Meisha needs a whole lotta love — and she hopes Nicola can provide that for her.
On Sunday’s episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, Meisha — who is a former onscreen TV reporter turned director of pastoral care in her Catholic church — geared up to meet her long-distance boyfriend of seven years, Nicola.
The 43-year-old Minnesota native shared how she worked as a journalist before trading in her “very glamorous life” for one of devout faith after she found God. That very moment occurred as she saw a vision while cleaning up in her living room.
“I was not raised with any religion,” she explained. “But over a decade ago, I had a pretty profound spiritual awakening. While I was vacuuming my living room, I had a vision of two huge suns suspended out of the sky in front of my window. And the first thing that I thought was, ‘Am I having a heart attack?’”
She continued, “I was terrified and I started to slink down to the ground, almost as if something was pushing me down. And there was a voice that was seared into my mind that told me to pray and then I was led to the Bible. So I read it straight through to the very last paragraph of Revelation and that led me to the steps of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Meisha, who has daughters Morea and Svea from a previous marriage, admitted she struggled to find common ground with her friends. Her new convictions inspired her to give up being the “fun party girl” who participated in social events like “sexiest singles in Philadelphia.”
“Post conversion, things got real lonely real fast,” Meisha confessed. “The things that I was interested in doing were starting to change. All I could talk about was the Bible and going to church and I could just feel people kind of go, ‘That’s too much,’ and I understood it, but it felt very lonely.”
She recalled feeling “super lost and isolated” until she met Nicola, who lived halfway across the world.
“He is the most incredible human being that I have ever met,” she added. “Everything was just so in sync: our heart, our soul, our mind. I am absolutely in love with the man.”
The two bonded over their shared love of Christ. And with Meisha being a “newborn baby learning about my faith” at the time of their connection, their relationship grew stronger as she relied on Nicola to be her “Jesus boy.” With his support, she left her career in television and devoted herself to her faith.
Having never met in person, Meisha’s sister Taylor expressed concern over their relationship ahead of her trip to visit Nicola for the first time in Israel. Additionally, Taylor also brought up the potential problems that come with Nicola’s celibacy.
“So you’re not worried that he’s a virgin?” she questioned. “Intimacy isn’t everything but it is a big part of a relationship and certainly a marriage.
“I know because of his faith, Nicola is celibate until marriage and so that leaves him a 46-year-old virgin,” Meisha told cameras, explaining how Nicola has virtually no relationship experience. “While I so admire his convictions, at the same time, it makes me worried knowing that I need certain things like affection. A lot of affection.”
She said to Taylor, “Obviously, there’s no sex before marriage. So when I get there, I have to just see how he is with just even just basic affection.”
“Nico and I definitely plan on applying for the K-1 visa which means that we won’t have much time together in person before getting married,” she continued in a confessional. “And since we’re both practicing Catholics, divorce is not an option. So that can be a little scary, but I truly believe that Nicola is the man that I’m supposed to be with.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Nicola went fishing with his best friend, Wasim, where he opened up about his experience with dating and revealed he hasn’t kissed or touched a woman in 16 years. He claimed he was holding out for his wife and while he loves Meisha, his “first choice” in a partner would have been a virgin.
“I don’t like that Meisha slept with somebody else before. But the Bible tells you that when Jesus comes into your life, you become a new creature. Your past [does not] matter anymore,” he said. “So I must look at Meisha now in a new way. She’s a virgin, because the Holy Spirit entered her life and changed her from inside to outside.”
Though he’s accepting of the fact that Meisha has been with other people, Nicola shared that his mother will not be tolerant of the fact that she’s been divorced, which is why she doesn’t know about her.
“Even though my mom is not a devout Catholic, people in the Middle East want to marry a virgin. That’s the tradition here and my mom will say ‘Why [do] you want to marry a divorced woman?’ I know her reaction can be very bad,” he said.
Among those who are worried about Meisha and Nicola’s relationship are her daughters, who confronted her about whether or not Nicola would impose his conservative views on their lives.
“Something that makes me a little worried is how Catholic he is,” Morea admitted. “Would we be judged for the things we do? Like what if me and Svea get a boyfriend, would that ever be an issue?”
“I wish I could say, ‘Well, not everything will turn into a mini-sermon about what God thinks about that,’ but I can’t because I don’t know,” Meisha replied.
“Because I don’t think me or Svea would want to live with someone who’s constantly, like, judging,” she added, to which Meisha answered, “Nicola is extraordinarily rooted in his faith. So is your mother but he has been rooted his whole life so he’s very strong.”
“But he won’t be our real parent,” Morea interjected. “And I think how we live our lives is nothing that he can really control. I think that’s something that you know, you should ask about when you’re there before deciding that you want to spend the rest of your life with him.”
With her first priority being her daughters, Meisha told cameras she was worried about the potential dynamic between Nicola and her children.
“I believe that God has given me a love that I’ve been searching for in Nicola, but my biggest love is my daughters,” she said. “So he’s going to have to accept my daughters for exactly who they are, even if they are not as devout as he or I right now. And I do worry that that might be really hard for him and that would spell real worry for him and I.”
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days airs on Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT on TLC.
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