Sheila Mangubat is under fire for “using” her American boyfriend, David Dangerfield, for his money.
This season on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, audiences were introduced to the first hearing-impaired couple from the franchise, Sheila and David.
David and Sheila met in a Facebook group for deaf singles and hit it off. Despite their language and communication barriers — Sheila doesn’t know American Sign Language — they’ve made their relationship work long-distance.
When David arrived in the Philippines to meet Sheila for the first time, he was taken aback by Sheila’s family’s living conditions.
Her dilapidated home needs many repairs and even accounted for her mother’s death, as she took a fatal fall on the shoddy staircase.
During the last episode, St. Elmo’s Fire, Sheila had a contractor come out to the house to give her an estimate for the repairs, and he quoted her $1,700, an amount that David admitted he couldn’t afford.
Following the episode, some viewers criticized Sheila, accusing her of using David for his money and slamming her for not learning American Sign Language (ASL) sooner.
Sheila shares receipts from an online hater who told her to be ‘ashamed’ of herself
Sheila shared some of the hateful messages from one critic in particular, uploading screenshots to her Instagram and calling them out publicly.
The first upload from Sheila’s critic read, “Why are you using David??? The show pays you between 500 and 1000 dollars an episode! You should’ve fixed the steps with the 3000 he already gave you in the first year of your ‘online relationship’!!!”
The critic continued their rant, telling Sheila it was “her fault” and taking David’s side, pointing out that he works two jobs and is looking for a third.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” they added.
In a second Instagram post, Sheila uploaded another screenshot, seemingly from the same online disparager. This time, the critic took aim at Sheila for not learning to sign more quickly, claiming they learned in “less than a month” from a library book.
The tirade continued, with Sheila’s detractor claiming that if she truly loved David, she would have learned ASL by now, adding, “Not every American is as rich as most of you foreigners think!” and warned David to run away “fast.”
Sheila defends herself against her critic
In the caption of the second Instagram post, Sheila defended herself as she addressed her online reviler.
“Why are you angry mam? 🤔 What are you saying I’m using David??” Sheila wrote. “You better finish all our episode before you speak.”
Sheila continued to fire back, acknowledging that not all Americans are rich and noting that she loves David regardless of his financial situation. As Sheila explained, ASL is her fourth language, and she often forgets to sign.
Sheila’s posts were met with support from her followers, including David himself and one of their 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days castmates.
David and a fellow 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days castmate show Sheila their support
David encouraged his international love to “just ignore [what] people say,” and she promised him that she will.
Another Instagram user called Sheila’s attacker “miserable” and reassured her that she’s doing “great.”
Sheila and David’s castmate, Tyray Mollett, also spoke up, telling her not to worry and to “ignore the haters.”
“Sheila, you don’t need to defend yourself!” commented another one of her supporters, who also suggested she not pay attention to her haters.
Season 6 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days airs on Sundays at 8/7c on TLC and Discovery+.