Tonight is the premiere of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After Season 8, and it appears producers have elected to keep Nicole and Mahmoud El Sherbiny on the show despite his arrest for domestic violence last month. However, the network has not used the couple in any of their numerous promos for the new season since the arrest.
There were reports that Nicole and Mahmoud had been cut from the show, but those reports proved to be unfounded when the couple appeared in the “First Look” episode that aired Friday night. They are also included in the preview synopsis for the premiere.
The couple were featured prominently in the first preview trailer for the new season, which dropped on Valentine’s Day.
“After four tumultuous years of living in Egypt, Mahmoud is moving to the US,” Nicole says in the video. “I’m feeling really anxious because this is our last chance to save our marriage.”
Later in the trailer, Nicole is see driving frantically looking for her husband. “I’m trying to track down Mahmoud,” she says to the in-car cameras.
“We got into a giant fight,” she adds in a confessional. “He vanished with my phone and my credit card.”
#90DayFianceTheOtherWay Curious to know more about Nicole Sherbiny? We've got bio info, some examples of her fashion designs, throwback photos, and more! #90DayFiance https://t.co/9m7N0BPrWL
— Starcasm (@starcasm) March 13, 2023
It appears Nicole eventually spots Mahmoud pushing his suitcase across an intersection. She yells his name multiple before screaming, “Get in the f***ing car!”
Mahmoud’s arrest
Mahmoud was arrested on February 21, which was exactly one week after the first Happily Ever After preview trailer was released. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence after an alleged altercation with Nicole.
Since Mahmoud’s arrest, TLC has released numerous promo videos and graphics for the new season of Happily Ever After, none of which appear to include Nicole or Mahmoud.
Here’s a video with six of the couples from the upcoming season:
In addition to multiple video previews without Nicole or Mahmoud, TLC has been sharing throwback and “catch up” clips for many of the Happily Ever After couples — but not for Nicole and Mahmoud.
It’s important to remember Nicole and Mahmoud are pretty much the only couple featured on Happily Ever After this season who haven’t been on TLC for a while, so it would seem they would be at the top of the list for throwback and “catch-up” videos!
How TLC has handled 90 Day Fiancé domestic violence arrests
The 90 Day Fiancé franchise is no stranger to domestic violence arrests. Neither producers or the network have elected to remove a couple’s pre-recorded segments from the show due to a domestic violence arrest.
The most famous 90 Day Fiancé domestic violence arrest is actually multiple arrests. Larissa Dos Santos Lima was arrested for domestic violence on three separate occasions in 2018 and 2019 stemming from altercations with her husband, Colt Johnson.
Here is a full recap of all the concerning posts made by #90DayFiance star Larissa prior to her arrest for domestic battery after an altercation with Colt, including her actual Instagram story videos: https://t.co/VVrzSqgL02
— Starcasm (@starcasm) November 11, 2018
Not only did Larissa’s arrests not result in her and Colt’s segments being removed from the show, producers continued to film them both after!
Another example of a domestic violence arrest not halting filming for 90 Day Fiancé is Geoffrey Paschel. Geoffrey was arrested in June of 2019 after brutally beating his American fiancée, Kristen Wilson, and holding her against her will.
Kristen took out an order of protection against Geoffrey the following day alleging that he “repeatedly bashed/slammed my head into the hardwood floors of my home” and “he dragged me through the house by my hair and continued throwing my body into walls and furniture.”
All of this information would have been available to producers if they had looked hard enough. I know this for a fact because I was able to find it relatively easily and was the first to report on it.
In addition to that arrest, multiple women who were married to Geoffrey accused him of physical abuse (including rape) in public court documents.
#BeforeThe90Days Geoffrey Paschel's ex-wife Allison testified during his sentencing today, accusing him of multiple assaults. Here's our article with more of her allegations: https://t.co/83euFp4o8b
And allegations of rape from Geoffrey's 1st wife: https://t.co/fKfQufGL7h
— Starcasm (@starcasm) February 4, 2022
Despite the allegations of abuse, TLC elected to film Geoffrey just a couple months after his arrest as he flew to Russia to meet his online girlfriend (Varya Malina) in person for the first time for 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days.
Geoffrey and Varya were featured on Before the 90 Days, and they had more screen time than any other couple. Similar to Nicole and Mahmoud, Geoffrey and Varya were not included in the promos for the season. They were also excluded from Pillow Talk and the Tell All special.
TLC never addressed Geoffrey’s arrest publicly. The closest they got was a simple text-only statement that he and Varya would not be participating in the Tell All.
It will be interesting to see if Nicole and Mahmoud are excluded from tonight’s Pillow Talk episode.
Geoffrey was later convicted of kidnapping and domestic assault stemming from the incident with his former American fiancée. He is currently serving 18 years in prison in Tennessee with no chance of parole.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
