90 Day Fiance’s Shekinah and Sarper Found Love in Turkey: Find Out If They’re Still Together

90 Day Fiancé star Shekinah Garner fell head over heels in love with Sarper Güven after meeting when she was on vacation in his native Turkey. While the two were smitten with one another, fans are wondering if they’re still together today.

How Did ‘90 Day Fiance’ Stars Shekinah and Sarper Meet?

Shekinah revealed how her romance with Sarper began when they made their 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way debut on August 28.

“I went to Turkey last year with a girlfriend,” Shekinah explained. “I downloaded a dating app to see what Turkish men are like.”

After matching with Sarper, the couple met for a date and instantly hit it off. Shekinah explained that she appreciated that the model put extra effort into his appearance in order to impress her.

“You know how people usually say, ‘You had me at hello?’ Sarper had me at highlighter,” she said in a confessional. “He was wearing highlighter on our first date. And I noticed it down the bridge of his nose, and I was like, ‘This man is wearing makeup. He’s wearing makeup on a date with me. That is so cute!’”

Despite having friends and a career in Los Angeles, Shekinah put in effort to maintain their connection and traveled back to Turkey to see him two months after her first trip.

“He is just everything that I’ve looked for,” the TLC personality said ​of her long-distance boyfriend. “He’s sweet, he’s thoughtful, he’s really caring, and our sex life is just, like, out of this world. It’s insane.”

After one year of dating, Shekinah and Sarper decided to take a major step in their relationship by having the aesthetician move to Turkey. “My attraction and connection with Sarper is so strong that I’m willing to leave this entire life that I’ve built in Los Angeles to go and be with him,” she explained.

What Problems Have ‘90 Day Fiance’ Stars Shekinah and Sarper Faced in Their Relationship?

The couple got into an argument during the September 18 episode after Sarper failed to replace a mattress he’s had for 12 years.

“That is still your old bed,” Shekinah complained. “Before I came here, I said please get a new bed, because I don’t want to sleep in a bed that other women have slept in.”

While Sarper said he’s “so happy” with the bed, Shekinah explained why she wanted him to get a new one in a confessional.

“About a month before I moved to Turkey, Sarper told me that he had been with about 2,500 women, and I thought it was a typo,” she said. “I’d never even heard of anyone being with half that many people. I just really hate the mental image of wondering what caused the headboard to look the way that it does.”

After Sarper noted he didn’t understand what the big deal was, Shekinah said she would only sleep on the couch. “You should have done what I said,” she told him. “I literally told you like three times to get a new bed.”

“Clearly he doesn’t take it seriously when I tell him to do something, so he’s gonna find out now,” Shekinah vented in a confessional. “And if he wants to sleep in his gross bed, he can do that. Or he can join me on the couch. I don’t care. But all I know is I’m not sleeping in that bed, and we have to get a new one as soon as possible.”

They faced another roadblock during the October 2 episode when Shekinah admitted she was frustrated with Sarper for not acting like they were in a relationship.

However, he seemed to win her over when he surprised her by doing a strip tease in a construction outfit. After she admitted she “can’t help but melt a little” by the gesture, Sarper told Shekinah he was there for her and can’t stay mad at him.

Unfortunately, the moment turned out to not be enough. Shekinah later became upset when she learned that most of his clients are women.

Did Shekinah’s Sister Approve of Her Relationship With Sarper?

Sarper and Shekinah already had their issues, however, tension only escalated between the couple when Shekinah’s sister Shariyah came to visit during the October 16 episode.

Prior to her arrival, Shekinah made sure to tell Sarper not to mention to her sister how he was trying to “make her the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“It doesn’t sound right. Don’t say that you wanna change me,” Shekinah said while agreeing she “liked it” but “it could be taken wrong.”

“She’s gonna think that I’m not good enough for you, so you’re having to make me better so that I’ll deserve you or something like that,” she explained. “Just be careful when you’re talking about making me into the perfect girl.”

Upon their first meeting, Sarper defended his decision not to hash out certain issues with Shekinah through text as he said she “acts like a slut.”

“You’re saying that my sister acts like a slut?” Shariyah asked. Sarper stuttered before correcting himself, “I mean, uh bitch.”

“But you are acting like that when we are texting, you know?” he pointed his question toward Shekinah. “When we are debating on something, and you go away and don’t come back. You don’t read my message.”

The mom of one told producers she was “horrified” that Sarper was using this language with her as no one had spoken that way toward her in the past.

Shariyah then asked Sarper if he would let her sister go through his social media DMs. “I never let her,” he quickly responded. In a private confessional, Sarper told producers he’d “rather die” than show someone his DMs.

“His response was so defensive and like protecting himself. And if it doesn’t alarm Shekinah and really raise red flags to her, then I kind of feel like I’m wasting my time here,” Shariyah told producers abruptly deciding to leave their dinner early.

“You are speaking too much Shariyah,” the Turkey native told her as his girlfriend’s sister walked out. “You are so cute, but you are speaking too much.”

The next morning, Shekinah called their meeting a “disaster” and begged her sister to give Sarper another chance. Shariyah was hesitant and believed Sarper would be unable to change her mind after his behavior the previous day.

“I understand why Shekinah’s wanting me to give him a second chance. But, first impression is a pretty big deal,” Shariyah told the cameras. “He just displayed a lot of immaturity and anger, so you know, it’ll definitely be hard to come back from last night.”

Upon their reunion at dinner that night, Sarper said he “felt guilty about being an a—hole,” and acknowledged that he had to change in order to keep Shekinah happy.

