Dempsey Wilkinson and Statler Riley’s relationship may have reached a breaking point as they discussed the possibility of having kids.
In Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the Sunday, September 10, episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, the girlfriends candidly discuss the future of their relationship.
“I really want to have clarity from Statler about whether she wants kids or not,” Dempsey, 28, said in a confessional. “Because if we want different things, our whole relationship could just be a waste of time.”
The footage then cuts to Dempsey and Statler, 33, eating dinner when the former asks her partner about potentially getting married and having a family.
“Why do you want kids? Why?” Statler retorts before her girlfriend tears up and explains that “children make the world a better place.”
Statler, for her part, is undecided about the prospect of having kids. “They seem like a lot of work and a lot of money,” she said, noting that being adopted herself makes her wary about putting those struggles onto a baby in a similar position. “I don’t know if I have the emotional and mental willpower. I don’t feel like I have that maternal bone inside me.”
Dempsey Wilkinson and Statler Riley. TLC (2)
While Dempsey was hopeful about adoption, Statler explained that she is still working through her own struggles.
“I think a lot of people go into adoption just thinking it’s all hunky dory and the kid’s going to be grateful to you and things are going to be easy,” Statler said in a confessional. “It’s just not the case. I was taken away pretty much the second I was born, so I’ve always felt that missing part of me, and I still have a lot of adoptee trauma that I have not worked through.”
She continued: “It’s honestly kind of triggering to have this kind of conversation.”
The clip ends on a tense note when Dempsey proclaims that one day she “will have a child,” whether on her own or with a partner.
Dempsey, who hails from the U.K., and Statler first connected online. After only speaking via social media for more than seven months, they finally met in person on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. Throughout season 6, Statler traveled to her girlfriend’s rural English hometown for the first time. The two women frequently butted heads over topics including a timeline to move in together and how their loved ones reacted to their relationship.
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.