Stephanie “Stepanka” Matto, from the Czech Republic, became a topic of interest during her stint in “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” season four, and for years afterwards. Known for her explosive behavior, apparent narcissism, refusal of intimacy, and ultimate failure to marry her same-sex partner, she noticeably changed later.
Stephanie embraced her celibate personality but evolved as a person while looking for love in “90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life.” After the show she became a social media personality, and businesswoman selling bizarre products. Although people consistently rated her as one of the most hated cast members in the TLC show, she continues to draw interest, and has raked in serious cash from business ideas others ridiculed. Before we get into those, let’s review her time on TV.
Three conditions affect Stephanie Matto’s life
To understand some adverse events in the show, viewers must know that three disorders significantly impact Stephanie’s life, and getting the aplastic anemia diagnosis in 2017 is by far the scariest. This rare bone marrow condition means that her body doesn’t produce enough blood cells to ensure regular functionality. Consequently, she is often fatigued, at a higher risk of infection, and may develop uncontrollable bleeding.
Aplastic anemia is incurable, and only a bone marrow transplant and blood transfusions can manage its progress. Although Stephanie tried the latter option, she has yet to find a matching bone marrow donor. At a later date, she said that the disease was in remission, but of course can return, and in the meantime, she was diagnosed with a second disorder called PNH, or paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
Although less invasive and life-altering, Stephanie confessed to having body dysmorphia too. Thus, she was upset about gaining 15lb or almost 7kg in Australia in 2020, after becoming depressed and gorging on chicken schnitzels. Consequently, she admitted to having a chin liposuction procedure in March 2021, while her second TLC show aired, and had under-eye filler and botox injected into her forehead at some point.
What did she do before appearing in the TLC TV show?
Stephanie grew up in Derby, Connecticut, USA, and divulged in the show that she was a stripper in Los Angeles at 24. That period of her life was difficult, especially since she had no one to turn to, and suffered undesired situations while dancing, influencing her subsequent intimacy problems.
Stephanie is a woman of many talents, and has dabbled in several professions and hobbies. She appeared uncredited in “All That,” a Nickelodeon TV series aired for 11 seasons. That boosted her enthusiasm, and she planned on becoming an actress after being cast as Alicia in the 2009 movie “She’s Got It”; unfortunately, her acting endeavors stopped there.
Instead, she switched to book publishing, and announced a debut book of short stories in 2015 entitled “Mean Boys & Memories: A Compilation of My Most Outrageous, Hideous and Embarrassing Stories.” The same year, she co-authored with six others book entitled “Democratic Contestation on the Margins: Regimes in Small African Countries”.
90-Day Fiance star Stephanie Matto is a YouTuber turned adult content creator who claims to have made upwards of $200,000 selling her farts in jars.https://t.co/lB7pugrmtF
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 10, 2022
Getting cast in “90 Day Fiancé”
Stephanie joined the cast of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” during the fourth season, which aired in early 2020, alongside her partner Erika Owens as the first LGBTQ couple. Stephanie was 29 and a YouTuber, while Erika, an Australia-based photographer, was 24. During an introductory interview with US Weekly, Stephanie said, ‘People that have been following my social media for a long time are probably caught off guard to find out I’m bisexual.’ Instead of telling them behind the scenes, including her mother, she came out in the show, surprising everyone.
As for why she waited, Stephanie explained, ‘It’s pretty crazy, but I’m a pretty crazy person. I felt like this was like ripping the Band-Aid off, like, the ultimate coming out. You can’t back out now; you just got to do it.’
Besides her sexual orientation, Stephanie hid her plans to travel to Australia to meet her online lover. That wouldn’t be such a big deal if it weren’t for her health condition; she had to get a doctor’s approval and medical documents before embarking on that trip. In contrast, Erika never told her family that she’d met someone online, and was in a three-month relationship.
Problems between the two began shortly after the meeting
Problems started the moment Stephanie arrived in Port Augusta, a small South Australian town, and met her partner. Erika noticed that Stephanie’s personality was significantly different from that in her YouTube videos, as she wasn’t affectionate. In contrast, Stephanie doubted whether Erika’s relationship with her friends remained at that level. She also commented that her networking app, Bumble Bizz, looked like a dating app, suggesting she may be cheating.
