Stephanie Matto recently opened up about her time on reality TV starting with her stint on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days. Admittedly, Stephanie’s appearance did not exactly pan out the way she envisioned but it still changed her life in a positive way.
Stephanie joined the show with her then-girlfriend Erika Owens and the pair made their mark as the first same-sex couple. However, the TLC cast member did not expect the amount of backlash and hate she received, and to top things off, her relationship imploded before the season even ended.
Since then, Stephanie has taken another stab at reality TV by joining Season 2 of 90 Day: The Single Life and once again she was unlucky in love. But she is doing just fine these days and has since found romance with her French beau.
Looking back, the 31-year-old has learned a lot from the process and despite being painted as a villain, her experience was ultimately a positive one.
Stephanie Matto says she was a 90 Day Fiance villain
The 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star opened up about her reality TV experience in a recent YouTube video where she dished about the good and the bad.
Stephanie noted that the money she was paid per episode is long gone and only helped to cover “the expenses of traveling.” However, she admitted that “financially, ever since appearing on the show I’ve leveled up. I’m definitely earning more money than before the show.”
She already had a YouTube following before joining the franchise and had hoped that it would help to increase her social media following. However, Stephanie said that wasn’t exactly the case.
“I was really, really hoping to grow my YouTube channel and unfortunately that didn’t happen because I did not gain the popularity on the show that I anticipated,” confessed Stephanie. “I ended up being the villain of the season.”
Stephanie Matto says reality TV appearance changed her life in a positive way
The 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star continued to dish about her time on the show and how it has affected her life.
Stephanie noted that she was living a great life before appearing on the show.
“Prior to going on 90 Day Fiance, I was very well off… I drove a Porsche Macan, I lived in a nice modern apartment.”
“I didn’t make my money from the actual appearance on the show,” she added. “It was the opportunities that I created for myself from the exposure from the show.”
However, Stephanie admitted that being on TLC did “revamp” and “revitalize my social media presence.”
“In that sense, I feel like going on reality TV definitely changed my life in a positive way,” she added.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days airs on Sundays at 8/7c on TLC and Discovery+.