(EXCLUSIVE) 90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise Star Dr. April Carter Talks Online Backlash and How Valentin Handles Their Cultural Differences

The Reality Rundown had the pleasure of talking with Dr. April Carter from 90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise on TLC! 90 Day Fiancé is one of TLC’s hit reality shows where we find couples that have fallen in love and have 90 days to get married to live in the United States together. One of the couples that everyone is talking about is April and Valentin. When viewers meet April on 90 Day Fiancé, we quickly learn just how much the doctor has accomplished. In addition to being a practicing physician, April has a law degree and multiple successful businesses which include fitness franchises and luxury car rentals. April says, “It takes a team. You know I’m really grateful that I have a group of people around me that can manage everything because otherwise I couldn’t’ do it by myself.”

When I asked April if she knew about the show before joining, she admits to being a fan of the hit show like so many of us. She says, “Love in paradise is a fairly new addition to the franchise. I didn’t picture myself on it but after meeting Valentin I thought that our story would be an interesting one to tell.” April and Valentin met while she was in the Dominican Republic for business and its where he lives and works as a fitness instructor. April says that she was hesitant to apply for 90 Day Fiancé because she didn’t think her relationship had enough going on for the reality world. Although April didn’t tell Valentin about the show prior to applying she says that he was really excited but that he didn’t understand the magnitude of the show.

On the show April admits to keeping her relationship a secret and when I asked why this is what she had to say. “One of the reasons is its typical April. I don’t really discuss my personal relationships with my family but with Valentin he was so different, and it made me even more protective of him. I didn’t want my family to have a negative opinion about the relationship before we even understood what it could be.” On the show, it’s very evident that April and Valentin have a huge language barrier despite each other trying to learn the others native tongue. When I asked how the language barrier affects their relationship in comparison to past relationships, April responded, “I’ve been trying to learn Spanish since I was in high school. It’s not easy but I’ve been trying. I aggressively started pursuing Spanish because I had a lot of patients that only spoke Spanish and you can’t always get a hold of the translator or devices I need to communicate, and I still have to deliver care.” She says that after meeting Valentin the deal was, she would learn Spanish and he would learn English. April says, “I’ve dated people and we speak the same language, and we still can’t communicate. I think people get confused that just because two people speak the same language that automatically translates to communication.”

April was no stranger to harsh criticism she has received online from fans of the show. It’s very apparent that Dr. Carter (April) and Valentin live two different lifestyles and fans did not like her reaction to her surroundings in the Dominican Republic. Many fans have labeled April as being “rude” and “disrespectful” and when I asked her to walk us through her mindset with those moments this is what she had to say. April says, “I was so surprised. I was thinking that the day went super well. I had a blast, he had a blast, his family had a blast, and everyone had an amazing time. When I watched it on tv, I messaged Valentin apologizing and asking if his mom was upset with me. Valentin was like no and why are you reading the comments? We’re fine. I was like you know what I need to ask a woman, so I messaged his sister and was like please tell me if I did something and I’m so sorry. But his sister was like no we had fun and its probably just the way it aired.” April prides herself on being respectful to others and their culture and was genuinely shocked at viewers’ perspective of her. April shares that she was able to experience a nice moment with the family and filming crew when they all took a break from filming to eat and enjoy each other’s company.

In the last episode that had aired, there was a misunderstanding between April and Valentin regarding the bathroom in his home. The toilet did not have running water and knowing how much of a “germaphobe” April is she preferred to wait to use the restroom back at her hotel. This resulted in Valentin saying in his confessional that he was “mega-insulted” by April’s actions. This is what April said in response to that moment, “About the bathroom incident. I was already somewhat aware because he had prepped me before saying there is no sewage, and you have to do the bucket thing. Let me start with, I’m from Louisiana and we’ve lost water before, but everyone knows me. I’m not sticking around. I’m not doing the water in a bucket thing. My brain can’t process it. I just can’t do it. Not even at my mother’s house and he knows this.” Aside from the bucket, Valentin would have to stay in the bathroom with her to help her flush and it’s too early in the relationship to break that girl code. She said, “I just kept apologizing to him and he accepted. He was annoyed but he was okay eventually.”

Dr. Carter opens up about her past relationships difficulties and are they equivalent to difficulties that she’s experienced with Valentin, Dr. Carter says. “I think that they’re even in difficulty. I’ve dated men in different professions, and I feel that everyone has challenges. Valentin’s challenges are just more of what people could see like he doesn’t have much money and he’s still trying to establish himself. I’ve experienced a lot of men wanting just a pretty woman on their side, but they don’t know me, and they don’t invest in me. Having an attractive doctor on their arm would just be an ego boost for them.” I wrapped up the conversation by asking if fans will see her and Valentin grow closer or further apart with the many obstacles they are facing. As expected, April reminded everyone to stay tuned to see what’s next! So be sure to watch TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise at 8 pm ET/PT on TLC!

Check out the full exclusive interview with Dr. April Carter from TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise on TheRealityRundown.com