Against all odds. 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? star Angela Deem shared an update on the visa process with her long-distance husband, Michael Ilseanmi, during part 1 of the season 5 tell-all.

Angela, 54, and Michael, 32, participated separately in the tell-all, which was recorded via Zoom in compliance with social distancing measures set in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. They were one of the only couples on the season that were not in the same room together while filming, as Angela called in from her home in Hazelhurst, Georgia and Michael called in from his home in Lagos, Nigeria.

Host Shaun Robinson asked the couple how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting their marriage. Michael explained that the couple still gets into fights while communicating via the phone but they resolve them faster. Angela added that a fight that would have lasted three or four days in the past would only last about 30 to 40 minutes.

They reflected on their journey this season, which resulted in the couple saying “I do” during a beautiful American traditional wedding ceremony in Michael’s native country. As footage from their nuptials replayed on the screen, Angela broke down in tears and had to walk away from the camera.

While Angela was offscreen, Shaun, 58, asked Michael why he thinks his wife got so emotional. He explained that Angela is still hurt because her mother could not attend their wedding before her death in February.

Michael also recalled the last thing Angela’s mom, Glenda Faye Standridge, said to him before she died. ‘”Make her happy,’ and we ‘need to be as one family,'” he said. “And we’ve ‘come this far’ and we ‘are not going to back down. Still hoping everything comes true for us.'”

90 Day Fiance Angela Calls Off Wedding to Michael
Courtesy of Angela and Michael/Instagram

Once she returned, Angela opened up about how hard it was for her husband to be in a different country while she was mourning the loss of her mother. “Yeah, it’s really hard like, sometimes, you know, you just need your husband. You know, just for comforting, a hug and the COVID screwed that up. I can’t just fly over there,” she vented.

Shaun asked Angela how the pandemic would affect the couple’s spousal visa process, which would allow Michael to legally enter the United States as the spouse of an American citizen. The couple confirmed they filed the application for Michael’s visa and Angela revealed it will take longer than the expected six to eight months before Michael is able to permanently move to the states if the visa is approved.

“After the pandemic, we still have to wait probably a year for him to get the spousal visa,” Angela said. “But [if] we make it through all of this, and we’re still together, then [haters] can shut up.”

90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? airs on TLC Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

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