own opinions, and tries to use his culture to convince her to adopt a submissive mentality.
Over the years, Asuelu has insulted and cussed at Kalani and some of her family.
Though eager to stay the right things to her dad, Low Faagata, Asuelu seems to struggle to respect women who are not his own mother.
He has insulted (and blocked) Kalani’s sister, Kolini, and even at times been insulting towards Kalani’s mom.
One of the couple’s disputes is about having more children — Asuelu wants more, Kalani does not.
Asuelu has at times expressed dismay that Kalani gets a say in this.
He also wants to be more distant from her family … though, as with having more kids, it’s unclear how he imagines that the finances for this would work out.
In May, Kalani said that she would make things about her relationship clear by the end of the month.
The end of May came and went. We are on the second week of June with no divorce announcement.
Maybe an NDA came into play, or maybe she expected a trailer to drop that won’t drop until later this month. We don’t know.
But a growing number of fans fear that Kalani will remain glued at the hip to her manchild husband for the rest of her days.
Or, at least, for years to come.
(Don’t get us wrong, as always when a 90 Day Fiance star is a woman, there’s a segment of the fandom that despises her, but she’s generally well-received)
Despite Asuelu’s conflict with Kalani’s family, that same family may be a huge part of the reason that they are still together.
Though her father has many good qualities, Low has also made it clear that he does not “believe” in divorce, as he sees it as “giving up.”
(In real life, giving up on something that is making you miserable is often a good idea — especially when it’s hard to say what prize awaits Kalani if she toughs this out)
Between family pressure and possible financial incentives, Kalani may feel that a divorce would be even worse.
Divorcing Asuelu could also lead to a custody battle, even if Asuelu’s mother, Lesina, very famously does not “care about the kids.”
Without the unwavering support of her family, Kalani may never work up to break free from Asuelu. Will Asuelu magically become a better husband one day? Well … maybe?
