90 Day Fiancé star Igor Shutencov AKA Justin Moldova was not trying to look like the victim in his relationship with Nikki Exotika, he just wanted to end things because their constant fighting was wearing on him. Trans woman Nikki and Justin were a scandalous 90DF season 10 pair for several reasons. The age gap between Nikki and Justin was alarming and so was the fact that he was cheating on her when they were engaged. In the end, Nikki pulled Justin’s K-1 visa and split with him in the Tell All.
Nikki sparked controversy online even before her 90 Day Fiancé debut with Justin. It was revealed that Nikki and Justin knew each other for almost two decades when Justin’s age was revealed to be just 37 in the synopsis. Fans deduced that Nikki had met Justin when he was around 17 years old, and she was about 30. Justin was very young when Nikki met him, creating a power dynamic between them. As he grew up, Justin realized Nikki was not compatible with him. It wasn’t because Nikki was trans but because she was maintaining control of the relationship.
Nikki Never Told Justin She Was Trans
Nikki went to Moldova to meet an ex-boyfriend who had been deported from the U.S. because he committed a crime he couldn’t get away from. Nikki wanted to reconnect and reunite with the love of her life but discovered that the man was living there with a different woman. Nikki was so heartbroken that she made a profile on a friendship website in Moldova. That’s how she met Justin. Nikki couldn’t “fathom” the name Igor because it reminded her of Frankenstein’s assistant. Nikki “renamed” him Justin and according to her it “stuck.”
It was just the start of the relationship and Nikki had already started manipulating Justin.
Nikki claimed Justin didn’t try to sleep with her on the first date, and she had never been treated like that by any man. Justin proposed to Nikki on her fourth visit to Moldova. Their K-1 visa was approved and two weeks after Justin came to the U.S. they had “issues” that couldn’t be worked out. Nikki and Justin fought after he was not helping her with housework.
“One day I was talking to him and I said, ‘Yeah, well, I have a secret to tell you. I used to be a man’”
Nikki said Justin “freaked” when she told him about her being trans. It had been 10 years since Nikki had undergone her operation. She said she was living in “stealth” Nikki said it was a “thing” she did because she had to “find” herself. However, that didn’t mean Nikki had to keep her real identity a secret from the man she had brought to the U.S. from a different country and was about to marry.
Justin Accepted Nikki’s Sexual Identity Despite Her Betrayal
Nikki had not told Justin that she used to be a man for two years while they were together. She also happened to reveal the truth during an argument. She referred to what she did as her “blurting” to him, which means Nikki could have easily gone for a few more years, or perhaps a lifetime, without telling Justin about her past. Justin was in “shock,” as per Nikki after he found out the truth. Nikki knew she “traumatized” him. Justin went back home. He was depressed for a very long time. Nikki said she still kept in contact with Justin.
Nikki staying in touch with Justin despite betraying his trust was an act of selfishness and a means of still exerting control over him.
Nikki said that Justin and she both “had to go through things” on their own. When she felt the time was right, Nikki started having conversations about getting back together. She assured him she was in a much better place and found out he was single. She suggested how “funny” it would be if they gave each other a second chance. Three months after they started speaking again, Nikki and Justin got engaged in Mexico.
Justin Tried To Make Things Work With Nikki
Justin was worried about getting attention from people after Nikki came to meet him in Moldova. He also mentioned how worried he was about Nikki’s safety. Justin’s friends and family had known Nikki for a year, and they were also shocked because of her secret. Along with Justin, Nikki also hurt them. Justin confessed he was “psychologically traumatized” because of Nikki. His friends rejected him after he came back home. Justin had started to look at Nikki as a friend once he accepted her sexuality. He convinced himself that he had become “wiser” and open-minded over the years.
Justin Did Not Break Up With Nikki Because Of Her Transness
Justin said he read books, exercised, and meditated a lot to open his mind to Nikki’s sexuality. He started looking at her as a woman and nothing else. “Nikki is a very nice and sweet woman,” he told the cameras during 90 Day Fiancé season 10. Justin also noticed how Nikki looked more like a “woman” after her surgeries which she had since the last time he’d seen her. During the Tell All, Nikki told her fellow cast members backstage that Justin told her he wasn’t “trans attracted.” They agreed it was too late for Justin to say it.
The 90 Day Fiancé Cast Ganged Up On Justin
However, the cast members decided to believe Nikki’s words over Justin’s and made him look like a villain when he was trying to tell his side of the story. Nikki manipulated her co-stars into thinking Justin was the bad guy in the relationship. However, no one asked Nikki why she had gone for two years without telling Justin about the gender she was assigned when she was born until they were in the middle of a fight. Nikki convinced her co-stars that Justin had “shown” her who he was. Ashley Michelle and Jasmine Pineda decided to “fight” for Nikki.
All Justin Wanted Was To Be Heard In The Relationship
Justin revealed that the real reason he sent Nikki a text to break up with her was that he was tired of their constant fights. 90DF’s Justin was having a hard time without Nikki because he loved her. However, at that time, he thought it was the best decision. Justin revealed that Nikki didn’t have any patience after she went to America and accused her of attacking him. Justin didn’t want his every waking thought to be “How do I fix this relationship?”Breaking up with Nikki gave Justin a “wave of energy,” as if he had become “free.”
Justin said they were breaking up a few times a day, and he yearned for stability.
When Shaun Robinson asked Justin why he chose to send her a text instead of calling her, he said that Nikki always speaks over him. “I don’t know well English,” he added. Even then, Nikki was not allowing him to talk about how a text was easier for him, because a verbal dialogue would have again ended in Nikki berating him. In the end, it was Nikki who won and made Justin the monster of their 90 Day Fiancé story.
