Sheila and David are breaking ASL language barriers for the sake of love, companionship, and Sheila’s K-1 visa.
Sheila and David’s engagement stands out on TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé for its unpretentious and wholesome nature, compared to other couples on the show.
Despite the language and communication barriers between them, Sheila and David have built a strong rapport, using translation apps and a sign language interpreter to communicate effectively.
Sheila and David have shown their love and appreciation for each other on their Instagram profiles, while also defending their relationship against hateful comments and proving that they have a genuine and supportive bond.
In latest episode 8 of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, couple Sheila Mangubat and David Dangerfield recently got engaged after a night out at a fancy restaurant. David expressed that he was feeling nervous about his timing being off after Sheila’s mother’s recent passing. In between flushed faces, tears, and sign language words, Sheila said “yes” and David managed to put a ring on her finger. Compared to most of the other 90-day couples, this one stands out for its unpretentious and wholesome nature.
90 Day Fiancé has garnered a certain reputation since its release in 2014. The show has been feeding off of long distance relationships and non-US fiancés having to deal with being viewed as mail-order brides/husbands, or just good old-fashioned gold diggers. The show’s original title was 90 Day Fiancé and has had three different spin-offs. Including 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After, 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, and 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. Some notable couples have become famous for their ridiculous dynamics, fights, and life after being on the show. (Big) Ed Brown and Rosemarie Vega became a famous couple after showing up on season 4. Rosemarie’s cringing facial expressions and Big Ed’s corny one-liners made them memorable ever since.
TLC’s Empathetic Filipino and Compassionate American
Until now the couple’s rapport has flourished nicely despite struggling to communicate in English and through sign language. David’s hearing impairment hasn’t stopped him from being patient towards Sheila’s ASL learning curve. In the meantime, they’ve been really resourcefully using translation apps on their phones and even using the help of a local sign language interpreter.
When David was first introduced to Sheila’s home, he showed nothing but empathy and an understanding demeanor for her family’s lifestyle conditions. An episode about Sheila’s family home shows the couple walking through open brick walls of hallway and what looks like poor sanitary conditions. David holds no judgment and sit down for a chat with Sheila’s son Johnreil, and her father. They exhange a couple of words and her father reveals that he built this house for themselves. They later go to Sheila’s bedroom and cuddle up while David says that we will try his best to sleep comfortably. David also states that he “wanted to be patient with Johnreil”, proving his high level of patience and will to be with Sheila and her apparent fatherless son.
“I was concerned about forming a bond with Johnreil. Because Johnreil is very shy. But when I thought about it, kids they just like to play around the language barrier isn’t a big deal. That’s how I communicated with my father all those years ago. He’s warming up to me, and it feels really good.” Sheila has also reiterated that she is not after his money and doesn’t want to him to think that that’s the case with her. She’s expressed that she knows that David isn’t rich, and she acknowledges that he works hard for his money.
David also came to Sheila’s defense after the episode of Sheila’s house aired and fans created a GoFundMe page that did not look legitimate and was most likely a scam. David realized that somebody might be wanting to profit off of Sheila’s household conditions and took it to Instagram to voice his disapproval for any fundraiser campaign. He commented on his post saying: “Although Sheila and I truly thank all the fans that are willing to support her, we kindly ask that you do not start any campaigns asking for donations from 90 Day Fans. Again we both truly appreciate and thank you all for offering support.”
Sheila Is Taking David In Health, Sickness, and Jealousy (?)
So with Sheila having a mild hearing impairment and David being deaf and mute, David requested the help of ASL interpreter Aimee Adiwang to help them out at first. Although David felt the need to have an interpreter with them on set, Sheila struggled with feelings of jealousy towards Aimee and David. She later admitted to a producer on camera that she was “jealous” and felt possessive towards David engaging in conversation with her. She also expressed that she would have rather had them hire a male ASL interpreter instead of a female one. She managed to ease her distress and refrained from showing that side of her in front of David. She seemed considerate in not wanting to cause a fight in between the two.
Showcasing Love on Instagram
Since the show’s beginning in May, David and Sheila have been consistently showing their love and appreciation for each other on their Instagram profiles. Both David and Sheila have uploaded cute selfies together at local restaurants and a video of them playing pool together . David has also filled his profile with portraits of Sheila and included a picture of himself, Sheila, and her son while they were sightseeing. He also seems to be enjoying the Philippines as a tourist and uploading pictures of its city life, streets and typical foods.
Sheila’s profile doesn’t fall behind either. She’s added photos of both of them hanging out in Cebu City. She has even taken a more radical stance and uploaded photos of hateful comments towards their relationship and her motives with David. She’s been open to defend her relationship, and she doesn’t care for broken English as long as she’s getting her point across.
One of her post’s captions from August 18 reads: “Why are you angry mam? What are you saying I’m using David?? You better finish all our episode before you speak. yes I know Americans are not rich who said American are rich and David is not rich either I know that, Bec I loved him and we loved each other true bad or good…now I am learned sign language which is my fourth languages.. so sometimes I forgetting to sign..that’s all period..
