TLC/YouTube Avery converted to Islam and met Omar on a Muslim dating site, before traveling to Lebanon to meet her Syrian boyfriend. Here's what we know about the "90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days" couple.
Avery Mills and Omar Albakkaur, stars of the hit reality series 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, are featured on the upcoming third season of the show. Season 3 will feature seven couples who are finally meeting after dating online and will highlight the ups and downs of their relationship after the initial meeting.
Avery, 19, converted to Islam when she was 18-years-old and joined a Muslim dating site where she met Omar, 24. In the promo for this season of Before the 90 Days, Avery admits that Omar has never even held a woman’s hand before the two met for the first time. Avery is planning to take a trip to nearby Lebanon to meet Omar, but she has her doubts about moving to her fiance’s unstable, war-torn country of Syria to be with him.
According to Soap Dirt, TLC scooped up Avery and Omar for season 3 of the show in record time, taking all of one day to confirm with the couple that they were accepted. The vetting process usually takes months, so the network clearly believes the two will be a big hit on the show. Here’s what we know about Avery and Omar’s relationship:
Avery Left Behind Her Christian Life to Convert to Islam, Where She Met Omar on a Dating Site
Omar had never held a woman’s hand before meeting Avery.
Despite the objections from her friends and family, Avery decided to convert to Islam when she was 18-years-old. She joined a Muslim dating site soon after, which is how she met Omar, who was living in Syria and studying to be a dentist at the University of Damascus, according to Starcasm. Although she expected to meet a Muslim man here in America, she “could help but fall in love with Omar,” Newsweek reports.
“When Omar sent me a request I saw his profile was so nice, and he was so handsome. I knew he was Syrian but it wasn’t until after about a week of nonstop talking that I realized he still lived in Syria,” she said. “Oddly enough it didn’t change my feelings at all for him.”
Avery told Newsweek that she always believed in God but decided to convert once she learned more about Islam. “I believed in God, but I wasn’t always 100 percent confident in all of the Christian views. I was open to learning about Islam and never expected to convert, but I was curious, so I asked some Muslim friends about Islam. Everything I learned shocked me, it made so much sense and I realized it’s an amazing religion. The turning moment for me was when I went into a mosque and had a moment in my heart I knew I was with the right people, in the right place, about to follow the right path.”
She Was Nervous About Traveling to Lebanon to Meet Omar & Her Family Worries About Her Moving to Syria
She said she was nervous about traveling to Lebanon to meet Omar, telling Newsweek “When he first brought up Lebanon I got a little bit nervous just because I didn’t know much about it… but I really had trust in him that he wouldn’t take me anywhere that was too dangerous,” she said. However, she said the culture was beautiful, the food was good, and the people were “so sweet.”
During the promo for season 3, she and Omar run into a few issues along the way to their happily ever after. It looks like Avery’s mother is worried about her daughter moving to war-torn Syria, and a clip in the promo shows her breaking down crying and walking away from the two.
“So was this your plan all along?” Avery’s mother asks the couple. “It just seems so scary and I don’t want her to get caught up in all of that.” She quickly excuses herself from the table and walks away sobbing.
She Doesn’t Care About Any Negative Attention She Might Draw From Appearing on the Show
Avery’s mother confronting the couple during the promo for season 3 of “90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days.”
Due to the current political climate in the country, Avery expects to receive some backlash due to her choice to leave behind her Christian life and convert to Islam to marry Omar. However, the reality star couldn’t care less.
“I have never cared about what people thought in the past. No one can sway my decision on my choices,” she told Newsweek. “I really make my own path and I’ll tell them that.”
She says she is just excited to see how her’s and Omar’s story on national television. “I’m excited to see how the story is going to play on TV [and] of course there are a few nerves, but I’m mostly excited,” she said.
Tune in Sundays at 8/7c on TLC to catch Avery and Omar on season 3 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days.
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