90 Day Fiance star Steven has revealed why he asked Alina if he could continue to date other women.

In an interview with ET’s Melicia Johnson, Steven, 25, shed light on the surprising move on his part. On an episode of the reality TV show, his Russian girlfriend, Alina admitted that she was not only hurt but also shocked by Steven’s unacceptable request. 

Steven is a 25-year-old devout Mormon, who hails from Utah, while Alina is from Russia. They met on a language-learning app. Initially, Alina did not want to meet Steven because some Russians claim that Mormonism is a cult. So, she was scared and worried that Steven will steal her organs. 

Steven Opens Up

Despite initial hesitation, she decided to meet him and the two hit it off. The 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way season 3 have spent two weeks together and are already planning to move to Turkey together to remain together. The still raging coronavirus pandemic has restricted them from moving to Russia.

Alina recently opened up to her friends that she was “uncomfortable” that Steven was talking too much to a female friend. Her concern is quite understandable considering that Steven even asked for permission to see other women at one point in their courtship.

“It’s kinda complicated,” Steven told ET about why he wants to date other women. He urged viewers to stay tuned in for more information. Moreover, he revealed his reason when the interviewer asked if he would be OK if Alina asked him for permission to date other men.

Is Steven OK With Alina Dating Other Men?

“Well, I think that would be good because, you know, we were long-distance,” he said. “And we had never really spent so much time together. I had just gotten out of a relationship and I didn’t feel emotionally ready yet to really dive into a relationship, especially someone as amazing as Alina because I really felt like we had a connection and I really felt like, something was different about her, and I wanted to be ready for that. So, I feel like if she wanted to, I wouldn’t have an issue with it, and I wouldn’t ever ask her to do something if I wasn’t comfortable with her doing it.”

“Because in relationships, it’s super important to be, like, mutually on the same level,” he added.

Steven insisted that he wasn’t lying when Alina told her friends that they were both virgins and waiting for marriage to have sex due to his religion, Steven went on to tell the cameras that he wasn’t a virgin and had sexual relationships in the past.

“I don’t think ‘not honest’ is the right terminology here, it’s just something that didn’t, like, come up necessarily,” he said.

“I’m not sure I knew at the time that that was something she really valued. … It’s not something I normally talk about it in normal conversations. So, Alina, most of the time when we were calling and talking, it didn’t hit upon those subjects. Usually when I call and talk with people, I usually don’t tell them how many people I’ve slept with. So, with Alina, that was just something that we never brought up.”

However, he thinks abstinence is a great practice.

“Sexuality should be something special and I think that’s the way I always talk about it, is just something sacred and because of that, I think that kind of led her to believe, perhaps,” he says about Alina’s misunderstanding that he was still a virgin. He said it wouldn’t matter to him if Alina wasn’t a virgin either.

“I love her and I don’t feel like … as long as she is who she is, that’s who I love,” he says. “I think the reason it was so hard to talk about the subject is because I didn’t want to let her down. …. The hardest part for me is I’m afraid that she’s gonna see kinda how I didn’t live up to those standards and then kind of be like, ‘Oh, maybe the whole church thing isn’t worth it.’ And then obviously, I wouldn’t feel comfortable marrying someone who wasn’t ready to live in the church with me.”

Despite some viewers accusing him of being hypocritical, Steven remains unbothered. 

Criticism Doesn’t Affect Steven

“I think Jesus says it best, ‘He who is among you without sin, let him first cast the stone,'” he says. “So many people have so many opinions, and that’s just what they are — just opinions. My own beliefs and my own opinions are my own, and I’m fortunate enough that I can have whatever opinions that I want to have.”

Responding to whether he and Alina are likely to tie the knot in this season, Steven said there are a lot of shocking events to come.

“I can honestly say that from when and where the show started …. and then to go forward to now, I wouldn’t have ever guessed everything that happened and it’s scary and I’m really nervous for my mom to see it,” he jokes. “Like, Mom, don’t watch my parts. Watch Sumit and Jenny and she can watch Kenny and Armando, like, skip my parts.”

“Every episode is going to be me, personally, on the edge of my seat because I’m gonna be … there’s so many different aspects to our storyline that I honestly don’t know which parts they’re going to choose to highlight so I’m, like, so nervous,” he continues. 

“I’m like, what are they going to show this week? Because as you know, I sometimes do things and then it turns out to be really weird I guess, and I don’t realize that until after it happens, and then I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so weird.'”

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way airs on TLC on Sundays. Watch this space for the latest 90 Day Fiance news.