on season 4, episode 3 90 Day Fiancé: The Second WayMahmoud Elsherbini introduced himself to the audience.
We had already seen and known his wife, Nicole. Fans aren’t sure what to make of them.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud’s brothers see the 30-year-old fabric store manager as a “spoiled lover”.
but viewers are picking up on some Chief red flags. Most of them are not even subtle.
Nicole Sharbani went on a “spiritual tour” of Egypt, where she spotted a sweetheart in a clothing store. She and Mehmood fall in love and get married.
aspect suggests that they may have rushed to marry only because Mahmood had sex. In Egypt, they couldn’t even share a hotel room with her before tying the knot. But Definitely Apart from this there was a lot more.
Nicole and Mahmoud clashed mainly over his objections to her clothing. She never stayed in Egypt for more than two months. And it wasn’t long before Nicole was planning on divorcing him.
Instead, Nicole is giving her marriage another try. She is clearly in love with Mehmood.
Her parents, Harold and Wanda, arrive to help. But he had a lot of understandable concerns. They never met Mahmoud, they can’t be there to support Nicole in Egypt.
It couldn’t help that he first found out about Nicole’s wedding from a friend who saw it on social media.
Speaking of which, Nicole described her marriage to Mehmood. It was awkward, and he admitted as much.
Both had a formal, legal marriage. However, this was not enough for Mahmud’s family. To please them, they had to marry in the context of Islam.
So, as Nicole said, they had to break up someone else’s wedding in order to find a religious authority to officiate their union.
This naturally raised a question for Nicole’s parents: is she interested in converting to Islam? Yes and no
The thing is, Nicole has already converted, she told them. She insisted that this was not a requirement, but she admired the peace and submission of the Muslims. This is a common reason why someone may want to convert in the first place.
Nicole also stated that she would like any future children with Mahmoud to be raised in a mono-faith household. That is … an unusual concern for most converts. Nicole didn’t give a reason.
Then, Nicole confesses in camera – but not to her parents – that she’s having second thoughts.
See, Nicole was somehow clueless (literally we have no idea how) that the transformation would come with rules and expectations.
She does not follow any dietary restrictions of Islam. And, although head covering varies by culture and in many places is a personal choice for Muslim women, Mahmud clearly expects her to “cover up”. Although she has vowed never to wear the hijab again.
Then, Episode 3 introduces us to Mehmood directly for the first time. Before this we have seen him only in old pictures and on screen of Nicole.
He is 30 years old. He runs a clothing store, where he has been working since his teenage years.
Mahmood met his wife there. He feels hounded by her past conflicts, by her objections to his ideas about how she should dress, and even by her absence.
Mehmood understands that Nicole thinks about things very differently from him.
It’s interesting, because Nicole also thinks about things very differently… than almost anyone. Only Some Aspects of it have to do with her being American. Or Egypt is not happening.
So Mahmud knows that his wife is her own person. He loves her too. But it is not clear whether this changes any of his behavior towards her.
Before his wife returned to Egypt, Mahmud spoke to his older brothers. brothers who look upon him almost as an elder son.
Mahmud is the youngest. He’s our spoiled little boyfriend,” one brother quipped to the cameras. “He’s never had a girlfriend.”
He continued: “Nicole is his first experience with women. So, he acted without any expertise. He was expecting a lot in a short amount of time.
One of Mahmoud’s brothers notes that his own wife is from another country. Fatima, he shared, is from China.
Apparently, their married life was like a “war” for about two years until things calmed down. it seems unusual honeymoon period,
But Mahmoud was worried about the rift with Nicole. Almost in the same breath, he mocked her concern over some sexist double standards.
Mahmoud openly made it clear that he found his wife’s actions ridiculous.
Nicole had asked why she could bare her arms whenever she wanted if she couldn’t. It’s not very nice to see him laughing behind his back.
On the other hand, this is the guy who knows that their fights are always about clothes, yet he still continues to make demands of his wardrobe. So… Mehmood’s marital preferences are interesting.
Her brothers tell her that they have a “religious obligation” to “educate” Nicole about Islam.
A surface that appears to control. But we must remember that Nicole converted to Islam, and they know it.
It is not uncommon for people of religion to provide advice, counsel and education to new converts. But Nicole’s situation is quite special.
(Can we talk about how she dresses like an undercover assassin? This isn’t a criticism, but an observation)
Nicole packed her things. Her parents will take her car and possibly some of her belongings on a long, long drive back to their home.
She is no longer living in LA. She left her apartment, got on a plane, and headed to Mahmoud’s. Even after admitting to her parents that she was “going crazy” and did not want to return to Egypt.
At the airport, Nicole and Mahmoud greeted each other with a loving hug. She wasn’t sure whether the display would be acceptable.
PDA is very uncommon in Egypt, but (directly) tourists stare less than Egyptian locals. Mahmoud explained that it is okay for a husband and wife to hug in an airport, despite Nicole’s reluctance.
Kissing would have been another matter. And, in Mahmoud’s eyes, Nicole’s outfit was too.
Even though Nicole dressed herself in an aesthetic we can only call “elevated nun couture,” it still wasn’t enough for Mahmoud.
She felt that her clothes (long sleeves, long pants, and a turtleneck blouse) were too revealing without taking the jacket off.
Mahmoud couldn’t even get out of the airport without “fixing” Nicole’s clothes. This is not a promising sign.