90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, is well underway with its awesome cast of both familiar and fresh faces. If you’ve been keeping up, you’ve probably noticed Shekinah Garner and her polarizing love story with Turkish partner Sarper Güven.
As the show introduces new couples, fans naturally start digging into the backgrounds of their favorite stars. This time, it’s Shekinah’s background that’s intriguing fans, and in particular her ethnicity.
Shekinah’s love story
Shekinah Garner’s debut on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way has sparked a lot of interest in her personal life. Her romance with Sarper Güven, a personal trainer from Istanbul, has been the subject of headlines.
The two met during Shekinah’s trip to Turkey after she downloaded a dating app, and they instantly clicked. Despite Shekinah returning to the U.S. after their initial meeting, the pair maintained their relationship, and after two months, she returned to Istanbul to deepen their connection.
Background
Shekinah’s story is far from ordinary, and so is her upbringing. Though many assume Amish people are born into that subculture, Shekinah’s parents weren’t originally Amish. They adopted the lifestyle due to their close friendships with others who were already a part of the Amish the community.
Born and raised in Tennessee, Shekinah is the oldest of six sisters, all growing up with the strict rules of Amish life, from the need for long hair, to the avoidance of makeup, and an overall very modest way of living. However, Shekinah wasn’t exactly thrilled with all these restrictions. As it turns out, she was the rebellious one of the bunch.
Her love for beauty and makeup clashed with Amish traditions, and over time, she pushed against the boundaries her parents had set. In fact, it was Shekinah’s persistence that eventually led her parents to leave the Amish community altogether.
Now living in Los Angeles, Shekinah has been an aesthetician for over 20 years and runs her own business. She received her training at Federico College of Hairstyling and has made a name for herself in the beauty industry.
In her personal life, Shekinah had her first serious relationship at the age of 23 with an Italian man named Berto, who was an eyebrow-raising 27 years her senior. They were together for four years and share a 16-year-old daughter named Sophie, whom Shekinah calls the “light” of her life.
Shekinah’s ethnicity
Fans of the show have been eager to know more about Shekinah’s ethnicity, with some speculating that she might be of Persian descent. However, the 41-year-old reality star has not shared many details about her ethnic background. What she has confirmed is that she’s American through and through, and was raised in the Amish community.
Born and raised in the U.S., Shekinah’s ethnicity hasn’t been a major focus for her on the show, even though her upbringing in the Amish community certainly adds an interesting layer to her story. When it comes to her roots, Shekinah is keeping it simple—she’s an American who just happens to have lived an unconventional life.
Despite the buzz around her background, Shekinah seems more focused on her current life. That means running her own successful beauty business in Los Angeles, navigating her relationship with Sarper, and leaving her Amish roots firmly in the rear view mirror.