90 Day: The Last Resort Season 2 had a different vibe from the first season and I wonder if this small change has anything to do with it. The Last Resort Season 2 is close to coming to an end. The couples are sharing their final days in the resort and are hoping to smooth over some rough edges so they can go home in a better spot than when they arrived. Unfortunately though, I think most of the 90 Day Fiancé franchise couples haven’t made much progress.
They may even be in a worse spot from when they first appeared in Season 2. Upon reflection, there seems to be one major difference between the two seasons: the number and types of therapists accessible to the couples. While this difference may not be the only culprit for the couples’ lack of progress, I think it plays a major role in their healing process.
‘The Last Resort’ Season 1 Had More Counselors and “Real” Inner Healing Work
In Season 1, there were at least three therapists that the 90 Day Fiancé couples engaged with. There was Dr. Janie Lacey, a trauma expert and Dr. Jason Prendergast, a temperament therapist who specializes in marriage counseling. There was also Dr. Petey Silveira, the Jenny Slatten look-a-like who specialized in past life regression. Then there was also Reba Corrine, a sex therapist who also appeared in a few episodes to help the group as a whole and the couples individually.
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All these therapists certainly played a large role in Season 1, along with the host and life coach of the series. Most episodes featured at least one therapy session and the couples saw the therapists on a rotating schedule to gain all the tools necessary for a healthy relationship. While the efficacy of some tactics was questionable, such as Big Ed Brown’s past life regression session, inner healing and therapy were major cornerstones of the first season. The couples of Season 1 seemed to get along better, make more progress towards their goals and most all decided to recommit by the end of their stay.
‘The Last Resort’ Season 2 Has Fewer Counselors and More Chaos
Season 2 seems to have had a major shift. There are still a handful of therapists roaming around the resort, but they’re not as obvious as in the first season. Mostly it’s just the life coach, Sarah Malone, who’s navigating the Season 2 couples and their shenanigans. Reba, the same sex therapist from Season 1, did make a brief appearance to help Josh and Natalie in a private session. However, their session ended in a major blowout and the pair separated for the rest of the day. Josh and Natalie aren’t the only couple who seem to have issues beyond repair.
Rob Warne and Sophie Sierra were in a screaming match first thing in the morning after their camping trip. Natalie was upset because she thought Josh was body-shaming her. Meanwhile, Julia Trubkina and Brandon Gibbs‘ progress plummeted after she revealed she cheated on him earlier in their relationship. Since these couples seem to have more issues than in the first season, I would’ve expected more inner healing work for them to do. More therapy sessions to improve their communication and more opportunities to execute real skills that would help their relationships. Yet it seems as though the couples are left mainly on their own and mediators don’t appear until the situation has escalated to an extreme point.
Overall, I can’t ignore the strong correlation in The Last Resort Season 2. The connection might not be related, but I do think it’s interesting to acknowledge how the lack of therapy and therapists in the second season might be hindering the couples more so. The purpose of The Last Resort is to learn tools and practice healthy coping skills, so couples have a solid foundation to work on when they return home. Yet, it seems to me like the couples just keep spiraling. The 90 Day Fiancé couples still struggle to connect and communicate. They keep finding themselves in full-blown arguments and the same finger-pointing cycles that landed them in The Last Resort in the first place. In the end, I have to wonder if the change in therapists contributed to the extreme amounts of turmoil I’ve seen the second time around. 90 Day Fiancé and its spin-off series air on TLC, and are available to stream on Max in the U.S.
