TLC "90 Day Fiance" star Ariela defended herself after she faced backlash for making partner Biniyam walk home with their baby from the hospital while she rode to their apartment in a car.
90 Day Fiance star Ariela Weinberg defended herself after she faced backlash for making partner Biniyam Shibre walk home with their baby from the hospital while she rode to their apartment in a car. The new mother took to her Instagram story, where she said they didn’t have a car seat yet because her parents were supposed to bring one from the U.S. but she had the baby early.
Ariela’s lengthy statement, which was captured by 90 Day Fanatics, explained that she knows car seats aren’t customary in other cultures, but said that “children are projectile missiles in cars.” She added that the weather in Addis, Ethiopia, is normally 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the area where Bini was walking was safe. She couldn’t walk home with them because she had just had her C-section, the area she and Bini lived in was safe. Bini also had security and TLC cameramen walking with him. Lastly, Ariela claimed she got into a fender-bender while driving home from the hospital.
Read her full statement:
I would like to clarify something. I lived in Argentina for almost seven years. I have family all over the world, including Guatemala, Spain, Italy, Canada, Ukraine, ECT. A lot of countries do not use car seats. But that doesn’t make it safe. A lot of people are complaining that I made Bini walk home so I want to clarify the reality of that scene.
We didn’t have a car seat yet because we were expecting my parents to bring one the following week. That was on us. We probably should have bought one along with the baby bath, ect. But for anyone who has ever been to Addis you know that the weather is usually around 70 degrees, sunny with a light breeze except in the rainy season. Our house was two blocks walking from the hospital on streets where cars do not pass. But in order to drive home you would have to take a heavily transited main road. I could not walk home because I had just had a C-section. Because of Bini’s first son being born in America he had no intention of letting the baby drive without a car seat. He just wanted to show the viewers that most people in Ethiopia don’t use car seats. And on the way home we were rear-ended! The neighborhood where we lived was very safe and we had security and cameramen from the [show] walking with Bini!
Children are projectile missiles in a car. They would fly right through the windowsill. And just another juicy tidbit… the guy driving us home met Bini through me. He is a friend of mine and I work with him on his organization Winning Smiles.
As shown on 90 Day Fiance, Biniyam was not happy about the situation. “Ariela is overreacting. She forgets we are in Africa,” he said. He was afraid that he might fall while carrying the newborn, holding the baby in one hand and an umbrella for shade in the other.
Ariela Is Criticized For Indecision Over Circumcision
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Like in the U.S., it’s customary for baby boys in Ethiopia to be circumcised when they are newborns. Since it’s the way things are typically done in his country, Biniyam was ready for his son to undergo the procedure. Moments before it was slated to take place, however, Ariela started to have second thoughts.
“I knew he was always going to be circumcised, but I really feel like I’m taking away a choice for him in his life. This is his body and he should be able to decide what he wants to do with it,” Ariela said in a preview for Sunday’s episode.
“I don’t want him to hate me when he’s older because he thinks I mutilated him or something,” she continued. “I don’t feel good about it. But I know there’s no way Biniyam would not let me do this. Certain people in my family would not agree with it, so I feel certain pressure to do it as well.”
Bini was sure it was the right decision. “It is good for him, for baby now, if you cut him… He doesn’t feel, like, too much,” he explained to his partner. “Don’t worry — I’ll decide for you.”
Ariela Cried During Her C-Section
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Moments before giving birth to their son Avi, Ariela was hysterical. She wasn’t expecting to give birth until at least a few more days and wanted her parents to be there for the baby’s birth.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight Online, she remembered being emotional. “It was not a wonderful moment when I just woke up [from anesthesia] because the last thing I remember is like, them telling me, ‘We gotta do this now,’ and I’m like, ‘No, because I’m not ready,” she said, saying she was scared right before she was put under anesthesia. “You can’t do it if I’m not ready,’ and they’re like, ‘We have to.’ … When I woke up, honestly, I was just in so much pain that I couldn’t really focus on anything else.”
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