90 Day Fiancé: Who Is Shekinah Garner’s Ex-Husband & Her Daughter Sofie’s Dad?

90 Day Fiancé star Shekinah Garner’s daughter Sofie’s introduction in season 11 has fans wondering who Shekinah’s ex-husband and Sofie’s father is. Shekinah, from Los Angeles, managed to get Sarper Güven from Turkey to the U.S. on a K-1 visa to marry him. Shekinah and Sarper’s love story began on a dating app during her trip to Istanbul and blossomed over two seasons of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way. However, Sarper wasn’t quite liked by the audiences because of his controlling nature and anger issues.

Shekinah had moved to Turkey but kept going back to the U.S. every few weeks to see her daughter Sofie, who went to boarding school. Shekinah couldn’t really relocate to a new country entirely, so Sarper agreeing to come to America must have been a boon for the mother. Sarper was now tasked with getting Sofie to approve the marriage. Shekinah warned Sarper that if Sofie didn’t like him, she couldn’t marry someone her daughter didn’t like.

Shekinah Was Never Married Before Meeting Sarper

Sarper is Shekinah’s first legal husband. She was never married to the man she introduced in 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way as the dad to her only daughter. Shekinah and Berto met when she was just 23 years old. Shekinah remained with Berto for four years. However, he did regret not being in the U.S. for nine years and leaving Shekinah to raise the child by herself. Berto was in Costa Rica, where he was growing up. He owns a hotel there and Berto’s absence from their lives was a reason why his relationship with Shekinah had failed.

Did Sarper Meet Shekinah’s Daughter Sofie?

Shekinah and Berto have continued co-parenting Sofie. However, with Sarper coming to the U.S. to marry Shekinah, Sofie had a new stepdad. Moreover, Sofie, who had never met Sarper before, had already formed an opinion about him based on Shekinah’s sister Shariyah’s interaction with Sarper. Sofie agreed to meet Sarper on 90 Day Fiancé season 11 episode 9, and Sarper only had one chance to make a first impression. “I’m a father figure,” Sarper had said with confidence before meeting Sofie. Sarper had booked a whale-watching trip for them to take the pressure off the first meeting.

“I feel like I’d already seen him before because of all the pictures and like I already knew how he looked talked, but I also feel like I want to get to know him more as a person as well.”

However, Sofie had already decided that she wanted to see Sarper treat her mom with respect, as she knew that the way Sarper worded things affected his communication skills. The trip turned out to be a disaster since Sarper took Shekinah and Sofie to the outside of the deck to look for whales. They got splashed by a huge wave and were cold after that, with Sarper getting sea sick and embarrassed by how weak he looked before Shekinah’s daughter. In the end, Sarper apologized to Sofie for the terrible trip.

Sarper explained to Sofie that he was a “totally different man” when he met Shekinah and Shariyah. Sofie agreed and wished to get a fresh start so Sarper could prove himself to the family and create a better impression on everyone. Hearing Sarper take responsibility opened Sofie’s eyes to how he had changed and could change in the future. She hoped he wasn’t telling her what she wanted to hear and that he was being sincere and genuine.

Does Shekinah Have Any Other Kids?

Sofie is Shekinah’s only child. The Other Way, Sarper Guven revealed he has a secret son he has never met. He stated that the child, who is now around 25 years old, was born when Sarper was a teenager. Sarper wished to have more children, but Shekinah had spent her 20s raising a baby and didn’t want any more children. However, in October 2023, when a 90 Day Fiancé fan asked the couple if they wanted a wedding and children in the future, Sarper replied, “The main thing is putting [a] signature to [heart emoji]” and avoided the baby topic.