Nicole and Mahmoud’s fragile relationship is reaching a breaking point due to their serious cultural differences. On Sunday’s episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, the two continued to clash due to Nicole not wanting to wear a hijab or dress as conservatively as Mahmoud and his family are used to, and she threatened to leave after a particularly huge argument.
Nicole has returned to Egypt a second time this season after she originally left the country to come back to America when she and Mahmoud decided to separate. They reconciled and Nicole has returned, but clearly, their issues are still there. Nicole feels restricted and was shocked when her sister-in-law told her she didn’t have many friends outside of the family. When Nicole forced Mahmoud to introduce her to his friends, the encounter was extremely awkward given that his friends were obviously uncomfortable.
During Sunday’s episode, Nicole was frustrated that she still hadn’t gotten the hang of simple tasks like lighting a burner to make tea. Later, Mahmoud cursed when they got into a fight over Nicole not wanting to dress more conservatively now that she’s in Egypt. While Nicole argued that she had always been upfront with him about how she wanted to dress, he argued that she hadn’t.
“I felt like I betrayed myself, and there’s honestly no worse feeling than that,” she told cameras about being forced to wear a hijab for a year while living in Egypt, clearly not willing to bend on the issue.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud insisted that she promised him before that she would wear one.
“F**k this. F**cking bad way,” he told her before leaving in anger.
Eventually, Mahmoud said he wasn’t willing to bend on the issue either.
“This is how I am and I’m never going to change my mind about that, Nicole,” he told her. “I think we not can be together.”
Nicole was upset at this point and noted that if he knew he couldn’t be with her, why did he have her come back to Egypt for a second time. Mahmoud walked out and told cameras he couldn’t make her happy and felt he was “not the right person” for her.
Nicole started packing her things after he left, telling cameras, “He said he didn’t want to be with me anymore. … I feel like Mahmoud doesn’t want me, he wants some ideal version of a wife and he wants me to go, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Eventually Mahmoud returned, explaining to cameras he left because he didn’t want to “freak out” and needed to calm down. When he asked her what she wanted to do, Nicole was irate.
“I’m packing my s**t because that’s what you told me you want,” she replied angrily. “You don’t want me, I’m gone. I gave up everything, I came here to be with you. And then now, you say you don’t want me anymore because I won’t wear the f**king clothes you want. F**k you.”
But Mahmoud noted, “Everything you promised me you never did.”
Mahmoud told cameras that while Nicole thinks she gave up everything for him, he also had to change his mind about a lot of things, like not minding that she doesn’t pray as much and that she doesn’t wear a hijab.
“When I first married you I think we can be happy. But I feel I never can make you happy,” he said.
As the two continued to argue, Mahmoud threatened to walk out again. When he bluntly asked her if she wanted to stay or if she wanted to go, she said that she didn’t want to stay “with an a**hole.” At this point, he walked away cursing again.
“I hate it when he does this, just not talk about the things that make us fight,” Nicole told cameras. “He doesn’t know how to handle it because he’s so full of emotion and he just takes all the power and leaves. I’ve had enough.”