Fans first met Chantel Jimeno when she and then-fiancé Pedro Jimeno were introduced
on TLC's 90 Day Fiancé.
And ever since her first season on the reality show, Chantel has gone on to become one of
TLC's most popular personalities.
Here's the untold truth of the now semi-happily married reality star.
"I don't even know what goes on in his head sometimes"
Based on their popularity while appearing on the original 90 Day Fiancé, Pedro and
Chantel next appeared on 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After.
This led to a special that featured the couple, Pedro and Chantel: The Full Story.
The spinoff covered everything since Chantel essentially kicked things off with one whopper
of a fib, telling her family that Pedro was visiting on a student visa.
In reality, she had brought him to the States on a K-1 fiancé visa.
"Oh that's some stress for me now"
As fans may remember, when she finally worked up the nerve to come clean, the couple had
less than a week to get hitched or else Pedro would be sent back.
Spoiler alert: Her parents were not thrilled.
"Pedro is not here on a student visa.
He's actually here on a K-1 visa."
"And we have to get married on Thursday."
The Full Story also followed Chantel's family as they visited the Dominican Republic for
a second wedding, where there were multiple cultural clashes between Chantel and Pedro's
families.
TLC described the show as:
"From falling in love in the Dominican Republic to her family's ugly reaction to their engagement,
we'll see that Chantel and Pedro's happily ever after wasn't easy."
During their first season on the show, Pedro and Chantel - as well as their fighting families
- quickly became 90 Day Fiancé fan favorites.
In April 2019, TLC announced that the couple would be at the center of a new spinoff, The
Family Chantel, with network president Howard Lee announcing:
"This is an awesome moment for TLC, as we create a family show based on one of our most
popular 90 Day couples.
Our fans can't get enough of Pedro, Chantel and their larger-than-life families.
For a brand known as the destination for love, relationships and family shows, The Family
Chantel hits the bullseye."
"Things are about to get a little bit more stupider"
Apparently, viewers wanted more of the couple and the network promised to give fans exactly
what they asked for.
TLC noted,
"Pedro and Chantel have weathered major marital ups and downs involving everything from feisty
family members to their own trust issues.
[…] But as Chantel's parents Karen and Thomas try to protect their brood, will they push
their children too far?"
"Chantel, what time are they supposed to be here?"
"6:30."
"It's 6:40. We're not waiting."
Chantel is now one of the most popular personalities to emerge from TLC's 90 Day Fiancé franchise,
but before she and Pedro were cast, she was actually just a fan of the show.
"I really wanted to be a part of the show because I wanted to show everybody how perfect
I thought my relationship was."
The star elaborated on her perspective, telling the Chicago Tribune,
"Before, I would watch the show and look at the situations the couples were going through.
I'd think, 'Oh, we're nothing like that.
Our love is perfect.
We're going to have a fantasy life.'
Once I got on the show, I realized no relationship is perfect.
We have our flaws.
A lot of them too.
[…] It's hard to watch during those difficult moments of your life."
A couple weeks after TLC announced plans for The Family Chantel, the couple launched their
company; Pedro & Chantel LLC, in April 2019.
While there was no further information available about the company, fans were understandably
curious about the duo's decision to step into business together given the rocky relationship
that was portrayed on TV.
"You know we have a little bit problem with our marriage."
"A lot of problems."
Viewers can only guess what Chantel's parents would think about their daughter going into
business with Pedro, given their alleged suspicions that he's a gold-digger whose mother groomed
him to gain citizenship by dating an American girl.
In fact, with Chantel's folks having declared that Pedro only wants to quote "harvest the
American dollar" from "stupid Americans," per Newsweek, it doesn't seem likely they'd
be on board with their daughter having a business with their son-in-law.
One of the many challenges that Pedro and Chantel face in their relationship is the
language barrier.
Chantel's command of Spanish isn't exactly fluid, while Pedro's English is somewhat rudimentary.
The couple spoke to E! News about their cultural differences, admitting that one way they were
able to bridge the gap was through music.
Chantel said,
"He would send me, while we were dating, all sorts of little Latin music, Latin love songs.
It was so cute."
While the couple managed to overcome at least some of the divide between their respective
cultures, that was definitely not the case for Chantel's family when they visited Pedro's
mom and sister in the Dominican Republic.
And their horrified reactions when they were served chicken feet and necks told viewers
pretty much all they needed to know.
"In the religion of voodoo, they use a lot of chicken feet.
So naturally, I don't want to be taken advantage of"
It definitely made for one of the most uncomfortable moments on 90 Day Fiancé.
Fans of The Family Chantel began wondering if Pedro and Chantel saw themselves starting
a family anytime soon, and the couple approached the topic when they answered viewer mail in
a video shared on Facebook.
"Baby what's next?
A baby?
Please!"
"OK, OK, OK, OK, OK"
Pedro insisted they should wait until Chantel finished school and he completed his studies,
which caused Chantel to snipe about her husband's "budget" - or, as she clarified, his mother's
money, presumably referencing the funds he sends to his family in the D.R.
