Is Annie From 90-Day Fiancé A Sex Worker?
David's family has had some questions about how he met his young Thai wife. Was she a sex worker?
youtube Is Annie from 90-Day Fiancé a sex worker? Fans of TLC's hit show have been following the story of David Toborowsky and Annie Suwan for several seasons now.
The couple met in a karaoke bar in Thailand, and Toborowsky says he fell in love with her beautiful singing voice. (Suwan said she first thought he was an old, ugly foreigner, but she came around, apparently.)
While their story may sound romantic and sweet, some of Toborowsky's friends and family were suspicious that the pair weren't being totally honest about their first meeting, wondering if Toborowsky was paying Suwan for her company — or for more than that.
Is Annie Suwan from 90 Day Fiancé a sex worker?
Their relationship has been a bit strange since the beginning.
The first weird moment in Toborowsky and Suwan's relationship happened in Thailand when the couple went out with Toborowsky's friend, Chris Thieneman, and his wife, Nikki Cooper. The four of them were discussing the plan for Toborowsky and Suwan to stay at their house in L.A.
Because neither Toborowsky nor Suwan had a job, Thieneman suggested that they should pay their rent in services, instead of cash. He suggests cooking, which is reasonable, then says maybe Suwan could give him massages.
That seemed odd to everyone, since Suwan never said she was a trained massage therapist.
Toborowsky has a history.
He readily admits to his prior divorce, but he may have hidden some of the details from Suwan back in Thailand.
When they returned to the US, his daughter Ashley told Suwan that her father used to cheat on her mom. Not only did he cheat, he cheated with sex workers.
Their jobs also raised eyebrows.
For a period of time, both Toborowsky and Suwan were listed as employees of Thieneman's Thai travel company, Fantasy Thailand. The name was partly a send-up of the old TV show Fantasy Island but it might also have been a double-entendre.
Thailand has a reputation as a destination for sex tourism and it's possible that his business catered to people interested in exploring that part of the culture.
The place they met has also caused speculation.
Remember how Toborowsky and Suwan said they met in a karaoke bar? In the U.S., that just means a bar with karaoke set up so drunk friends can laugh themselves silly trying to sing Taylor Swift numbers.
But a little googling will show that karaoke bars in Thailand can be a bit different. The bars are more like strip clubs or even brothels. Apparently, women work there as hostesses and do everything from private table service to sex acts for pay. This travel website describes them in more detail.
There are many other kinds of sex clubs in Thailand.
Karaoke bars aren't the only place people can pay for sex in Thailand, although doing so is technically illegal.
According to the Lonely Planet website, venues such as gogo-bars, beer bars, massage parlors, and bathhouses, as well as the karaoke bars, can be licensed to provide non-sexual services like lap dances, massages and "hostesses" who will spend time with customers for a fee.
While more intimate services are illegal, prostitution is extensive and laws are often unenforced. Conditions for the workers vary; some are voluntarily working, others find themselves owing money to the club owners and are unable to stop, even if they no longer want to work there.
There are also some more really outrageous sex clubs.
Sex shows are also a form of entertainment in Thailand. At some strip clubs, performers do things like "ping-pong shows", where they will use their genitals to manipulate objects such as ping-pong balls.
These shows are allegedly popular with tourists, though the clubs that host them are problematic from a human rights perspective and can be affiliated with trafficking.
Did Suwan work there?
The big question is whether or not Suwan was part of the sex trade in Thailand. Given that she admitted to working in a karaoke bar and her husband has a known hstory of hiring sex workers, it's not an unreasonable query.
Toborowsky's daughter Ashley asked Suwan about it directly.
So is Annie a sex worker? She says no, but a lot of fans wonder if she's covering up the truth.
Will they have children?
In an interview in 2019, the subject of kids came up.
Toborowsky responded to the inquiry of whether or not the couple were planning to have kids by saying, "Travel definitely is always going to be. We’re going back to Thailand in January to visit. And babies? Who knows with babies. Right now we’re in a good place. But stay tuned."
Suwan chimed in with, "Right now I am very happy with my life and I am happy with my job. We are happy right now so let’s see what the future holds." However, when asked if she did want to become a mother someday, she said, "Of course. Of course! But right now I’m really happy."
Rebekah Kuschmider is a DC area writer with a background in non-profit management and advocacy. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in July 2018 and was updated with the latest information.