Paul Staehle is alive and well in Brazil after several days of questions about his whereabouts and some very worrisome posts made by his estranged wife, Karine Martins.
On Sunday, the search for Paul hit a fever pitch as many 90 Day Fiance fans worried that he had become lost in the Brazilian jungle and would never be seen again.
That didn’t stop critics from taking aim at Karine Martins for posting what seemed to be a tribute video for Paul after another post about life insurance.
90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates, who is a longtime friend of Paul’s, insisted that he considered Paul a brother and was front and center when it came to publicizing the search for his friend.
He attempted to make contact with Paul and his mother, Mary, as concern grew over his safety.
On Monday, we learned that Paul was “found” in Brazil, and while his mother revealed that he was alive, she told worried fans that he was “not doing very well” after getting lost and that he was still trying to get back to his rental house.
Now, we’re learning that Paul was likely just fine and not lost the entire time.
Paul Staehle’s stunt exposed
It seems that playing dead for clicks is all the rage these days, and Paul is the latest to worry fans and critics with a story about going missing, along with the posts made by Karine Martins alluding that he was gone.
There were several cracks in this spectacle, namely the timing of Karine’s life insurance and goodbye posts, along with the fact that Paul Staehle’s Instagram account going from private to not private while he was supposedly missing.
Now, he’s removed all but one photo from the account as critics blast him for making the whole thing up.
Now that he’s been found, even his “brother” John Yates has taken aim to blast Paul for this ruse as he was never actually missing and definitely wasn’t dead.
“Paul made the whole thing up. He made the whole friggin’ thing up,” an exasperated Yates told fans in a late-night YouTube live session. “He worried everybody that cared about him because it suited his narrative. That’s what Paul did and I said I would call him out but I guess not right now is the best time to do it in the middle of the night.”
90 Day Fiance fans call Paul out for latest stunt
In the comments section of a Monsters and Critics post about Paul Staehle’s update after he went missing, 90 Day Fiance fans took aim.
It seems that many didn’t believe his story in the first place, and given his history, that’s understandable.
“Not doing very well, but was able to contact a well-known blogger?? Sounds like a publicity stunt to me,” one commenter wrote.
Another wondered if Paul has ever been “doing well” and suggested that he needs “a lot of help.”
Yet another made it clear that they knew it was all just a publicity stunt, and another declared that Paul’s 15 minutes of fame are up and suggested he’s “trying to be relevant again.”
Some were even more harsh, with one commenter writing, “He is mentally unstable it’s clear. He needs professional medical help. Negative attention is attention for some who are always the victim, blaming others for their problems, manipulating, gaslighting, narcissist.”
Another commenter updated fans, letting us know they “got him off the island,” but we’re not sure he was ever even stranded on an island to begin with.
“Thank goodness. His ex made it seem like he was dead,” another wrote.
Yet another critic wrote, “Not doing well? The photo as saw of him alive he’s doing just fine lol.”
What we didn’t see in the comments section was anyone defending Paul or believing that there was ever even a shred of truth to the story about him going missing.
Right now, Paul is the boy who cried wolf, and he’s lost the support of the few people who still stood by him.
90 Day Fiance is currently on hiatus.