90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star Alina has dished on what it’s been like to step into the spotlight as the 90 Day Fiance franchise’s first-ever little person and why she decided to do the show to begin with.
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Alina, a 27-year-old from Saint Petersburg, Russia, and her long-distance love interest Caleb, a 28-year-old Caleb from Chandler, Arizona, are currently starring on Season 5 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, which just premiered Sunday on TLC.
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Alina was born with diastrophic dysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism that affects one’s joints and stature, and Caleb is of average height.
When asked why she decided to put herself out there on television and broadcast her unique romance to the world, Alina told Entertainment Tonight, “There is one biggest reason why: we don’t often see people with disabilities dating other people, especially little people who date average-height people.”
“Usually you talk about disabilities when there’s a concern about [one’s] disability, but there is so much more than that to life. So I just wanted to share my experience.”
Alina, however, said she doesn’t think being the first little person on the TLC reality series “adds any pressure.”
“[Well], maybe a little bit. I hope I didn’t say anything degrading to people like me, and I was always correct with my terms that I use to, like, describe myself, you know?” Alina explained in her recent interview.
“But I don’t really feel any pressure. I just think that it’s awesome. And I kind of love that I’m the first one because I’m not really compared to anyone else. So yeah, I’m really excited.”
While Alina and Caleb had been virtually dating and Caleb was made aware of her condition prior to their first face-to-face meeting in Turkey, Alina was still nervous about what Caleb’s reaction was going to be.
Alina said Caleb had never seen her in a wheelchair before, and she also struggles to walk after several minutes at a time.
Alina is also unable to bend her fingers, and so she knew she would need Caleb’s help with simple daily tasks such as reaching for items in their hotel room, which Alina feared would become overwhelming and/or annoying for her partner.
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But Alina was ready to be “fierce,” as her best friend Elijah would say, and own who she is — insecurities and all.
“It was a pretty long road [to accept myself] and I’m still on it,” Alina confessed. “How you see me on the show, it’s not how I always was, unfortunately.”
“And I wish I was just born confident… but it just took a while for me to realize that I can be beautiful, too, if I want to — and everybody can be beautiful,” she added.
“I don’t know, it was just constant work of telling myself, ‘It’s okay if somebody doesn’t like me, because I still have myself and it’s okay.’ And also, performing helped me a lot.”
Alina explained how she doesn’t look like everyone else but she still likes what she sees, especially when her hair and makeup is done and she’s all dressed up for a photo shoot or concert performance with her BFF band.
“I think this is the most important thing, to just understand, ‘Yes, I am different, but different doesn’t mean bad or worse,'” Alina shared.
Alina is even ready for the haters and opinionated 90 Day Fiance fans out there.
“I am prepared. I don’t think people are going to say something I don’t already know of myself,” Alina told ET.
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“I mean, maybe they will come up with some rumors or whatever, but I was thinking recently [how] I don’t really see a lot of homophobic and racist comments any more because people really know that it’s not okay… But for some reason, there is not much talk about ableism… We forget about ableism!”
“Ableism” is discrimination in favor of able-bodied people, and Alina suggested people are still saying degrading things about those who have disabilities.
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“I just want to see, you know, maybe something could change for the show. Because more people would know that it’s not okay to shame someone for their height or for using a wheelchair or something,” Alina acknowledged.
“So I am very interested to see how [people] react.”
Alina added how there are “so many people with disabilities” and so discussing ableism is “no less important” than any other cultural or societal issue.
On watching 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days going forward on Sunday nights, Alina joked about how she hopes she would “cringe too much.”
“It’s an interesting experience to see yourself on the screen, and I haven’t really had that,” Alina acknowledged.
“And opening up about your relationships to the whole wide world, I’m a pretty low-key person when it comes to relationships, but now, it’s going to change!”
Caleb and Alina had met on social media 13 years ago — when Caleb was only 15 years old — but they were only dating for a year-and-a-half by the time 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days’ new season filmed.
Caleb and Alina started out with an online friendship and became best friends over a decade ago, but then they lost touch with each other.
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Suddenly, when Caleb, a well-traveled adventurer, planned a trip to Russia, he hopped on a Russian dating app to see whom he could meet — and he ironically matched with Alina, which resulted in the former friends reconnecting.
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“And there was Alina! It was the biggest small-world experience. Some visa issues came up and I never actually made it out there, but we kept talking more and more — and I realized that we had something special,” Caleb shared on the show’s premiere.
Caleb told the cameras he didn’t want to wait any longer to find out if his connection with Alina was “real in person.”
But due to COVID-19, the borders in Russia were closed when the spin off taped, and so the pair intended to meet up in Turkey.
Caleb explained how his “deep emotional connection” with Alina helped him to look past their glaring height difference.
Alina expressed how she did have “questions” about Caleb’s intentions but she followed her heart and will take viewers on “a fun” and “cute” ride.
In addition to Caleb and Alina, Season 5 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days also stars Kim and Usman Umar, Gino and Jasmine, Memphis and Hamza, Mike and Ximena, and Johnny and Ben.
RELATED LINK: ’90 DAY FIANCE’ COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.