Since the dawn of reality television, audiences have questioned the legitimacy of how much drama is actual “reality,” and how much is manufactured by editing or flat-out deception. 90 Day Fiancé has long faced allegations of faking storylines by former cast members, and now Stephanie Matto is throwing her experiences into the mix. The former cast member says her non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is up, and she’s apparently wasting no time in calling out The Single Life for not being as authentic as it’s presented.
Matto, who once made headlines for her fart jar business that ended after a medical emergency that she misinterpreted as being a heart attack, is now spilling the tea on the TLC show now that her agreement for 90 Day: The Single Life has expired. The reality star took to TikTok alleging she and producers fabricated a lot of her storyline in the spinoff. In her words:
I’m going to use myself as an example. When I was on Single Life I was dating two people. Both of these people agreed to be on the show with me and go on dates with me because they wanted to promote themselves in some way. And also they were my friends and were doing it as a favor to me. All the meanwhile, the producers had one storyline in mind for me which was me breaking my celibacy. There were points during filming where they were actually pressuring me to break my celibacy even though I had gone over three years with no physical contact with anybody.
Stephanie added that when she told producers she didn’t feel like she would break her celibacy, they would act disappointed. Taking her at her word, it seems like both parties played a part in the deception, though it’s not clear whether or not the producers were actively aware Stephanie wasn’t dating either person legitimately. One could surmise there being at least one level of plausible deniability, but that producers still knew they were filming a fabricated storyline.
As Stephanie continued, however, it seemed there was some alleged evidence that there was some fakery going to be filmed. The former 90 Day Fiancé cast member said that she ended up doing what they asked, but because it wasn’t with someone who consented to being on camera, they tried to manufacture it happening another way. She continued:
Halfway through filming the season, I actually did meet somebody who I ended my celibacy with, but because that person didn’t want to be on TV, I ended up faking a second date / relationship with Fred, my friend. And at one point me and the producers were discussing how I was going to fake maybe losing my celibacy to this guy. But then ultimately I decided against that because I didn’t wanna lie about that…I’m a fraud, and I’m not afraid to admit it and I know there are plenty more people who have gone on Single Life whose dates or people that they dated were just friends or not people that were legitimately interested in dating them.
As always, we should take these allegations with a grain of salt, but Stephanie’s not the first to make such claims. Larissa Dos Santos Lima claimed producers created the storyline of her borrowing money for plastic surgery to pull viewers in, and that she actually funded it on her own. Deaven Clegg also claimed fakery on her final season with Jihoon Lee, saying they were already separated but still wanted to be paid for the season.
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If 90 Day: The Single Life had many fake storylines with cast members, it wouldn’t be too surprising. The series has primarily existed as a way to get previously featured cast members involved after their relationships end. Given their heartbreak, I could see them not being so willing to jump into a new relationship quickly.
It would make a lot more sense to me if the relationships were manufactured merely so they could appear on television without worry of commitment to another new relationship. I’d be okay with that reality sometimes, especially after Chantel Everett’s wild romance with that Greek guy, which felt too soon after her divorce. Whether Stephanie’s claims are true or not, I will be that much more scrutinizing with this spinoff in the future.
90 Day: The Single Life is currently on hiatus. Now would be the perfect time to catch up on the previous seasons or even check out Stephanie Matto’s alleged fake storyline, which is available to stream right now with a Max subscription.