Note: Thais’ first name has various spellings online, but for the purpose of clarity, this article only uses “Thais,” which is the spelling used in the titles on 90 Day Fiancé.
Thais Ramone, the Brazilian national whose relationship with the American citizen Patrick Mendes (who is also of Brazilian descent) has been featured on several seasons of 90 Day Fiancé, recently discussed gaining a visa to work in the U.S. on the season eight tell-all of Happily Ever After.
In a discussion with Manuel Velez, a season eight alum and fellow Latin American immigrant (who hails from Ecuador), both Thais and Patrick were critical of Manuel’s wife, Ashley Michelle, and her slowness in helping her husband obtain a working visa in the U.S., which the Brazilian-American couple argued was a swift process.
Thais and Patrick stated that it took less than 24 hours for Thais’ work permit to be processed when the mother-of-one became eligible for the visa. While Patrick also discussed how his job in home security means he frequently travels for work, what Thais does for a living hasn’t been as prominently featured in the reality franchise.
Patrick’s job was a source of tension when Thais first arrived in the U.S.
Patrick and Thais first appeared on season 9 of 90 Day Fiancé, after initially meeting when Patrick visited his father, who was living in Brazil. After the pair got engaged and Thais was allowed to come to the U.S. on a k-1 fiancé visa, the two faced tensions over Patrick’s finances. As Thais could not work in the country during the k-1 stage of her visa, she wanted to know more details about what Patrick did for a living and his finances, as he would be her sole source of income for the three months she was permitted to stay in the country.
Patrick was reluctant to get candid about his finances, however. He simply stated he makes “enough,” which frustrated Thais, who believed that as his potential spouse uprooting her whole life to emigrate, she had a right to know — especially as visa applications can be incredibly expensive. For his part, Patrick harbored suspicions about a prospective wife inquiring about his income, fearing she might marry him for financial reasons.
However, the two were able to put this argument behind them, marrying soon after and welcoming a daughter, with Thais earning her own visa granting her with the right to work in the U.S.
What does Thais do for work?
As a cast member on 90 Day Fiancé, Thais would be allowed a salary of approximately $1,000-$1,500 an episode. However, as she wasn’t a fully-fledged American citizen during season nine, she probably wouldn’t have been paid due to visa restrictions, although Patrick would have been paid. For Happily Ever After season eight, however, the couple would have both been entitled to a salary, bagging up to $60,000 for around 20 episodes.
Before emigrating to the U.S., Thais worked as a model in her home country of Brazil. By her own accounts, she was quite a jack-of-all-trades, taking on various gig jobs.
“I was working with my dad at his company! But I’ve worked on 1000 things,” Thaís told her followers via her Instagram Stories in March 2023 (obtained via In Touch Weekly). “Receptionist, saleswoman, sang in bars, model, salon, political advisory, newspaper, theater, hosted television and more … I just liked being young, hardworking. [sic]”
Since her arrival in the U.S., in addition to being a reality TV star, Thais can now add businesswoman to her resume. She launched her own line of bikinis, named By Thais Ramone, which she marketed on her Instagram page.
“I’ve always wanted to bring a unique product from Brazil made especially for you as a customer and fan that I care so much about,” Thais wrote on her website in 2022 (via Yahoo!), although she hasn’t posted any new items from the fashion range as of late, seeming to prefer other new business ventures. The launch of the brand that year is likely around the same point the reality star was able to begin earning her own income in the U.S.
In more recent months, she has promoted haircare products to her 315,000 Instagram followers (as of August 2024). She also posts a lot of paid spon-con (sponsored content) from various companies, taking home some undisclosed sponsorship fees for her efforts.
Outside of Instagram, Thais offers paid video messages on Cameo, charging fans $59 per video, as does her husband Patrick.