“90 Day Fiancé” fans won’t be pocketing a reported $10,000 reward for providing police information on the whereabouts of the show’s star, Michael Ilesanmi. The Nigerian man was reported missing on Feb. 23 by his wife, Angela Deem.
The two have been together since meeting online in 2018. They exchanged vows in his home country in 2020 and have taken viewers along for their roller coaster love story, which includes a 22-year age difference, on the previously mentioned show. Ilesanmi and Deem most recently appeared on “90 Day: The Last Resort,” where they decided to give their marriage a second chance after Ilesanmi was caught having an affair with a 30-year-old woman online.
Prior to fans and Deem being sent into hysterics by his disappearance, it was teased that the couple was set to be featured on the upcoming season of “90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?” Part of their storyline was expected to address the native African’s pursuit of a visa so that he and Deem could finally live together and pursue permanent citizenship in America.
However, on Feb. 26, Deem spoiled part of their update when she admitted that she had no idea where her husband was. “The police are involved. We can’t find him,” she said during a live chat with fans.
She reportedly violated a nondisclosure agreement by going public with the news, which revealed to fans that Michael had been with her in Georgia since Christmas. The controversial reality TV personality noted that he left their home without his ID and other personal items. “No wallet, nothing. Clothes on his back is what he left with on Friday.”
Deem claimed that she was on a store run, and Ilesanmi was at home watching over a child recovering from surgery. In a YouTube livestream with podcaster John Yates, she stated that home security cameras captured him walking out of the home and to the roadway.
“This is not just me, it’s his family,” Deem said through tears while explaining that her grandchildren were impacted by his absence.
“If he’s safe, that’s good. We’ll work out why you did it, and we’ll go from there, but you have no business not calling and saying, ‘Listen, I’m alive.’ You got the whole got d—n United States is looking for ya. This is not Nigeria, dude, this is America. Take this s—t serious.” After the live discussion, it was revealed that Ilesanmi willingly walked away from their home.
He contacted the police and explained the matter to them directly. As told by Yates, he said, “Michael is safe…Angela got a phone call from the police here stating they were contacted by Michael. They verified it was him through, he did have a burner phone or like another phone that nobody knew about, and on that phone he had pictures of his passport, the one he left…It’s him.”
“Here’s the wild part, is that he told the police that he was in fear of his life here, and they did not…he did not want the police…Michael did not want Angela to know his location,” said Yates.
Deem added, “We thought somebody hurt him, and now I find out I’m the one you’re scared of! Well, there’s the proof four, five days ago of how scared he is of me,” as Yates held up a photo of the couple seemingly happy and smiling during a recent public outing.
InTouchWeekly reports 90 Day Fiancé‘s Michael Ilesanmi is missing after moving to America w/ his wife, Angela Deem, 2 months after arriving from Nigeria. There a $10,000 reward for his return; Angela’s attempts to contact his family in Nigeria have been unsuccessful. pic.twitter.com/JgEqVbiEZC
— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) February 27, 2024
The entire ordeal has social media fans speculating that the disappearance was Ilesanmi’s plan all along. “He’s gonna claim abuse and get his Green Card through VAWA. He’s just gonna show them clips from the show plus whatever I’m sure he already recorded. Finesse. All that patience was leading up to this,” wrote one person.
Another individual alluded to Deem’s support of Trump and rural residence as the real catalyst for his great escape. They wrote, “He’s probably the only person that looks like him within a 50 mi radius lol Angela basically lives in a sundown town. He probably had no idea that’s what he was walking into. He’s probably surrounded by Trump supporters telling him to go home. I would be scared too.”
“90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?” premieres on March 17 on TLC. The network has not issued a public comment on the ordeal, so it remains unknown if additional filming will take place to address the couple’s fallout.