The couple was also asked the baby question during an interview with E! News, and Pedro
likewise shut down any talk of having children, saying,
"The factory is closed right now, you know, because I have, we have too many problems
with our families right now."
One of the most jaw-dropping moments on The Family Chantel came in the Season One finale,
when Chantel confronted Coraima, a woman with whom Pedro had been dancing in a club.
Viewers watched the conversation deteriorate, with Coraima insulting Chantel for her quote
"10 pounds of fake hair" and "fake eyelashes" before Chantel fired back by telling Coraima
she should shave her mustache.
Chantel later took to Instagram, where she responded to comments from viewers asking
about the incident.
Responding to one comment about the fake hair, Chantel clapped back,
"[Coraima] wears it too and his sister, and everyone else."
Despite Chantel's suspicions, TLC clarified the nature of Pedro's relationship with Coraima,
tweeting:
"Before marrying Chantel, Pedro met Coraima while she was in college.
[…] Nothing ever happened between them."
The Family Chantel is one of many spinoffs of 90 Day Fiancé, which, since the original
show's debut in 2014, has arguably become TLC's most successful franchise.
Chantel shared her theory on why 90 Day Fiancé and its myriad spinoffs have become so popular
with viewers, telling the Chicago Tribune, quote, "It's a relatable show."
She shared a similar sentiment, explaining to E! News,
"With how diverse America is, you're bound to meet people from other cultures, and there's
always gonna be some differences."
Pedro also shared his view about why the show and its spinoffs have become such big hits.
He claims that it's all about the love, adding,
"It's very because the love, you know.
I think sometimes you find somebody in another part of the world, you know?
And you get in love with that kind of person."
Anyone who's witnessed the ups and downs between Pedro and Chantel play out on TV are well
aware that the couple's relationship has been a rocky one.
Speaking with E! News, Chantel admitted that it has not been smooth sailing for her and
her husband, saying,
"We disagree on a lot of things and that's something else you can look forward to seeing
in The Family Chantel."
Chantel said that anyone considering following a similar path to the one that she and Pedro
took may want to take a minute to consider just what they're getting into.
She told the Chicago Tribune,
"I would say get to know the person before the 90 days.
That way, you would have as much information about this person as possible before you make
a commitment that could potentially change your life, for better or for worse."
The relationship between Pedro and Chantel's parents is at the heart of The Family Chantel,
but it's also a toxic and highly distrustful one.
As a result, Chantel told Hollywood Life,
"Since our families is a big problem that's affecting our relationship, we will be attending
family counseling."
As for her relationship with husband Pedro, she's still keeping up the good fight, saying,
"We are still working on trying to keep things between Pedro and I and not letting the outside
world affect us, especially when it comes to our families."
The 90 Day Fiancé star made sure to remind viewers that the show is all about the drama,
adding,
"Two different families, different cultures, and different upbringings have their ups and
downs."
Fans who follow Chantel on Instagram may have noticed that she's become something of a social
media influencer thanks to her role on the shows.
Interspersed amongst Chantel's selfies and vacation shots, are endorsements for various
brands, including Teami Blends, a wellness tea brand peddled by many reality stars on
Insta.
Other products that Chantel has promoted on the 'Gram include a cosmetics line, a spray
that claims to "make your clothes resistant to germs," nursing scrubs, Burst electric
toothbrushes, and derma rollers.
Faithful viewers of 90 Day Fiancé and its spinoffs may have noticed that there appears
to be more of Chantel than there used to be in the cleavage department.
As a result, some of her followers began to speculate about whether she'd had some sort
of breast augmentation surgery.
In January 2019, she shut down those rumors by posting a split image of a recent photo
and another taken 10 years earlier, with her chest similarly sized in both, writing, quote,
"And the answer to your boob question is…"
But despite Chantel's apparent denial, at least one of her reality co-stars remained
doubtful.
As Life & Style reported, during an episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk, various cast
members from the franchise were watching footage of Chantel when the topic of her chest came
up.
Loren Brovarnik quipped,
"These f---ing boobs, they're like, ridiculous.
She definitely got them done."
While Loren's husband, Alexei, wasn't so sure, Loren was adamant that Chantel's cleavage
was the result of a surgeon's handiwork.
"Are you team Chantel?
I'm not saying.
I'm not talking"
While viewers may find all the explosive family drama hard to believe, Chantel has admitted
that she sometimes feels the same way - but she insisted that it's all 100 percent real.
She told Access,
"Everything is authentic.
Sometimes I can't even believe that this craziness is my life."
"Living it on television in front of everybody can be tough at times."
But Chantel also believes that many people's lives would look equally bonkers if their
every move was documented by TV cameras.
She explained,
"When you're on the outside looking in, you are judgmental to the people on the screen,
thinking that it couldn't possibly be you."
She says being on the show has offered her a whole different view of her own relationship,
and she realizes now that it's not perfect.
But, she says, neither is anyone else's.
"The only difference is mine is on TV for everyone to see."
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