Moreover, both had different ideas of joint fun activities; for example, during their first date, Erika took her to an art studio to plaster each other’s boobs. Stephanie felt uneasy, refused to participate and left, which confounded Erika, who thought she was more sexual on YouTube. Besides asking Erika to delete the alleged dating app from her phone, seen as controlling, news surfaced that Stephanie was dating an Australian man before meeting Erika, but hadn’t mentioned him. Moreover, at a later date, Stephanie laughed when an interviewer called Erika’s friends ‘dregs of society.’
Her relationship with Erika didn’t end in marriage
After seeing the first few episodes, many fans concluded that Stephanie was ‘a cloud chaser’ and may not even be into women. The latter claim was mostly confirmed when Stephanie backed out of telling her mom she was bisexual at the last second. In a conversation afterwards, Erika felt deeply betrayed, used, and like Stephanie was embarrassed by her. She promptly revealed that a previous girlfriend kept her a secret for over nine years. In response to her confession, Stephanie blew up and started throwing objects.
Moreover, from the second she stepped off the plane, Stephanie never went further than giving Erika an awkward side hug. thus, she never consummated their relationship. She also came across as selfish and narcissistic, throwing tantrums and finding fault in nearly everything Erika did. One particular lousy habit was yelling, and Erika looked defeated by the end of the season, after repeatedly asking her to keep her tone down.
Needless to say, the two broke-up and never even tried to marry during the fourth season finale of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” on 31 May 2020. As a result, Stephanie returned home, and the two ceased direct communication. Shortly afterwards, fans remembered that only the US-based partner was getting paid by TLC, reportedly only $1,000 per episode or usually $15,000 per season, with a $2,500 bonus for appearing in Tell-All specials. Therefore, while Stephanie presumably supported her financially based on TLC’s demands, Erika earned nothing from her on-screen appearances.
More explanations followed after the season ended
More drama ensued behind the scenes during the show’s airtime and after, particularly in interviews and social media. On 7 June 2020, after the Tell-All episode via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephanie shared messages with Erika stating she was uncomfortable with sex because of her stripper past. That contrasted the Australian’s claims she was attracted to the sexual side she displayed. During that time, she reiterated that she was bisexual and accused Erika of returning to an ex-girlfriend three weeks after they broke up.
Moreover, Stephanie blamed her for asking TLC to grant her a TV show with her and the ex-girlfriend behind her back, adding, ‘ELATED I never trusted her. If your gut tells you not to trust someone, there is a reason.’ She said that Erika never deleted the “dating” app and that the Bumble Bizz profile was not the one she spotted on the phone. In a closing statement, Stephanie revealed that Erika even went dancing with friends and the TV show cameraman on her last night in Australia, leaving her alone in the hotel. Nevertheless, she called her ‘the most beautiful woman she dated.’
Her best friend only made things worse
Fans also disliked the comments of Stephanie’s best friend, Heather, who chimed in during the tell-all episode, and essentially ignored all arguments and negative views of Stephanie. Her appearance also highlighted her YouTube channel, Heather Jade, on which she posted a nearly 13-minute video entitled 90 Day Fiancé, Spilling the Tea on Stephanie, in March 2020. She said nothing new, merely noted Stephanie is ‘like family to her’ and defended her explosive, selfish, jealous, and erratic behavior. However, instead of siding with Stephanie, fans only seemed to support Erika’s side more.
Erika responded to some comments
Fans were awaiting Erika’s public response after the season finale. Still, during the Tell-All episode, Erika said very little compared to Stephanie, emphasizing that she doesn’t want to see or hear from her ex-girlfriend and wishes the show gave her more time to speak up. She also denied Stephanie’s accusations of narcissism and called her the selfish one. Based on her testimony, Stephanie failed to listen to her, put her in a tough spot by asking sensitive questions in front of friends, and would cry or argue over her feelings instead of taking criticism.
Shortly afterwards, Erika used Instagram Stories to explain that she ‘intentionally kept her mouth shut for years, despite having so much she could say.’ Without getting into much detail, she described their relationship as ‘toxic and short-lived, and obviously not authentic.’
She also defended her friends, whom one interviewer called ‘feral, of no value to society, and living in sheds in the outback,’ and Stephanie laughed. Erika responded sharply, saying, ‘Not everyone makes millions of dollars yearly on radio shows or selling farts in jars.’ Moreover, she reiterated that she wanted nothing to do with Stephanie, and told her to ‘sell jarred farts and forget about her.’
