90 Day Fiance is a reality TV franchise. It’s not scripted, but we all know that events are nudged.
The result is that 90 Day Fiance has some fake moments that viewers are increasingly able to recognize.
Production meddling is par for the course in the reality TV world.
But as Season 8 alum Stephanie Davison explains, some of the “nudging” that she experienced crossed a line.
Stephanie Davison spoke to In Touch Weekly about her experiences.
She described how filming for 90 Day Fiance was an educational experience in how the “game” of reality TV works.
Part of the issue is how production is set up.
As we know, the production crews that Sharp sends to film its stars are independent contractors.
The result is that these producers are knowingly competing with other groups of producers for the best footage.
This of course means that each producer is always trying to one-up the others by getting the best moments on camera.
“My first [producer], you know, he would be like, ‘OK, now say this and be really sad about it,'” Stephanie recalled.
“And then the same exact situation, he goes, ‘Now say it and be happy,'” she continued.
“And,” Stephanie explained, “so he wanted several ways of it being said.”
“Cause then, you know, the editors and the executives, they have plenty to pick from,” Stephanie reasoned.
“I then, after then working with two or three other producers along the way, I got to know the game,” she related.
“It’s like, ‘Aha, they’re all trying to [out] do one another,'” Stephanie concluded.
90 Day Fiance‘s finger on the scale always begins with casting.
Obviously, executives and producers look for obvious storyline potential.
One imagines that they have a checklist of things to look for.
Age gaps, wealth gaps, obvious personality issues, eccentricities, …
… either obvious scammers or people who will look like scammers to prejudiced viewers.
Obviously, Stephanie and her ex, Ryan Carr, checked literally all of those boxes.
From there, Stephanie believes that production works out general guidelines for producers to follow.
This of course is why every friend and relative of any American star is always filmed asking if someone is “using” their loved one.
Production asks the question enough times until they get the response that they need.
We — and likely many 90 Day Fiance fans, at least the ones who follow the show online — knew most of that.
However, Stephanie also shared something else.
According to her, production is behind the low-cut and otherwise revealing outfits that she and many other stars wear.
Stephanie described being asked to wear a “plunging neckline” in order to show “more boob.”
In particular, this request was made when she filmed her confessional interviews.
She shared that she was upset, and a crew member assured her that at least cleavage was no longer demanded at the Tell All.
This isn’t just about sex appeal, though there’s certainly some of that happening.
A number of 90 Day Fiance stars have received flak from weirdo prudes who don’t like their low-cut shirts.
This may be an example of the strategy succeeding rather than backfiring.
People who like seeing boobs are happy.
People who hate them feel strongly about the star and therefore the show.
This makes it a win-win for the show and the network, who don’t care if the stars are liked or hated so long as there’s a strong opinion in there.
Stephanie revealed that private conversations with other franchise stars confirmed that others had similar experiences.
“They go to great lengths to make a great story,” Stephanie observed.
She accused that this is sometimes “at the expense of, what possibly could have been a couple — in my opinion — staying together.”
Production isn’t behind how Stephanie’s relationship ended, however — at least, not directly.
That was all Ryan’s doing.
“But when you find out you’ve been deceived, obviously some things are unforgivable,” Stephanie correctly stated.