Chantel's Already Taking Over 90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life

The most storied relationship in the history of 90 Day Fiancé came to an end in 2023, when Chantel Everett and Pedro Jimeno finalized their divorce. After roughly seven years of marriage (emphasis on “rough”) and appearances in multiple 90 Day series, including starring in the multi-season spin-off The Family Chantel, the one-time spouses have finally gone their separate ways. But it looks like Chantel’s new path is just taking her right back to where she started.

Chantel joins The Single Life for its fourth season, which is not a moment too soon for this particular spin-off — despite featuring many of the same faces, it’s never had the same urgency of most other shows in the 90 Day universe. There’s no real deadline, so the stakes have always felt lower. Maybe that’s a good thing; people shouldn’t have to figure out if they want to spend the rest of their lives together in three months, which is about as long as it usually takes for Project Runway to crown a winner for the season. But what works in the real world doesn’t often make for the most compelling reality TV.

The Single Life is usually a pleasant-enough watch, bringing together 90 Day-adjacent people like John McManus, whose “Boston-ness” won him his own contingent of fans in Season 9 of the flagship series, and gluttons for punishment like Natalie Mordovtseva, who still seems to be vacillating between her ex-husband Mike Youngquist and new love Josh Weinstein (just wait till Tim sees her at the next Tell All). This season, the show trades one Debbie — Colt’s mom, who’s still in Canada with boyfriend Tony — for another: Debbie Aguero, she of the chunky jewelry and the ex-boyfriend who’s 40-plus years younger.

Before the 90 Days’ Tyray Mollett is also ready to look for love again, as are Veronica Rodriguez and her co-dependent ex Tim Malcolm (who must have some kind of punch card for this franchise — “appear in five different spin-offs, get the sixth one for free”). Veronica’s actually in a situationship with Jamal Menzies, son of Kim-bah-lee, which apparently rubs Tim the wrong way, according to a preview of the season ahead.

But nothing’s quite so promising as Chantel’s addition to the cast — her inclusion gives the latest installment of The Single Life the air of an All Stars season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She’s telegenic, personable, opinionated, gives good talking head, and, despite her divorce, is still a romantic. Plus, she’s connected to all kinds of alums; her family may have been a hindrance to her marriage, but they’re very watchable on their own. Which all bodes well for The Single Life Season 4.

Chantel already dipped a toe in the dating pool in the final episodes of The Family Chantel, though that turned out to be some weird kind of preliminary date with a guy who gets his dating advice from Reddit. She’s much more focused on her own desires in the The Single Life Season 4 premiere, which is titled “Chantel Gets Her Groove Back.” The fact that she ends up in tears after her first night in Greece suggests it may have been a little too soon for such a title.

But it’s only been about six months since her divorce was finalized — and dealing with the end of a marriage is tough enough without all the suspected adultery and the continued negativity from her now-former in-laws. Maybe just being in Greece, drinking shots (because it rhymes with “untied the knot”) in a cab, kissing hotties on scooters, and sporting a T-shirt that reads “Divorced & Looking for the D” is a groove of its own. It’s certainly enough to give Season 4 some much needed sizzle early on.

Chantel’s storyline carries the premiere episode, but it’s also heartening to see Tyray, a self-confessed 33-year-old virgin, embrace the single life. After being catfished in Season 9 of Before the 90 Days, Tyray seems to have learned a lesson about the limits of online relationships. He asks his female friends for advice on how to talk to women, which is far savvier than what Natalie does — which is just what she’s always done, and yet she expects things to work out differently. Right now, it looks like The Single Life will be tougher for the veterans than the newbies.

90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life airs Mondays at 8:00 PM ET on TLC, and is also available to stream on Max and Discovery+. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Danette Chavez is the Editor-in-Chief of Primetimer and its biggest fan of puns.