Being on a reality TV show offers its stars the opportunity for fame, but not necessarily fortune. When we’re talking about how much the 90 Day Fiancé cast members make specifically, it’s a pretty grim reality.
Related: These Real Housewives Salaries Prove Why We’re Down Here & They’re Up There
In recent years, there’s been a lot of discussion about whether networks are paying their reality stars fairly. Real Housewives alum Bethenny Frankel even called for the industry to unionize, claiming this genre of entertainment is highly exploitative. “Reality stars should have a union or simply be treated fairly and valued,” she wrote in an Instagram caption in July 2023. When you learn how much 90 Day Fiance stars make, you’d probably be mad, too.
How much does the 90 Day Fiancé cast get paid?
Deavan Clegg
Image Credit: TLC Deavan Clegg appeared in the second season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. In an Instagram Ask Me Anything in August 2023, she revealed how dismal the pay was for appearing in the show. “We only got $1,000 per episode we were featured in,” she wrote. “We paid all travel costs, parking (when filming) food most days. Sometimes we would be reimbursed for certain things like clothing.”
She continued: “So for season 2, I wasn’t paid out completely till almost a year after filming. We did get $1,500 for the tell-all. If I were to compare [the] cost to what needed to be spent to get to locations, food, clothing that wasn’t reimbursed, I was close to breaking even.”
She also claimed that the show’s producers “highly discouraged” them from doing “promotional work, podcasts,” and “I was even asked to stop doing my YouTube channel. This is how I made money and they didn’t like that,” she said.
Anfisa Arkhipchenko
Image Credit: TLC While Anfisa Arkhipchenko hasn’t disclosed how much she was paid for her appearance in 90 Day Fiancé season 4, she did take to Instagram Stories in September 2022 to reveal that she certainly wasn’t compensated fairly.
“I know my worth and I wasn’t treated well or getting what I deserve,” she wrote, per In Touch. “I don’t agree to be a clown for pennies on a dollar while the network makes millions.” She continued, “Wish other people would do the same and stop this exploitation, but unfortunately for others, it’s their only way to make a living.”
Danielle Jbali
Image Credit: TLC Danielle Jbali appeared in the second season of 90 Day Fiancé. In 2018, per In Touch, she took to Instagram to explain her earnings. “We don’t make millions from doing the TV show,” she wrote. “For those of you questioning what happened to my show money. I bought my home, bought appliances, did some repairs to the home, paid for an STNA class, put down a payment on a newer car. It was not spent foolishly.”
In a June 2020 interview with the Domenick Nati Show, Danielle shared, “It’s close to around $10,000 if you are in all episodes for the season,” she said, adding that you get half at the beginning and the other half at the end. If you break your non-disclosure agreement [NDA], “you don’t get the rest of your money.”
Paul Staehle
Image Credit: TLC Paul Staehle and Karine Martins made their debut in 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. In November 2018, Paul launched a GoFundMe so Karine could visit her family in Brazil over Christmas. Though he didn’t get into the specifics of what they were paid for their appearance on the show, he explained what TLC wasn’t allowed to pay for.
“We are treated very good by production. Also, yes we do get paid. However our story is extremely expensive and difficult for production. It costs production probably more on our story than any other couple,” he wrote on Facebook. “Production is not allowed to pay for any travel, lodging, translators, or in any way aid the visa process or pay towards any of it.”
