Shortly after undergoing her first round of surgeries, Angela Deem wanted more surgeries.
Many fans worried for her health and hoped that she would heal before going under the knife again.
But other 90 Day Fiance fanatics are just scratching their heads.
How in the world does a nursing home assistant who stars on a low-paying reality series afford so many surgeries?
Healthcare is expensive in America, moreso than in almost any developed nation.
A complex interplay of economic and political make even basic care, taken for granted in much of the world, out of reach for many Americans.
So how is it that Angela Deem is able to afford to get the royal treatment from multiple Beverly Hills surgeons?
Angela had an entire team of medical specialists work on her, extracting breast tissue and implanting a gastric sleeve.
She is already talking about a facelift and removing her waddle as it grows with her weight loss.
All of that adds up, with the facelift alone costing — she said on screen — as much as $25,000.
This was a sticking point for Michael, who was already opposed to the surgeries.
Now he felt that he had another reason to disagree.
That money, Michael argued, could be used to help them have a child as a couple.
Obviously, fans had a lot of issues with Michael’s feedback.
He doesn’t get to decide how the money gets spent.
And many feel contempt for the idea that, via surrogate or not, this grandmother should be asked to have a child.
But fans cannot stop wondering how Angela, who is not rich, could afford something like this.
Some suggested “well, she’s on reality TV” or insisted that TLC must be paying for it.
It is always important to remember that 90 Day Fiance stars are paid very little compared to other reality stars.
If you’re a Real Housewife, you’re usually already rich, and you’re going to get richer.
Some Bravolebrities make millions, and many (if not most!) make six figures per season in direct compensation.
Starting 90 Day Fiance stars make a reported $1500 at most per couple per episode.
If you’re doing that math, even if it’s not divided between the two, that’s not a lot to make in one year.
There are only so many episodes in a season, and not every couple appears in every episode.
We’re talking about enough money to buy a decent used car, not buy a house — or finance a body transformation.
Now, one theory suggested was Cameos.
Cameos can allow more well-known stars in this franchise to make five to six figures in a relatively short amount of time.
Angela is a polarizing star, and could certainly rake in a lot of money that way.
But then, Angela has been paying for international flights, extended hotel stays, and more.
She has presumably been missing a lot of work and may be relying upon Cameo to make up the difference.
Fans also speculate that she may be supporting her grandchildren to some degree.
Others suggested that Angela is getting a discount — not uncommon for reality stars.
The idea is that you get a procedure at low cost because you are a famous person and documenting it all on TV.
The plastic surgeon gets TV recognition, which means a boost to their image and their practice. It makes sense.
“She isn’t paying one penny,” a Reddit denizen recently declared on the subject.
The fan wrote: “This was fully set up gratis by her manager Gina Rodriguez and her management team (Obeng, Kashani, Fett, Sadaat).”
According to the commenter, this team has handled a “makeover/surgical package on 6 or 7” reality stars, most notably Mama June Shannon.
That would not be a surprise, in part because Mama June is also managed by Gina.
(Gina was very briefly Danielle Mullins’ manager, but they had a bitter falling out before Danielle’s makeover could begin)
We cannot verify the claim that Angela’s surgery was entirely free, but that does sound very likely given what we know.