’90 Day Fiance’ Executive Producer, Matt Sharp, Shares Show’s Secrets

TLC has managed to create several successful shows that offer viewers a unique peek into the real lives of its stars, and 90 Day Fiance is no different.

The show first aired in 2014 and has since become the top show on cable on Sunday nights. The series follows the lives of couples who are in the process of applying for the K-1 visa. It seems viewers simply couldn’t get enough of the relationship highs and lows that occur when an American meets and falls in love with an international partner and they embark on the journey to finally live together after spending extended periods apart.

Season 6 of the series will be officially coming to an end tonight, Sunday, January 13, and executive producer Matt Sharp is sharing some juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits, according to a report from E! News. While appearing on Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, Sharp shared the show’s origin story, casting secrets, and even cast salaries.

Sharp said his team initially had a difficult time finding a network home for the series.

“We went around town to all the different networks…all of the female networks looked at the pitch and thought it felt too male, and all the male networks thought it felt too female,” he explained.

The team then revamped the idea and pitched the series again, but were still unsuccessful. Eventually, they discovered the K-1 visa process and the short 90 day period couples were granted to either get married or be apart, but that format of the show was also rejected. Sharp later pitched the idea to his friend at TLC, and the rest was history.

When it comes to finding the couples for the show, Sharp said TLC plays no role in putting the couples together and the couples chosen have already begun their K-1 visa process.

“We always wanted this to be a super-authentic, warts and all, look at love in this amazing world, very raw, the producers we brought in…a lot of them came from the Teen Mom world,” he said. “We’re looking for real people with interesting backgrounds and stories and potentially interesting situations.”

As far as cast salaries go, Sharp said the cast receives a “customary appearance fee.” While he didn’t disclose the exact amount, he did say only the American partner receives a salary, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

“Someone who is an international, that would be illegal to pay someone,” Sharp said. “They would have to have a green card, which they do not.”

Fans can catch the second half of the 90 Day Fiance reunion show on Sunday, January 13.