While Shariyah accepted his apology, she asked why he had hesitations about being public about his relationship with Shekinah. “I just really want to feel that you’re somebody who’s going to show my sister how much you love and care about her,” she told him over dinner. “And I know, like, it’s important for you to feel respected, but it’s equally important for her to have that respect.”
Sarper promised to post a photo of him and Shekinah “as a sign of his good intention.”

Shekinah was happy with the news but Shariyah admitted prior to leaving back to the U.S. that she still wasn’t fully convinced about the relationship.

“Obviously it was better than the night before, but I don’t know if he’s just saying this to kind of appease the situation,” Shariyah told her sister as they spoke about it the next day. “I wouldn’t feel this way if I saw a level of love and respect demonstrated from him to you, which I didn’t see.”

At the time, Sarper still hadn’t posted their photo to his social media and Shekinah confronted him about it as they shopped for a new bed. “I just don’t know why you promised if you weren’t gonna really do it,” Shekinah told him.

While Sarper said he “forgot,” he gave in to her request and posted their photo together.

Do 90 Day Fiance’s Shekinah and Sarper Want Kids?

Shekinah and Sarper narrowly made it through Shariyah’s visit and next, it was time for the U.S. native to meet Sarper’s family. During this visit, Sarper’s cousins and aunt asked Shekinah if she planned to have another child as they’d love to see Sarper as a father.

“I don’t plan to have another child, no. At this age, it would be like starting over,” she quickly responded during the November 6 episode.

Sarper quickly changed the subject, telling producers in a private confessional that he was waiting for the right time to have the conversation about kids with Shekinah.

“Of course, I want a child for myself, I mean. I’m already 43,” the fitness professional told the cameras. “I will do that talk, at least she has to learn what I think about it.”

During the same conversation, Sarper revealed that he fathered a child at 18 years old whom he’d never met. While he had told Shekinah about him a few months into their relationship, it was news to his family.

“On 1998, when I was on summer vacation, I met with a Russian lady. We had one week of vacation and so many times we had sex. Her intention was having a child [sic],” Sarper told producers, revealing his son would be between 24 and 25 years old. “But I didn’t know that.”

At the time, Sarper only had given her his email address, and a few months later, he received an email saying that she was pregnant. Despite her telling him he had no obligation to the child, it shocked him and he deleted his email account.

“I was so scared that she will come and give the child to my lap and I was 18 years old,” the Turkey native continued. “It was difficult to handle that. I tried to forget it. But maybe five years after that, I was really regretful and I tried to find her, I couldn’t. I just know her name.”

The conversation surrounding their future family ultimately led to a major blowup between Shekinah and Sarper, where he had to decide whether being with her or having a child was more important.

The couple discussed the issue of kids again during the November 13 episode while visiting a Turkish bathhouse. The pair had met Sarper’s parents the day before and Sarper admitted that if it wasn’t for the child issue, he’d consider proposing to Shekinah.

“My mother said directly that she wants a grandchild. You already said what you thought about having a child, a new one. But I wanted you to reconsider because I really want to,” Sarper told her.

Shekinah explained it was hard raising her daughter as she was left with the majority of the responsibility since her ex was always working and didn’t want that to happen again. Sarper promised to be there for his child but Shekinah said her ex also said the same things.

“We can live together, no problem. Until we are bored of each other. And then you go back to your country,” Sarper concluded. “If we are not seeing the future, if you don’t want a kid, yeah that’s it.”

Sarper went on to call it “karma” of the 2,500 women he slept with, that the woman he wanted didn’t want to have a child with him.

“I asked you to stop talking about your disgusting numbers,” Shekinah clapped back before telling him to “f—k off” and walking away.

Talk about children continued during the November 20 episode. The pair’s fighting got so bad that they even appeared to break up. Sarper urged Shekinah to be “more flexible” about having a child and she threatened, “If you are going to carry on like this, you are going to lose me.” Sarper didn’t seem affected by the threat. He told Shekinah that he was going to “forget [her] in two days” anyway. The episode ended with Sarper telling Shekinah to book a flight home as soon as possible.

Upon their arrival home, Shekinah packed her clothes and decided to leave for a hotel. While Sarper initially thought it was a bluff, Shekinah was determined to leave.

After staying at a hotel for two days and ignoring Sarper, he worked hard to get her attention and to let her know he was sorry.

“Right now, honestly, I don’t know where we stand. I can’t forget what he said to me,” Shekinah told producers in a private confessional during the November 27 episode. “Not to mention that all of a sudden he wants kids when I absolutely, do not.”

The pair later met up at a nearby park, with Sarper immediately gifting Shekinah flowers. “I said many bad things to you, I know. I mean, I said I will forget you two days [sic],” he told her. “But believe me, after I saw that pain, I can’t forget you for two decades.”

Despite the uncertainty about their future, Shekinah ultimately decided to give the relationship another shot.

Are ‘90 Day Fiance’ Stars Shekinah and Sarper Still Together?

Despite an apparent split on the show, Shekinah and Sarper are seemingly still together today, and they regularly update their joint Instagram profile with adorable photos.

“Happy anniversary to the love of my life. One year ago today one swipe right changed our lives forever,” the couple shared from their joint Instagram profile on November 30. “Thank you to the universe for putting us in the same place at the same time so that we could be together in this lifetime.”

Their joint account is public and regularly updated. Sarper had set his personal account to be private while season 5 aired, but he went public after the Tell-All. His page features modeling photos, as well as plenty of content with Shekinah.

Shekinah sparked engagement rumors in December 2023 when she posted a photo of her hand resting in Sarper’s with a gold sparkler on her finger. Many fans congratulated her in the comments and asked about the wedding. However, Shekinah appeared to shut down the speculation by responding that the ring was a gift from her grandmother before she died.

“One year,” she wrote in the caption, seemingly celebrating the one-year anniversary of her move to Turkey.