It hasn't necessarily been a perfect marriage for Nicole and Mahmoud.
On Sunday night's episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, viewers were introduced to Nicole — a Los Angeles woman who got married in Egypt shortly after she met her husband.
Though she's planning to move to Egypt permanently, Nicole revealed she'd asked Mahmoud for a divorce after trying to live in Egypt once and finding the cultural norms restrictive. But she's packing her bags for a second try at their marriage, even though she hasn't changed her mind too much about how Mahmoud wants his wife to behave.
"Things started to fall apart," Nicole told the cameras. "I mean, we fought all the time about everything. We were married for 11 months when I told Mahmoud that I wanted a divorce. I canceled Mahmoud's visa application and I blocked him."
While exploring a flea market, Nicole shocked her friends when they learned she is actually not separated from Mahmoud, Concerns rose as they reminded Nicole why she left Egypt in the first place.
"He only wanted to be married to somebody that lives up to his standards of who a wife should be," Nicole told her friends, adding how he was set on "changing everything about me."
"I said yes to a bunch of things I shouldn't have," she added.
Nicole met Mahmoud while she was on a spiritual singles trip to Egypt. The pair first interacted in a fabric store, where Mahmoud joked Nicole should move to Egypt and become his wife.
It turns out, that's actually what happened. After spending just a little time together, Nicole planned to return to Egypt and marry Mahmoud. She did so without telling anyone from her life back home.
Now, Nicole is ready to dip her feet back into Egyptian culture. However, her biggest concerns surround Mahmoud's expectations of her as a wife. Nicole — who was a fashion major and errs on the side of flashy, vintage clothing — will have to cover her body entirely. Though she tried it once, Mahmoud was still displeased with her choices for being too tight.
"Every time I turned around, there was a new rule that I didn't know existed," Nicole told cameras of her time in Egypt.
There are also cultural norms surrounding the interactions between men and women. Nicole won't be allowed to hug another man — ever — even her own cousins.
"He doesn't really want me to be anywhere near men," Nicole said. "He wants me to live on a planet of only women."
Though she still has some skepticism herself, Nicole assured her friends she's ready for the move because she "missed" Mahmoud enough to nullify the divorce. She's hopeful they can "just be together" despite the vast differences in their lifestyles.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.