'90 Day Fiancé': Who Was Juliana Custodio Before Meeting Michael?

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People have argued that the life of 90 Day Fiance star Juliana Custodio has improved for the better since meeting and marrying Michael Jessen. The 23-year-old model had a troubled past, life wasn’t always rosy. She started modeling at a tender age and is allegedly a victim of human trafficking. The reality star was also set up for an arranged marriage at 17 years old.

Juliana reportedly worked in a sweatshop as a child and faced exploitation and abuse. The Brazilian beauty comes from a poor background. That, coupled with her and Michael’s 18 year age gap fueled immense criticism from viewers. While some argued that she married him simply for his wealth, others accused Michael of taking advantage of an impressionable young woman.

Updated January of 2025: Juliana and Michael filed for divorce in 2022. She announced her pregnancy with her new boyfriend shortly after news of her and Michael’s divorce was made public. Today, she is the mom of a son, Benjamin, with her husband, Ben Obscura.

Juliana Was A Victim Of Human Trafficking As A Child

90 Day Fiancé’s Juliana Custodio is without a doubt living her dream right now, it is a far cry from the hardships she’s endured in her past. The tender-hearted and soft-spoken young model has allegedly overcome so much over the years.

She comes from a very humble background, in a YouTube video posted to her channel, Juliana revealed that she once slept in a room where they kept chickens and had to work as a child to help pay the bills.

At only 8 years old, Juliana found herself working in a sweatshop. According to a since-deleted Instagram post by The Model Manifesto, Juliana was a victim of exploitation and human trafficking as a child. She was kidnapped by a modeling agency in her teens.

“Brazilian model @julian.custodio worked in a sweatshop from the age of 8, was sent to model in China without speaking a word of English, was kidnapped by her agency to lose weight and despite working three jobs per day for a month, never received any of the money she earned.”

Which 90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort Couples Will Last?

TLC’s hit 90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort is back for a new season of favorite 90 Day couples coming together to work through their issues and see if their relationships can last. The new cast includes Ariela and Biniyam, Brandon and Julia, Gino and Jasmine and more. Personally, I’m rooting for Jasmine and Gino. Which couple do you think are in it for the long haul?

She Had A Successful Modeling Career Prior To Meeting Michael

In spite of her difficult past, Juliana managed to pursue a modeling career. It is through her job that she met Michael Jessen. The 23-year-old model met 42-year-old wine entrepreneur Michael on a yacht party in Croatia.

Juliana seems to have had a successful modeling career prior to meeting Michael, the reality star even talks of having traveled around the world for her modeling.

When fans were first introduced to the couple, many were of the suspicion that Juliana had worked as a sex worker in the past and not as a model as she and Michael claimed. The allegations were in fact refuted by the couple.

She Was Accused Of Marrying Michael For His Money

Not all couples on 90 Day Fiancé are in it for love, some are motivated by fame or a green card. Fans were not sure of Juliana’s true intentions for marrying Michael and accused her of being a gold-digger. Despite the fact that she had a successful career of her one prior to meeting him, many people were of the view that their relationship was purely transactional.

This did not escape the attention of the couple who set the record straight on multiple occasions. Their 18-year year age gap was a telltale sign according to critics. Michael being a wealthy man almost double Juliana’s age, while she is seemingly young, impressionable, and naive. But the couple is not bothered by the criticism surrounding them.

During an interview with E! News, Micheal said, “It’s never bothered me at all because living in it, I understand it. And if I could understand from an outsider’s perspective there would be many judgments that people would leap to and that doesn’t bother me one bit. People are welcome to think, feel what they want to. We’re together, we love each other, it’s very much real.”

“We’ve made a very big decision to spend the rest of our lives together. The only person I care about when it comes to how they feel about our relationship is Juliana.”

The lovebirds proved the haters wrong and tied the knot. Both Michael and Juliana have been married before. The reality star was set up for an arranged marriage when she was 17 years old. She was married to was an older man but the marriage only lasted for 11 months. Michael, on the other hand, has two kids from his previous marriage.