Kumari Shreya
Given how we are quite used to the general concept of US citizens welcoming their future spouses to the country in ‘90 Day Fiancé,’ the idea of the opposite taking place is certainly intriguing. So, seeing various couples in TLC’s ’90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’ trying to make their new lives away from the US has certainly captured the interest of people across the world.
In the recently released season 5 of the series, one couple certainly stood out for their unique journey. From the very start, Shekinah Garner and Sarper Güven have been able to retain the attention of the viewers, who are heavily invested in the various ups and downs of their relationship. Now that the fifth installment of the series is over, the world is eager to know if the two are still with each other.
Shekinah and Sarper’s 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Journey
While on a trip to Turkey with a friend, Shekinah Garner decided to give online dating a go to meet up with men local to the area and see what they were like. This is what led her to connect to Sarper Güven, and the two soon went on a date. Among the many things that one might expect to attract Shekinah to Sarper, the latter’s use of makeup was actually what did the trick. “He was wearing highlighter on our first date,” Shekinah confessed. “And I noticed it down the bridge of his nose, and I was like, ‘This man is wearing makeup. He’s wearing makeup on a date with me. That is so cute!’”
Though she went to the US following her date with Sarper, Shekinah remained in touch with the Turkish man. She then moved to Istanbul, Turkey, only a couple of months after her initial trip, leaving her life in Los Angeles, California, behind. However, the move was far from easy, especially given the adjustments that Shekinah had to make while trying to make a space for herself in her partner’s new home.
One of Shekinah’s requests to Sarper prior to moving in was that he should replace his old mattress, which had been in the latter’s place for about 12 years. Her reason for the request apparently her uneasiness with the fact that her partner had confessed to having slept with about 2,500 women. “I’d never even heard of anyone being with half that many people. I just really hate the mental image of wondering what caused the headboard to look the way that it does,” Shekinah admitted.
There were several other roadblocks that made Shekinah and Sarper’s relationship a bumpy ride. The former was upset that Sarper apparently did not act like a committed man, an issue that was resolved through a strip tease done by the Turkish man, before leading to further upset Shekinah when she realized how many of her partner’s clients were female. Furthermore, Sarper’s first meeting with Shekinah’s sister, Shariyah, was an unmitigated disaster, given Sarper’s online activity and reluctance to be open about it.
One of the most explosive arguments between Shekinah and Sarper actually took place on the topic of kids. Already a mother to one, Shekinah was apparently not on board with restarting her motherhood journey from scratch. This upset Sarper, who confessed his desire to become a father, given that he was in his early 40s. In the show, he confessed how he did have a son with a Russian woman but never met him as he cut contact with the mother of his child as soon as she told him the news, even though the mother had apparently not put any pressure on Sarper to take up a parental role in his child’s life.
Even Sarper’s family was looking forward to seeing him become a father, something that Shekinah was not completely on board with. The following argument brought many issues between the two. Sarper stated that he felt like it was his karma that Shekinah did not want to have kids with him. Shekinah later threatened to move out, to which Sarper angrily replied that he would forget about her in two days. Making good on her promise, the American women did move out. The couple did try to find a middle ground through direct conversation about the issues festering between them.
When the couple appeared in the reunion episode, they seemed to be doing better than ever. Sarper did catch some flak for the words he used for his partner in front of Shekinah’s sister, Shariyah. It is also discussed how Sarper seems to like controlling several aspects of Shekinah’s life, with the latter playing some voice recordings from that very day in which Sarper could be heard telling her how to behave and what to eat.
Sarper was also asked by others if he still weighed Shekinah on a scale, to which he stated no since he thought his partner was in good shape at the time. While Shekinah claimed that she did not mind this aspect of her relationship, others seemed to disagree. She also seemed highly upset by the video message left by her sister in which Shariyah urged Shekinah to end her relationship with Sarper. Not much later, Shekinah’s friend Dan was invited to the show, though whether or not the two were in a relationship was something that remained a topic of debate.
During the discussion that ensued, a question was asked about how exactly Sarper came up with the number 2,500 for his body count. It’s here that he revealed that he had actually kept a count of every woman he had slept with until 2012 in a notebook by marking each and everyone with an X. Flabbergasted by the revelation and already not on board with how Sarper also had a bottle collection to denote his past partners, Shekinah declared that she would not be returning home until her boyfriend got rid of both things.
Shekinah and Sarper Are Living Happily in Turkey
For all intents and purposes, it seems like Shekinah Garner and Sarper Güven are still going strong. The couple even has a joint Instagram account on which they often share pictures together, much to the joy of those who have been rooting for the couple since their on-screen debut. Based in Istanbul, the two can also be seen spending time with Sarper’s parents, enjoying life to the fullest while taking in everything that the city has to offer.
Recently, Shekinah and Sarper celebrated their birthdays together since both of them celebrate it on the same day. The two seem to believe this to be a sign of fate for their being together. “Love is black & white, you whether love someone or not,” the couple shared on Instagram. “Every part of me loves every piece of you.”
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