90 Day Fiance: Shawn and Alliya’s Relationship Explained

Season 4 of the hit series 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise recently began airing on TLC, and it already has viewers buzzing, largely due to the dynamic between Shawn and Alliya. But what is it about their relationship that has really captivated viewers?

Who Are 90 Day Fiance’s Shawn and Alliya?

Shawn Finch is a 61 year old celebrity hair stylist from West Hollywood, California who has become a respected name in the entertainment industry. His work on shows such as the MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon show Victorious has earned him a total of 13 Emmy nominations, with him once taking home the award.

Alliya Batista met Shawn online during the pandemic while she was living in her native Brazil. There is a 36-year age difference between the 90 Day Fiance couple, with Shawn proposing to Alliya on her 25th birthday party.

Shawn and Alliya’s Relationship, Explained

Shawn and Alliya’s relationship is unique in that she was originally a he, as Shawn explained to his hairdresser on 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise. Shawn goes on to explain that the person he fell in love with was assigned male at birth and named Douglas when they first met. However, after they had been together a year and a half “things started to change,” with Douglas eventually transitioning into a woman, Alliya.

Alliya’s transition in the middle of their relationship has been the elephant in the room in their relationship, with Shawn openly lamenting the loss of the man he fell in love with, going so far as to shed tears onscreen when looking at old pictures of them together. However, he has also expressed that he is happy that Alliya is able to embrace her true identity and live life as she pleases.

Viewer Response to Shawn and Alliya’s Relationship

Viewers of 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise have been captivated by the couple’s journey, with many voicing their opinion on social media. While there are those who embrace Alliya’s decision to live her truth and salute Shawn for accepting her as she is, there are many other who sympathize with Shawn and the real sense of loss he feels, as the considers the person he first fell in love with to no longer exist.

While Shawn did eventually go through with proposing to Alliya, there are still viewers who believe he is compromising himself by doing so, and because of this the relationship will eventually fail. However, there is no indication that this has actually happened since the filming of the show, with neither Shawn nor Alliya’s Instagram revealing any recent pictures of them together, although they still follow each other.

New episodes of 90 Day Fiance: Love in Paradise air on TLC Mondays at 8pm EST.