’90 Day Fiance’: Akinyi Obala Isn’t Trying to Marry Benjamin Taylor (at Least Not Now)
Benjamin Taylor and Akinyi Obala were one of the most interesting couples on their season of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days. The two came from completely different worlds and had a hard time convincing their family members to get on board with their union.
Now, they are still together, but Obala isn’t exactly eager to marry Taylor.
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Ben and Akinyi’s relationship
Taylor was looking for an international lover when he found Obala. He had expanded his range on a dating app, so he was definitely open to the possibility of finding long-distance love. Once the two started talking, Taylor fell in love pretty quickly. He then flew to Kenya to ask Obala’s family if he could marry her.
In Kenya, people must pay a bride price in order to marry a woman. When Obala’s family told Taylor that, he had to admit that he could not afford it. Luckily, Obala’s family agreed to Taylor paying off the debt in installments.
Another issue that Taylor and Obala had was that Obala worried about becoming a stepmom to Taylor’s son, Grayson. Taylor’s ex-wife Hanekawa Dravon was also wary of Obala being in her son’s life.
“No one just becomes a step-parent,” Taylor’s ex-wife wrote on Instagram. “By marriage, technically yes, you are a step-parent if your spouse has a child from a previous relationship. But by NO MEANS does that mean you have that level of a relationship with that child from day one.”
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“When my current partner met my son, he met him as a friend,” she continued. “He got to know him and grow to understand what he meant to him. My son is smart and he told ME that my partner was his stepdad.”
“I’m deeply concerned when someone pushes a person into a role they are not prepared for mentally,” she said of Taylor and Obala. “If he wants this relationship to work he will let her guide that pace. Let her get acclimated with a new country and life before shoving the role of stepmom on her. Just my 5 cents,” she concluded.
Akinyi isn’t rushing to marry Benjamin
Now, Taylor is back in the United States, and Obala is in Kenya. They had planned to be married by now, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to postpone their plans. Now, they are set to get married on Aug. 29, but even still Obala isn’t exactly excited that the date is so quickly approaching.
“I feel like Benjamin is rushing with the marriage,” Obala said on a recent episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined. “I want to wait the full 90 days to get married because I don’t know what kind of life I’m going to have in the United States. I want to learn different things and get comfortable, and he’s rushing me when I feel like I don’t want to be rushed.”
Depending on when the travel restrictions caused by COVID-19 are lifted, Obala may not get to spend much time in the United States before her wedding date. Right now, tourist travel is still not allowed between Kenya and the United States, so it may even be a while before she and Taylor can see one another.
