It appears that one of the most unlikely happily ever afters from the 90 Day Fiance franchise may be unraveling. 90 Day Fiance Season 7 star Juliana Custodio strongly hinted on TikTok that she and her husband, Michael Jessen, have split. The video comes just a couple months after foreclosure proceedings were filed on Michael’s $1.19 million house purchased in 2019.
Did Michael and Juliana break up?
Juliana added flames to the break up rumor fire as she responded to to a question about whether or not she and Michael are still married on TikTok. In a video posted earlier this week, Juliana spoke to her followers with the message, “Stop ask if I’m still married,” written across the video.
“Everybody keep asking me if I’m still married,” Juliana said at the beginning of the clip. “This really is truly hard, and I’m not ready to talk through yet.”
“If you guys find out, you guys gonna hate me, forever. Everybody’s gonna hate me,” Juliana added. “That’s why I’m being a little weird.”
Here’s the video:
@julianacustodiooo
Juliana responded to a few comments, and confirmed that she is not currently in the United States. (That seemed obvious given her most recent Instagram story videos that show her in Hamburg, Germany.) Here are the unedited comments and responses from Juliana:
COMMENT: She’s beyond gorgeous, in America [they?] are gonna worship her.
JULIANA: I’m not even in America.
COMMENT: R u going to reveal that the whole thing was faked for tv n social media. We won’t hate you!! Unless the truth is u cheated?
JULIANA: I didn’t!!!, sucks after everything the woman always take the na [sic]
COMMENT: People are asking because you choose to put in public your life. You choose to show to everyone your relationship and now when people are wondering.
JULIANA: I never chose be in that show, I never wanted or liked.
In addition to the TikTok video suggesting that she and Michael may have split, Juliana has also deleted all of the photos of Michael from her main Instagram feed. There are still some videos with Michael in her story highlights, but that’s it. The most recent story clip with Michael is from eight weeks ago. I do not know when Juliana left for her current international trip.
Michael’s Instagram is also lacking a bit as far as Juliana goes. He shared a couple birthday photos of Juliana on September 5, but they were older photos from a previous birthday celebration. The most recent appearance I could find of Juliana on Michael’s Instagram is a live video shared on July 21.
UPDATE – Michael and Juliana have since confirmed their break up with lengthy statements.
#90DayFiance Michael Jessen and Juliana Custodio confirm split with lengthy statements. Michael's was apologetic and positive — Juliana's not so much. https://t.co/2JZvpr7OMG pic.twitter.com/cQysfe70ae
— Starcasm (@starcasm) October 12, 2021
Michael Jessen’s house in foreclosure
90 Day Fiance fans will recall that Michael Jessen purchased a beautiful house in Connecticut in order to have more room for his two children and bride-to-be, Juliana. As we reported, the house sold in July of 2019 for $1,195,000 and Michael made a $250,000 down payment on a 30-year mortgage. That left him on the hook for $945,000.
According to court documents, Michael stopped paying his mortgage payments in April of 2020, less than a year after buying the home. On July 1, 2021, the mortgage lender filed a foreclosure complaint against Michael. In addition to foreclosing on the mortgage, the lender was also attempting to claim “immediate possession of the mortgaged premises.”
On July 1 there was a federal mortgage moratorium in place in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately for Michael, it doesn’t appear that he was protected by the moratorium.
From the lender’s affidavit:
This foreclosure action may proceed for the following reasons:
The loan that is secured by a mortgage lien on the property is not a “Federally Backed Mortgage Loan” as defined by 15 USC 9056(a)(2) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)
I checked the property records and they indicate that Michael bought the home with a “Purchase Money Mortgage.” Here is information on purchase-money mortgages from Rocket Mortgage:
What Is A Purchase-Money Mortgage?
A purchase-money mortgage or seller/owner financing is a loan given to the buyer from the property seller. It’s common in situations where the buyer doesn’t qualify for standard bank financing.
As the “bank,” the seller sets down payment, interest rate, and closing fee requirements. The buyer pays the seller a down payment and an executed financing instrument that outlines the loan details. Like a typical mortgage, the financing instrument is recorded with the county protecting both the buyer’s and seller’s interests.
Why would buyers choose seller financing versus a traditional bank mortgage?
This typically happens when buyers have bad credit, a high debt ratio, or a low down payment and won’t qualify for traditional bank financing. Willing sellers can provide the financing by accepting the down payment and setting the terms for the loan based on the buyer’s qualifications and the seller’s needs.
Is #90DayFiance winetrepreneur Michael Jessen actually rich, or is he just faking it for the cameras and for Juliana? Check out the real estate receipts that seem to clear that question right up! https://t.co/koJYWMLmcI pic.twitter.com/vOl7svUQA3
— Starcasm (@starcasm) November 21, 2019
Michael filed a Foreclosure Mediation Request/Certificate on July 22. A week later, the court assigned the case to the Foreclosure Mediation Program. “The Foreclosure Mediation Program was established pursuant to P.A. 08-176 and its purpose is to assist homeowners and lenders achieve a mutually agreeable resolution to a mortgage foreclosure action through the mediation process,” explains the Connecticut Judicial Branch website.
The case is set for a remote mediation hearing on November 4. I assume that Michael and his family will be able to remain in the house at least until mediation is complete.
UPDATE – A commenter on our Instagram post promoting this article asked if Michael Jessen had filed for bankruptcy. I checked and could find nor record of a bankruptcy filing, but I will keep looking. This story is getting a LOT of folks talking! Head on over to Instagram to join the conversation:
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
