’90 Day Fiancé’: Jihoon Lee Admits That Deavan Clegg Is Not His Mother’s ‘Ideal’ Choice for a Daughter-in-Law
On the second season of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Deavan Clegg is preparing to move from her home state of Utah to Seoul, South Korea, to be with her husband, Jihoon Lee, for the second time in just two months.
Jihoon and Deavan share a one-year-old son, Taeyang, and co-parent Deavan’s daughter, Drascilla, from a previous relationship. But even two children and getting legally married couldn’t keep them together in Jihoon’s home country for long the first time around.
Deavan, 23, hastily hightailed it back home after her first international move to be with 29-year-old Jihoon. The 90 Day Fiancé star was disappointed by Jihoon’s financial instability, massive debt, criminal record, and unwillingness to get a steady job or find a home for his growing family.
Deavan prepared to give her marriage to Jihoon one last try in South Korea on a recent episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. Meanwhile, Jihoon’s mother had a few words of criticism for her American daughter-in-law.
Jihoon’s mom criticized her daughter-in-law for not trying harder to be ‘likeable’
On a recent episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Jihoon’s mother, Jung, and his father, Hong Ju, discussed Deavan’s impending arrival in South Korea.
Jihoon, Deavan, Drascilla, and Taeyang would be living for one month in a rental home that Deavan had found and paid for. After that, Jihoon admitted, he didn’t know what they’d do—or how they would pay for it. And Deavan made it clear that, if Jihoon didn’t step up and provide for his family, she would head back to the U.S. for good.
“I want to die,” Jihoon told his parents as he confessed just how nervous he was to see his wife again. “My mouth is so dry right now.”
While Jihoon’s father assured him that Deavan just needed to get used to living in South Korea, Jihoon’s mother advised her son to try to mold his wife to their cultural norms a little more.
“She doesn’t try too hard to be lovely or likeable,” Jung complained of her daughter-in-law. “It’s important that you teach her these things.”
On previous episodes of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Jihoon had admitted that his mother would have preferred a Korean daughter-in-law and that she didn’t approve of Deavan and Jihoon‘s marriage. It seemed that she still harbored those sentiments.
Jihoon told 90 Day Fiancé producers bluntly, “Deavan is not the ideal daughter-in-law my mother always had hoped for. My mom and Deavan, very strong womans. I hope they are not fight.”
The ’90 Day Fiancé’ star worried about how his mother-in-law would react during her visit
But Jihoon had more than his wife’s arrival to be nervous about. His mother-in-law, Elicia, was also on her way to South Korea for the first time. And, at least according to Jihoon, she was an outspoken and often blunt woman—which only added to his apprehension.
The 90 Day Fiancé star worried that his mother-in-law wouldn’t approve of the couple’s rental home, which he hadn’t even set eyes on yet. “Imagine my mother-in-law here in Korea,” Jihoon fretted to his parents. “What if she’s like, ‘I sent my precious daughter over here far away to marry some guy and she’s living in a pea-sized house? Cancel this marriage!’”
Jihoon was also concerned that Elicia and Jung wouldn’t get along. He called Elicia “explosive” and “hot-headed” and wondered how her visit would turn out.
“She seems like she’s the polar opposite of me,” Jung told her son, clearly concerned about the visit herself.
Deavan didn’t appreciate the surprise arrival of Jihoon’s parents
Jihoon, Jung, and Hong Ju anxiously awaited the arrival of Deavan, Elicia, Drascilla, and Taeyang at the airport. While Jihoon’s parents seemed excited to meet their son’s mother-in-law for the first time, he seemed terrified of the encounter.
“Of course, I’m very nervous because Elicia is very angry person,” the 90 Day Fiancé star told TLC producers. “So I worry if my parents and Deavan’s mother get along.”
“God, this is killing me,” Jihoon exclaimed at the airport. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
And it seemed as though Jihoon’s fears were well-placed. Although Deavan and Elicia shared hugs and friendly greetings with Jihoon and his family, Deavan wasn’t happy with her husband for bringing his parents to the airport without any warning.
“I didn’t know Jihoon’s parents were coming, and I’m not happy about it,” the 90 Day Fiancé star complained. “This is not how I wanted Jihoon’s parents to meet my mom.”
