90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After - Mahmoud and Nicole's clash explained

90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After season 8 released a brand new episode on Sunday, March 24, exclusively on TLC. Titled The Princess and the Pea Brain, episode 2 focused on the reunion of Mahmoud Sherbiny with his wife Nicole. The couples were first introduced to viewers on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, where US native Nicole left behind her home country to marry her Egyptian partner.

Last week in the premiere episode, Nicole recounted how assimilating with Egyptian culture for four years took a toll on her. She admitted that being in an Islamic marriage and following strict rules became increasingly challenging and prompted her to return home.

On 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After, it is Mahmoud who moved to LA this time in an effort to salvage their marriage. However, their reunion did not appear cordial. In episode 2, Nicole complained about Mahmoud looking “tired” and seeming less excited to meet her.

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Nicole and Mahmoud butt heads in 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After

The premiere episode, released on March 17, ended with Nicole standing outside the airport to pick up Mahmoud with a “Welcome Home” sign in her hand. In episode 2, the cameras finally captured them greeting each other. Though Mahmoud smiled, he appeared reluctant to kiss his wife in public.

In a confessional of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After, Mahmoud told the cameras about his disapproval of PDA:

"She lives like that, I know, but as a Muslim, I'm not, like, feel good to do that around people."

Later, Nicole voiced her discontent about Mahmoud looking “tired” upon seeing her after a long time. She acknowledged he was travelling but wished for him to sleep on the plane and look “a lot more excited” for their reunion. She told her husband:

“I know you’re just tired, but I was definitely hoping you’d be a lot more excited — happy to see me. But I told you, it irritates me that you didn’t sleep on the plane, actually.”

After clashing over Mahmoud’s mood, the couple reached home, where the Egyptian native objected to a nude painting’s open display. The painting in question was made by Nicole during her time in art school. Moreover, Mahmoud expressed disappointment over the mannequin Nicole uses for measurements while making clothes.

Nicole told the cameras now that Mahmoud is in LA, he would understand the cultural shock she experienced in Egypt. The US native also hoped for her husband to adjust to her culture, declaring there isn’t any reality where she would decide on moving back to his home country. The 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After star stated:

“Mahmoud's now in America and I'm hoping that he could give this his best effort because there's no way that I'm moving back to Egypt.”

Elsewhere in episode 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After season 8, Sophie Sierra revealed her next step with Rob Warne, following the latter’s cheating controversy. Ed and Liz had a fresh start, while Emily and Kobe dealt with chaos in Cameroon. It appears that Nicole and Mahmoud’s clash is going to continue in the next episode.

A teaser of episode 3 features the couple, struggling in interracial marriage, getting involved in yet another heated confrontation. Nicole accused Mahmoud of staring at another woman and asked him to move back to his country and find someone who is more his type. The Egyptian native storms away saying “Okay, I will. I’m done.”

The official description of episode 3, titled Snow White and the Seven Chores, reads:

“Kobe's dad has a big surprise for him and Emily. Sophie is puzzled by Rob's romantic gesture. Ashley uses witchcraft to get Manuel to open up. Jasmine begs Gino. Mahmoud's wandering eyes anger Nicole. Liz says yes to the dress.”

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90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After season 8 will air episode 3 on Sunday, March 31, at 8 pm ET, on TLC.