90 Day: Shekinah Is Tempted by Her 'Perfect Catch' BFF Dan on the Brink of Move to Turkey for Hunky Sarper

On Monday's episode of '90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way', as Shekinah readied to move to Istanbul to be with her long-distance love Sarper, her best friend Dan admitted he had romantic feelings for her

90 Day: Shekinah Is Tempted by Her 'Perfect Catch' BFF Dan on the Brink of Move to Turkey for Hunky Sarper.
'90 Day': Shekinah is tempted by her 'perfect catch' BFF Dan. . Photo:

TLC

No rest for the wooing! On Monday's 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Shekinah and Sarper's early-stages love faced its first challenge. And for her, it hit very close to home.

Shekinah was packing her bags to leave the U.S. and relocate to Istanbul to be with her Turkish beau because “my attraction and connection with Sarper is so strong that I’m willing to leave this entire life that I’ve built in Los Angeles to go and be with him.”

However, during an intimate evening gathering with her four best friends Dan, Josh, Shawna and Wendy, Dan had other ideas surprised her with a profession of his romantic love for her.

90 Day: Shekinah Is Tempted by Her 'Perfect Catch' BFF Dan on the Brink of Move to Turkey for Hunky Sarper.
'90 Day': Shekinah is tempted by her BFF Dan, who admits his love prior to her romantic move to Turkey for Sarper.

TLC

"Shekinah, I wanna talk with you for a minute. Come with me," he told her as he led her away from the group in the kitchen and into the living room for a private chat.

"I know you have in your plan to go to Turkey, but I just wanted to be able to talk to you ... one on one," he said as Shekinah nodded her head.

In a confessional interview, Dan explained, "I've known Shekinah for seven years and usually she goes with guys that are very good-looking, very athletic, but are the kind of [guy] for me that I consider losers," Dan explained during his confessional interview. "And I think this guy looks like a playboy. So I'm not convinced that Shekinah is making the right decision right now."

90 Day: Shekinah Is Tempted by Her 'Perfect Catch' BFF Dan on the Brink of Move to Turkey for Hunky Sarper.
Shekinah lets Dan down gently as she rebuffs his admission.

TLC

Back on a couch in L.A., Shekinah listened intently as Dan admitted his romantic feelings for her. "You know, we've been through a lot of things in the past seven years. I really want you to be happy, but I want you to know what I really think about you," he said.

And then he laid it all out: "So, you know, we — I really still do love you. And I just think that we should be together."

This understandably caused bit of a hiccup in the aesthetician's plans to give her five-month, long-distance relationship with Sarper a real shot. "Dan, he is the perfect catch. He's so successful. So sweet, so charming, and I know that he would be a great partner," she said in her own confessional interview.

Shekinah and Sarper, 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way

TLC

Dan continued to plead his case to Shekinah: "I know that we have this bond and it's a very emotional attachment. And that makes it very special. And you don't find that every day."

Unfortunately for Dan, Shekinah wasn't sold. "We have an emotional connection," she acknowledged, "but it's more of a friendship, and it doesn't mean we need to be together."

Not letting this brushoff deter him, a determined Dan responded, "You know how I can treat you."

Shekinah rebuffed him again: "We already tried to date, but it didn't feel right for me."

Taking the rejection in stride, Dan noted that while he wasn't wishing that Shekinah's relationship with Sarper was going to fail, he hoped that his romantic admission would "open up your mind" to a "different way to us."

90 Day: Shekinah Is Tempted by Her 'Perfect Catch' BFF Dan on the Brink of Move to Turkey for Hunky Sarper.
Dan takes the rejection in his stride and let's Shekinah know he will always be there for her.

TLC

"I can't even think about that right now," said Shekinah. "There's no way, I'm in love with Sarper."

She added, "But I respect what you're saying, and I understand how you feel, and you'll always be a big part of my life. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you so much."

The two embraced tightly as Shekinah teared up and told him, "You're so sweet."

During her interview, Shekinah opened up about the trepidation of uprooting her life to pursue romance with Sarper in Turkey.

"I definitely worry that I'm making another mistake just like all the other ones that I have with all the wrong guys I've chosen," she admitted. "But I'm trying to look on the positive side of this and believe that Sarper is different and that this is going to be the relationship that works out for me."

Giving it one last try, Dan told Shekinah, "If things are not going in the way that you thought, you know I'm still here. I'm going to always be here for you."

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90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs on Mondays at 8 pm ET on TLC.

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