Photo: Facebook
She is 22 years older than him.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Oct 27, 2019
Laura and Aladin are one of the couples featured on the new TLC show 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. Laura, 51, is from Florida but she is moving to Qatar to be with her husband Aladin, 29, a personal trainer she chatted with on Facebook for eight months. When they finally met, they quickly fell in love. Of course the whole thing is fraught with complications from their age difference to her insecurity to the ultra conservative society of Qatar to the fact that Aladin is allowed to have four wives. Are Laura and Aladin still together?
1. They met on Facebook
Laura and Aladin exchanged Facebook messanger messages for eight months before Laura booked a flight to Qatar to meet Aladin. Within three days of her touchdown in the Arab country, the couple was engaged. Love is strange, people. Now, Laura is leaving her family and her two dogs behind to move to Qatar despite strong protests from his family. "Don’t get us arrested," Laura whispers to her fiancé when he meets her at the airport with a big hug.
2. She is super-insecure
Aladin is orginally from Tunisia. He is a personal trainer and very fit. He is 29. Laura worries that their relationship may be too good to be true and she says she's trying to work through her trust issues, but the woman is a mess. In a promo for the show, Laura is seen video chatting with Aladin as he takes off his shirt and shows her his abs. She tells the camera: "Aladin is my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That's why I'm willing to move to Qatar permanently." In one clip of the show, Laura is seen arguing with Aladin about women who follow him on Facebook.
3. No, we mean it, she is really, really insecure
Aladin is handsome. Aladin is 22 years younger than Laura. In a press release, TLC said: “Aladin is a young, handsome personal trainer, and Laura is afraid their relationship might be too good to be true.” In the promo, Laura also says this is the “riskiest decision I’ve ever made with my life,” so she's thinking things may not work out the way she wants them to. During another promo for the show Laura says: “My fiancé is a 29 year old and he is from Tunisia, Africa, but he works in Qatar as a personal fitness trainer. I met Aladin a year a half ago on social media,” she said. “This Tunisian man started chit-chatting with me and I was just like ‘Wow. He’s gorgeous. What is he looking at me for?'”
4. He can have up to four wives
When Laura arrived in Qatar, she found out that under Sharia law, it is legal for Aladin to have as many as four wives as long as he can support them financially and treats each equally.
5. Culture shock
Laura is from Florida and moving to the Arab country. Aladin is from Tunisia, Africa and living and working in Qatar. In a scene from the show, Laura tries to introduce her vibrator into their sex play. Aladin is shocked. Similarly, Laura was floored by the fact that he can have multiple wives. The people of Qatar also dress conservatively. Women must cover their knees and cannot wear tank tops, miniskirs, or any clothing that shows too much skin.
6. Twitter responses
Half the fun of watching 90-Day Fiancé is following along on Twitter for the savage, hilarious responses. Here's some of our favorite Laura/Aladin tweets:
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.