Kenneth Niedermeier Meets Armando Rubio’s Family on 90 Day Fiance
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On Sunday, October 11, 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way returns for the rest of Season 2.
In this sneak peek, we see fan-favorite couple Kenneth and Armando meet up with Armando’s family for the first time since their engagement.
This anxious clip of Sunday’s episode begins with Kenneth and Armando in the car together.
Kenneth is driving and Armando is so nervous that he is physically showing signs of anxiety, including getting uncomfortably warm.
He loves Kenneth and, though he knows that his family loves him, he fears that they will reject him when they see him with his partner.
Armando’s freakout is understandable, but Kenneth is quick to remind him that it’s not necessarily realistic.
Kenneth does admit: “It’s a lot riding on both of our shoulders that this goes well.”
But when they drive up to the house, Kenneth points out to Armando that a whole bunch of people who love him are there.
“Okay,” Kenneth says, “that’s a lot of people.”
“They’re all looking,” he observes,” and they’re all lined up.
But Armando still has his concerns, having only just come out as gay to his family a very short time ago.
“It’s a very difficult moment,” Armando describes to the camera.
He explains: “I’m concerned that when my parents see us, they might not be as accepting or kinda backtrack on everything.”
“But,” Armando affirms, “not accepting him is not accepting me.”
Armando’s young daughter, Hannah, has been staying with family while Armando made the trek up to their new home and got things set up.
She runs delightedly to Armando, jumping into her father’s arms.
Hannah then runs over to give Kenneth a hug — having met him before they were filming, and likely spoken to him multiple times over voice chat.
“It was just wonderful seeing her again,” Kenneth beams.
“It’s all worth it to just see her shine and to just hug her and just love her,” he adds.
Kenneth already raised four children, all of whom are now adults. He’s a grandfather. He is also prepared to love and provide for Hannah.
Armando’s mother, Virginia, is a little less warm.
Though we see her shake Kenneth’s hand with a smile, her husband is conspicuously absent from the gathering.
She explains to Armando that his father is not there because he was “tired.” Even I, rusty in my Spanish, heard her say “cansado.”
To Armando’s face, she says that his father is merely a little tuckered out.
It’s not very convincing. Not to us, and likely not to Armando.
Speaking to the camera, the truth makes itself known as she expresses how she and likely Armando’s father feel.
“When I saw my son, Armando, I was very happy,” Virginia says.
She then confesses: “But seeing Armando with a man … it’s something strange but … I don’t know.”
We know: it’s called homophobia.
Yes, the first step to overcoming a prejudice is to admit that you have it.
But it’s similarly understandable for people to feel downright uncomfortable hearing someone admit to bigotry, especially towards their own son and his partner.
That she is older and perhaps from a conservative area are explanations, but of course not excuses. There is never an excuse for homophobia.