Last week’s date between Cleo and Christian went well, but ended on an awkward note.
On 90 Day Fiance: Before The 90 Days Season 6, Episode 10, Cleo revealed that things improved after that.
Christian did end up making the first move. And a lot of moves after that. They had sex.
Cleo’s sense of reassurance shattered when she learned that Christian had lied to producers about their hookup.
Christian and Cleo
The day after their date night — the one with the VR, the one where things went so well but seemed awkward at bedtime — Cleo meets up with her friend, Jane. It’s time for an update on how things are going between Christian and Cleo. She describes the ups and downs of their date night, from the zombie VR game to Christian’s surprising confession that he’s not the guy to make the first move. That was a surprise to Jane, too.
But their date night took a turn for the better
Cleo reveals that, once they were in bed, kissing and cuddling turned into something more. And Christian did make the first move. One thing led to another, she shared, and they did have sex. According to Cleo, it felt more like “making love” than just sex. After this, she can see Christian as a long-term partner.
Meanwhile …
Producers ask Christian how things went when they left last night. Things had been a little awkward. Speaking of awkward, Christian cracks an egg in such a way that the yolk spills onto the counter. That’s a little less understandable than his trouble working an unfamiliar gas stove. Anyway, Christian also reports that things progressed beyond kissing the night before. He says that they hooked up.
“Did you guys have sex?”
Christian claims that they did not have sex with Cleo. That is … inconsistent with what Cleo told Jane. And while she was mildly bashful when telling Jane about their night together, Christian seemed to trip over his words, as if deciding what to say on the spot. Interestingly, they had previously decided to be “transparent” about sex — since discussing these things frankly is generally part of the show, with rare exceptions.
Meanwhile, Cleo feels reassured
Not yet aware of how Christian is characterizing things, she tells Jane how reassuring this was. Before now, she was wondering if she was just failing to understand Christian’s signals and social cues. Now, though, she feels his attraction to her, even if things were awkward at first. Unfortunately, this reassurance and confidence will not last.
Later …
Jane shows up to comfort and console Cleo, who is clearly feeling emotional. Gradually, and with some crying, she opens up about how Christian messaged her — asking if she had told anyone about the night before. Cleo had, as they had agreed. Christian said that he “didn’t really talk about it to the cameras,” which left Cleo feeling hurt and confused.
This is about more than just a lie
First of all, Cleo doesn’t know what to make of this. And when she called him for an explanation, Christian just said that this was about “protecting” her. But unilaterally changing his mind after they had agreed to be forthright about it doesn’t sound like protecting her. And while Cleo doesn’t really get into it, there’s a long and ugly history of men who keep relationships with trans women a secret because of social expectations and bigotry. In fact, a lot of marginalized women — women of color, disabled women, and more — have found themselves in this situation.
“There definitely has been some gaslighting”
While we don’t know that it meets the actual definition of gaslighting, a lot of people use this term to refer to lies and manipulation in general. In general, Cleo just cannot decide what to make of this. She feels like Christian is trying to keep details of their relationship secret. If he’s letting bigoted people’s opinions get to him, that would explain this. It has happened before, sadly. “I don’t want to be anyone’s secret lover,” Cleo says. “I would rather just be alone.”