Second Chance or Second Heartbreak? Everything We Know About 90 Day: The Other Way Newcomer Zuri Soto

Most 90 Day Fiancé newcomers arrive with stars in their eyes and a one-way ticket. Zuri Soto arrived with both — and a failed attempt already behind her. The 26-year-old from Fairfield, Connecticut already knows exactly how her story ends in France, because she has lived the bad ending once.

Now she is back for round two with French boyfriend Ben Brachet on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 8, and the fandom is already at war over her. Great love story getting a second act, or a woman walking back into a fire she already escaped? Here is everything we know about the season’s most debated newcomer.

Who Is Zuri Soto?

Zuri Soto and Ben Brachet — the Connecticut-to-France love story is getting a second act. (TLC via Finding Connecticut)

Zuri calls herself a “Professional Side Quester” on Instagram, and it might be the most accurate bio in franchise history. She studied communications and media studies at Roger Williams University, minoring in music — and that creative streak pays the bills. Zuri is the director of outreach and marketing at a recording studio — social media, website, events. Whether any of that work can follow her to France is the question her whole storyline hangs on.

The Whirlwind Romance That Already Crashed

The airport reunion — round two begins where round one fell apart. (TLC via The Ashley’s Reality Roundup)

Their origin story sounds like a movie trailer. They met at a club while Zuri was in grad school in London — she thought he looked a little nerdy, they danced, swapped numbers, and talked almost daily for a month or two before he invited her to France. After graduation, she moved to Nice to build a life with him.

Then the movie turned into a cautionary tale. Zuri could not speak French. Ben’s friends were, by her own telling, openly hostile — one of them once threw ice at her while she was trying to make a good first impression. The breaking point came when she found a photo of Ben with another girl on the fridge. She moved back in with her parents in Connecticut. First ending: heartbreak.

Fans Are Already Picking Sides

Zuri arriving in France for her second attempt — smiling now, but fans are nervous. (TLC via MEAWW)

Team Protect Zuri is furious about the ice-throwing story — one fan reaction summed up the mood bluntly: Ben’s friends crossed a line, and Ben lost points for letting them. The whispers about “another woman” during their time apart have only fed the suspicion, especially after the season preview raised cheating fears.

Team Be Realistic points out the obvious: moving to France means learning French. And there is a practical wrinkle — according to reports, Ben is listed as deputy director general of his family’s industrial equipment company, SERM, founded in 1979. He is not the one who can relocate, with some fans arguing anyone with a family business would do the same. Both camps agree on one thing: Zuri seems genuinely likable.

What Could Go Wrong This Time

TLC is not hiding the stakes: “Between Ben’s skeptical friend group and growing questions about another woman he connected with during their time apart, Zuri must decide whether their future together is worth the risk.” The friend group has not softened — on the episode, they doubled down that Ben would honestly be better off without her. The other-woman question is unresolved. And as Zuri’s mother drove her to the airport, the parental worry was plain: you can always come back. The question is whether Zuri will need to.

Your Turn: Team Second Chance or Team Stay Home?

Are you rooting for Zuri to make France work this time, or should she have stayed in Connecticut? And the spicier question — do you actually trust Ben, or does that fridge photo still bother you? Drop your verdict in the comments.

Image credits: TLC via TV Insider, Finding Connecticut, The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, MEAWW. Fan-made article — not affiliated with TLC.