Foreigners, fraud and falling in love: 90 Day Fiancé viewer perceptions

90 Day Fiancé (2014–present) is a US reality television show centred on a revolving cast of cross-national couples who navigate cultural differences, stressful finances and legal pressures to get married within the 90-day constraint of the US K-1 Visa. Due to the show’s use of an actual visa process, it was generally seen as quite ‘authentic’ by our viewers, despite their recognition of audience manipulation. With immigration a constantly controversial topic in the United States, we find that the show impacts viewers’ perceptions of migrants in nuanced ways: building cross-national understanding and empathy as well as perpetuating stereotypes and avoiding talk of race. We also find especially harsh judgements of the US citizens involved, particularly as it relates to ‘mutual fraudulence’ between many of the couples. Audience perceptions were measured using qualitative interviews with ten members of the 90 Day Fiancé fandom and analysed through four theoretical frameworks (intersectionality, class status theory, critical race theory and identity theory). This research helps bridge the gap between commonly disparaged ‘trash’ reality shows and their real-life implications for empathy-building among US audiences – particularly towards immigrants from the Global South.