Stephanie commented on the situation in hindsight
The dust settled relatively quickly after the social media confrontations; both pursued independent projects, and showed no desire to sign with TLC again. Then, in the second half of 2020, a long-time fan commented that Stephanie was much different in the show than on social media.
This time, Stephanie responded directly and had a different answer, remarking ‘The story you saw on TV was 10% of the full story. There were things not discussed; perhaps if they had been, my concerns and behavior would have made much more sense.’
This time, she expressed regret for how things happened. In retrospect, she realized things shouldn’t have gone that far, and that she should’ve returned home way sooner. In another interview, she admitted that ‘she didn’t like the person she saw on TV, and was going through a lot emotionally, mentally, and physically.’ She reminded fans that she had unwanted advances as a stripper, and that a fan stalked her, forcing her to call the police. Consequently, she felt pressured into intimacy in front of the cameras, ‘causing a knee-jerk reaction’ and atypical responses.
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TLC cast her in “90 Day: The Single Life”
Despite blaming the show’s editing for her portrayal, she committed to finding her special someone, and fans wanted to see where her story led. Therefore, she accepted TLC’s offer to join the “90 Day: The Single Life” cast during season two, and appear in “90 Day Diaries” to share her thoughts, since filming was restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although eventful, the show primarily focused on her self-reflection and personal growth.
Stephanie worked on changing some things she was criticized for and disliked in herself. For instance, she worked with a wellness intimacy coach to solve her intimacy issues. In one conversation, Stephanie revealed that she was celibate for years, even before the show, and avoided attachment to people because being intimate rarely brought her joy. Additionally, she admitted the fatigue from her illnesses and medications such as Lupron contributed to her reduced sex drive.
She was successful on OnlyFans in 2020, then switched to a self-made platform to offer “fart jars”
After she ended her run in “90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life” without finding a partner, she focused on retaining her fan base with frequent social media posts. Moreover, she started an OnlyFans account and reportedly made about $33,000 from monthly subscriptions and fan requests within two weeks. However, when the platform announced a crackdown on explicit content, she started a platform entitled Unfiltrd and started selling “fart jars” for $1,000 apiece.
She would eat a daily diet of hardboiled eggs, low-sugar yogurt, beans, and protein muffins to stimulate her stomach. After “passing wind” and capturing it, Stephanie would put a flower petal at the bottom of the jar, noting it retains the smell, and write a special note to each customer.
Stephanie had to stop selling farts in early 2022, but briefly returned
In January 2022, Stephanie revealed that she ended up in the hospital on suspicion of having a heart attack. However, after several tests, including EKG and bloodwork, doctors established the cause of her chest pains was stomach gases. With that knowledge, she stopped selling fart jars because she ‘was overdoing her steady diet of eggs, bean soups, and protein shakes’ to boost the intensity. Nonetheless, she revealed that up to that point, she made roughly $50,000 a week and amassed over $200,000 from the business.
Despite making it seem like the hospital visit would end her business endeavor, she returned to the business two times. On Valentine’s Day, she launched fart-scented candles at $99.95 a pop, discounted to $49.95 on Stepanka World’s website. Then, on 23 December 2022, she made a comeback with one-off fart-filled Christmas ornaments in collaboration with a fellow reality TV personality, Tania Maduro.
Outside that, she switched to selling fart jar NFTs at 0.05 ETC (Ethereum), made $130,000 in less than two weeks, and revealed plans to create a course on building a female-led brand. She also sold several bizarre items, such as used panties, socks, bras, and even “ta ta sweat,” i.e., bottled breast sweat.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmt7HRQuDti/
She is no longer celibate and single in 2023
Although there were hints during the “90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life” Tell-All episode in mid-2021, Stephanie’s life changed drastically away from the spotlight. Stephanie revealed she ended her multiyear celibacy with a Frenchman, with whom she started talking in February 2021 and went to Paris to meet in July.
Stephanie admitted to feeling ‘a soulmate connection she never experienced and couldn’t explain.’ Contrarily to all her on-screen problems, she immediately felt at ease and enchanted by him. The two went to a luxurious Paris hotel on the first day, and showered together within 30 minutes, thus ending her dry spell. She later joined him in Vienna, Austria, and Barcelona, Spain, and the two officially started dating in October 2021.
On top of falling in love, she revealed that he is ‘sexually adventurous, super sexually compatible, and open to having a threesome with another woman.’ She also gushed about feeling it was ‘the most serious relationship of her adult life’ and that she sees her future with him. Fans have reason to doubt that her assertion will prove to be true.
