Why Elizabeth's Family Can't Stand Andrei On 90 Day Fiance
Anyone who's ever been in a relationship can tell you that one of the most complicated parts is trying to integrate your partner into your family unit. It's a struggle the cast of TLC's 90 Day Fiancé knows all too well. In the original series and its many spin-offs, Americans fall in love with a foreigner, who then comes to America on a 90-day visa to see if they'd be a good fit long-term. The cultural differences lead to lots of misunderstandings, and the very presence of the camera crew ensures a healthy dose of drama.
Just like real-life relationships, the biggest wedge is often someone's disapproving family. One iconic family fight scene involved Colt Johnson's cousin calling his fiancé, Larissa Dos Santos Lima, a gold digger, and Larrissa uninviting him from the wedding. The tension between Larissa and Colt's family is cringey, amusing, and mercifully par for the course on 90 Day Fiancé, which brings us to Elizabeth Potthast of Tampa and her now-husband Andrei Castravet of Moldova. The strain between Elizabeth's family and Andrei could rival any feud ever aired on 90 Day Fiancé, but the couple somehow managed to make it down the aisle nonetheless.
So, what did Andrei do to make his in-laws so mad in the first place? Read on to find out the real reason Elizabeth's family can't stand him.
Andrei made a bad impression on Elizabeth's family
The fight between Andrei Castravet and Elizabeth Potthast's family started like so many do — at a seedy Irish pub. When Andrei arrived in the States on his 90-day visa, he wasn't allowed to work, which did not sit well with Elizabeth's father. "What I want to know as a father is how do you plan on supporting [Elizabeth]? Because it's very expensive to live in America," the concerned dad asked, minutes after meeting his future son-in-law.
Andrei blew off the question and said he was thinking about maybe becoming a truck driver, he wasn't worried about finding a job. Elizabeth's dad didn't back down, noting that Elizabeth had a part-time job that definitely wouldn't cover the bills for two, and he had no plans to help the couple financially.
Elizabeth's family was also skeptical of the way Andrei treated Elizabeth. They found him to be controlling and disrespectful. Case in point, in a Season 5 episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?, Andrei shocked his wife and his fans by inviting his in-laws to his second wedding in Moldova, per Cheat Sheet.
Sounds nice, right? The only problem was he hadn't discussed the wedding with Elizabeth, and it was supposedly happening in a little under a month. Seems like something you might want to talk to the bride about first.
Andrei doesn't trust his Elizabeth's family
The good news is, Andrei hates being around his in-laws as much as they hate being around him. When they eventually visited Andrei and Elizabeth in Moldova, tensions ran so high that Andrei threatened to punch Elizabeth's brother during a family dinner (pictured above). As for what they were fighting about? No one's really sure. "They just got up," a tearful Elizabeth said to the cameras, "I have no idea what the f**k is going on." Elizabeth found herself in an impossible situation, stuck between her husband, her family, and trying to manage it all on national TV.
While it is sometimes best to lay all your issues out in the open, the blowout between Andrei and his in-laws didn't solve anything. For Andrei's part, he doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them. "My relationship with Elizabeth's family is nonexistent. I don't talk to them. I'm mostly seeing them at some family gatherings," he said, per Cheat Sheet. "They can laugh in your face, but the next day if you ask them to do something, they will just turn you down and say no to you. That's my biggest issue. Being a double-faced."
Safe to say Andrei won't be asking Elizabeth's dad for a loan anytime soon — even if he still doesn't have a job.