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Whether you love or hate it, there’s no denying that the “90 Day Fiancé” franchise has brought many memorable reality TV moments to its audience. There’s no shortage of drama from the show’s stars, who seemingly can’t stay out of trouble, even when cameras are off.
The couple formed by Paul Staehle and Karine Martins do well to honor the show’s eyebrow-raising reputation, by not only having a tumultuous relationship but also causing lots of chaos separately, including some legal issues, a rough divorce, an apparent kidnapping, and a missing person episode.
Although Paul and Karine have had lots of their most private moments and dramas featured on TV, there’s still a lot about them that “90 Day Fiancé” fans don’t know yet. Stay here as we break down the untold truth about them!
Things Have Been Off From The Start
The first appearance of Paul Staehle and Karine Martins was in the first season of “Before the 90 Days”, aired in August 2017. The couple didn’t necessarily start on the right foot, as the language barrier between them, and Paul’s lack of understanding of Brazilian culture inevitably made things complicated.
However, the first signs that things weren’t going to be easy between the then-lovebirds became evident not long after, as Paul revealed in front of the camera that he had a criminal history, as well as a tumultuous past when it came to relationships. He confessed to an unfazed Karine, who eventually agreed to marry him, despite her family’s doubts.
Nevertheless, the audience didn’t forget about Paul’s confession of his troubled past, quickly finding out that his criminal record was far from short, as not only was he convicted in 2014 for burning his house to deceive his insurance provider, but was also arrested another time for violating a restraining order taken out against him by one of his former partners.
While Paul isn’t the “90 Day Fiancé” star who has the worst criminal past, the fact that he hid it from Karine for a long time didn’t do anything to put him in the audience’s good graces.
Abuse Accusations
Although getting past the secrets and overcoming the language barriers, Karine and Paul’s relationship didn’t become any better with time. After tying the knot, welcoming a son, and establishing themselves in the US, Paul and Karine weren’t done with demonstrating how much of an unfit match they were, by accusing each other of physical abuse.
In 2020, the couple made headlines when they filed restraining orders against each other, with Karine accusing her then-husband of physical violence and for being ‘over controlling’, and Paul accusing her of physical abuse, and of trying to poison his food with broken glass.
Things weren’t looking too bright for the couple at the time, but that wasn’t the end of their eyebrow-raising history together. In 2021 they welcomed their second son, but that didn’t help to calm the waters between them, as the next year videos of Karine physically abusing her husband were posted on the internet, which resulted in her being charged with domestic assault.
It didn’t take long for Karine and Paul to separate, making headlines again in late 2022 when fans uncovered some court papers showing that she accused him of sexual assault.
Social Media Stunts
Besides the seemingly nightmare-ish time which Karine and Paul gave each other, they also did nothing to gain the trust of fans of “90 Day Fiancé”, by playing out some suspicious money-related stunts.
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The first time fans noticed that something was off with the couple was during their earliest “Before the 90 Days” appearances, as back then it was uncovered that Paul had started an online funding campaign a year before. According to the website Starcasm, the campaign was set to support Karine as she tried to financially help her family in Brazil, and afford her wedding with Paul.
While fans of the show didn’t appreciate the spoilers about the couple’s still-unclear status at the time, that was just the start of everything. Fast forward to 2021, Paul publicly accused Karine of cheating, and showed his disbelief about being the father of their second son Ethan. She took a paternity DNA test only for them to post the results on the subscription platform OnlyFans, on which they’d previously shared an intimate video.
This last incident was slammed by the followers, who considered the couple was monetizing their controversies.
The Missing Incidents
With the huge amount of serious drama steaming off Karine and Paul, it’s unsurprising that their family was sadly separated in the midst of all.
As it happened, in early 2022, Paul gained full custody of their children for a short time following the assault charges put against Karine, but the situation was short-lived.
According to reports, in July of that year, Paul had taken his oldest son Pierre with him on a job-hunting trip in Florida and Pennsylvania, leaving the youngest one with Paul’s mother for a weekend.
The escalating tensions between #90DayFiance #BeforeThe90Days and #TheOtherWay couple Paul Staehle and Karine Martins has resulted in a criminal assault charge against Karine. Here's what we know: https://t.co/ZQPqDI9ThF pic.twitter.com/tst1LCaP9z
— Starcasm (@starcasm) March 11, 2022
Soon enough, officials from Child Protective Services (CPS) reported Pierre as missing, leading Paul to return home and deal with the issue. Though it was later reported that Pierre was safe, he and his brother Ethan were taken by the CPS office.
Later in early 2023, Paul reportedly disappeared somewhere in Brazil. The situation became increasingly worrisome when his mother asked for help on social media, and Karine posted some cryptic messages on Instagram, slightly hinting that Paul had passed away.
In the end, Paul re-emerged in Manaus, Brazil, only to explain that he’d gone off-signal and tried to contact his mother, not knowing how big the issue would become. Nevertheless, his explanation didn’t save him from being accused of stsging another publicity stunt.
Child Custody Battle
To say that Paul and Karine have been involved in a lot of drama would be an understatement, but surprisingly, the now-former couple has seemingly been in a truce in recent times. The reason for this change is the custody battle over their kids Pierre and Ethan, who were put in the care of a foster family in mid-2022.
A couple of months later, Karine denounced that her children’s passports had been revoked and that she had very limited time to see her children. She set up an online funding campaign to afford her lawyers, but the situation didn’t improve much after that, as Paul’s cousin gained full custody of the children in May 2023.
In September 2023, Paul told Newsweek that he and Karine had been fighting together to get their children back, also confessing that they weren’t interested in being in a relationship ever again despite being on amicable terms. However, in February 2024 Paul denounced his cousin for not allowing him and Karine to see their children for several months.
Will Karine and Paul gain their custody battle? That’s yet to be seen, but it’s certainly sad how their path has been so unfortunate and tough.
