So much went down in the latest episode of 90 Day Engagement: Another Way.
Gabriel and Isabel end up taking a very long and scary trip to see their parents. He was no stranger to her, but he was nervous.
Before he gets his consent to marry his daughter, he wants to come out to her as transgender.
The thing is, he has already his approval. He clearly knew he was good for his daughter. But Gabe fears that all of that will be lost due to prejudice.
Early in Season 4, Episode 7, Gabriel Paboga meets his friend, Trey.
The two met in Colombia and bonded over, at first, nothing more than a shared language: English. Over time, they form a true friendship.
Interestingly, Trey thinks that Gabe is too fast when it comes to marrying Isabel. Gabriel is impulsive, it’s true, but it’s not clear what Trey thinks will be awry.
We got to watch Gabe make it through the coming out trial – because he came out as trans for Trey.
Despite the long friendship, he never clocked Gabriel. And did not come, and they are not mutual on social media.
Trey admits to being shocked, but thankfully nothing untoward happened. Anyone who comes out — gay, bi, trans, ace, or otherwise — knows there is some risk of backlash. Sometimes, through people’s identity. At other times, through a sense of entitlement to have known this quickly.
We mentioned that Trey doesn’t seem too keen on Gabe marrying Isabel. It turns out that Isabel doesn’t care about Trey either.
Gabriel wants his soon-to-be fiancé to get along with his friend.
The good news is that it doesn’t sound like one of them has one of the other. But this does not mean that they like each other.
When Trey directly asks Isabel what she doesn’t like about him, she tells him that she’s a bad influence. He felt that he was a woman. We don’t know if that’s an accurate assessment, or if she’s jumping to conclusions based on her own toxic exes.
(Not as discussed before, but there’s no better time than filming for reality TV…
Fortunately, they quickly found some levity.
Gabe and Trey share that Trey now knows he’s trans.
Delivery and timing broke the tension.
However, after Isabel’s friend Mateo arrives, they have some serious subjects to cover.
Isabel loved her family. His kids love Gabe, and his parents love him…until now.
But when Gabriel comes out to them, he wonders how his father – especially – will react.
He was very religious. She and Gabe didn’t realize that he had such a disparaging view of the transgender community.
He took the long-awaited (but, perhaps, long-dreaded) trip to see Isabel’s family.
Many rode on this visit. Especially since Gabriel was hoping to pop the question soon.
Once there, Isabel’s parents gave her a warm welcome.
There were some awkward moments, however.
The first is when Isabel’s parents force Gabe and Isabel – the grown adults who live together – to sleep in separate rooms.
It’s his house and he can make whatever rules he likes, but… it’s weird and controlling. Like for Brandon Gibbs’ parents 90 Day Engagement.
Some viewers really connected with Gabriel when Isabel’s family prayed before eating.
Many people find guests in other people’s homes and are not sure what to do other than sit quietly while the family prays.
In fact, Christians or other people who pray before eating may find other families’ habits and patterns for this ritual unfamiliar or frightening.
Over dinner alone (the food looked really good), Isabel’s parents discussed their relationship.
In the past, they disagreed with their relationship. She dated a toxic man who didn’t respect her.
It really sounds like they feel differently about Gabe.
One of his favorite points is that Isabel’s children like him. Miguel and Sara both made it clear.
Sara also added that she saw how happy she made her mother, which included beautiful details.
Producers spoke to Isabel’s parents, who told the camera that, right now, it seems like Gabriel is the perfect man for their daughter.
However, when encouraging Gabe to respect Isabel so that he can live a long and happy relationship, it takes on a religious tone.
In most cases, that’s just fine. Many people make the idea of a good (or better) relationship based on faith.
But in Gabriel’s case, the majority of the bigoted comments he received online came from Christian conservatives.
And since this is happening almost everywhere outside of England (where transphobes have infiltrated more left-leaning circles), she worries that her trans identity will turn Isabel’s parents against her.
We all hope not. He’s really nice, and he and Isabel have a great relationship from what we’ve seen.
Apparently, next week, Gabriel came out to Isabel’s parents. We wish him the best.