Following a growing response from fans and critics, “90 Day Fiancé” Season 12 star Catie Norboe sat down with Sarah Fraser of The Sarah Fraser Show to discuss everything the TLC series didn’t touch on, from her obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) to her latest bombshell– a potential open marriage with fiancé Josh Atkins.
Here’s a recap of what Catie shared on the podcast episode:
On Her OCD Diagnosis and Online Criticism:
As The Ashley previously reported, Catie has received a mix response from OCD specialists across the country since making her “90 Day Fiancé” debut. While the OCD Institute of Texas claimed that Catie was incorrectly portraying her condition on TV, the International OCD Foundation blamed TLC for how Catie’s behavior was edited.
Catie reiterated on the podcast that she does have an official OCD diagnosis and that she continues to receive treatment from NOCD, despite her public status. When asked how she felt about the responses she’s received from OCD organizations online, Catie admitted it was “disappointing” to see professionals comment ignorantly.
“I think it’s hard because I feel like as a clinician, you’re not supposed to diagnose what you see on TV,” Catie said. “ […] It was really disappointing because everyone’s OCD looks different, mine is a certain way and they don’t see every minute of my life [or] in my struggle with OCD because that might be boring to put on reality TV. It’s a lot of internal thoughts and a lot of mind loops.
“I was surprised that they would comment on what they saw on reality TV and try to– like, it felt like they were diagnosing me or discounting my OCD,” she continued. “That’s really frustrating because it’s something I really struggle with and, I don’t know, it’s just very disappointing.”
On How Her Religious Upbringing Contributed to Her OCD Symptoms:
On a recent episode of “90 Day Fiancé,” fans met Catie’s family, who are all staunchly Lutheran. Catie’s family’s religion has caused somewhat of a rift between her and Josh, as Josh doesn’t want to convert to Lutheranism or raise his and Catie’s future children in the religion.
While the topic of religion has come up in her relationship, Catie revealed on the podcast that her religious upbringing has also contributed to her overthinking and the “mind loops” she experiences as a result of her OCD.
“For [my] OCD, I feel like I have to prove that everything is 100 percent correct, like this needs to be 100 percent,” she explained. “With religion, it’s a faith-based thing and you can’t prove it. Growing up, I’d be like, ‘Oh, I need to prove that God’s real. Otherwise, what’s happening in the world?’
“I’d spend hours Googling if God is real, like, what’s the proof, and it would keep me up all night or I’d literally go into the bathroom and Google stuff and my boyfriend at the time would be like, ‘Why are you spending so much time on your phone or staring at the wall?’” Catie continued. “I just have to prove it and then I can move on. So, those are my kind of compulsions.”
Catie said she also has repeated thoughts about unknowingly hurting the people she loves, like accidentally hurting someone’s feelings and not being aware that she did it.
On Making Out with People, Drinking and OCD:
Catie claimed that her OCD is not as simple as “having OCD and then that makes [her] want to make out with someone.” Instead, she believes it’s more about “impulse control.”
“I was talking to my therapist about this recently and she was like, ‘Maybe you have ADHD and you should get tested for that because it’s more like impulse control,’” Catie recalled, before suggesting that it might not be impulse control, but rather intrusive thoughts, which prompt her to consume more alcohol.
“I think because of my intrusive thoughts, I tend to drink more when I’m in a high-stress situation, like the birthday party,” she said. “I don’t drink like that every time. Like, that is occasionally, but that was particularly bad. That is not how I am on, like, every Saturday night. That was ‘cause I was stressed ‘cause [my friend] Ryan was there and all my friends were there. [OCD] doesn’t make me make out with people, but it’s just when I get drunk, I get more flirty and then, my OCD kind of – like, to quiet my OCD thoughts, I like to drink more.”
Catie also claimed that she’s working to overcome her habit of using alcohol to “quiet her brain.”
“I think [I do have a problem with alcohol],” she said. “I don’t think it’s as bad as people say it is online, but I definitely don’t drink every day. I don’t crave alcohol, but like, when I’m in a social situation, I tend to drink and drink and drink and have a hard time stopping.”
Catie aims to make her “relationship with alcohol more stable,” so that she can drink comfortably and be able to stop before going too far. She also said that since filming the show, she has switched her medications and feels more in control of her alcohol use than in the past.
“My goal is to not get out of control and blackout drunk, and [to] just drink less overall,” she concluded.
On How TLC Misrepresented Her Character on “90 Day Fiancé”:
Catie said the biggest misrepresentation of her on the show was her wild behavior when drinking, particularly during her birthday. While she believes the show misconstrued the reality of her situation with her OCD and drinking, she admits that her behavior is embarrassing in hindsight.
“I did watch the scene back and it’s not good to see yourself blackout drunk,” she said. “It’s so cringe. That party on-screen lasted, like, I don’t know, 10 minutes? In reality, it was six hours and, like, I was doing that. I was partying that hard. It’s so bad to watch back.”
She also said that a common critique she’s seen online is that she “has all the STDs” or that she “f**ks everyone,” which she insists is categorically false.
“[People] say, ‘You’ve had sex with a million people!’ Like, no, I don’t even have sex with these people,’” she said. “Since me and Josh have been exclusive, I have not had sex with anybody else. It’s just something about dancing and kissing and being flirty, I just really like that.”
While many fans have the impression that her life is out of control, Catie maintains that she has her life together.
“ … I work, I get stuff done, and I am a responsible adult,” she said.
On Her Proposed Open Marriage:
This week’s episode of “90 Day Fiancé” featured Catie’s bachelorette party, during which she floated the idea of an open marriage to her friends. Catie said that she didn’t like the idea of only making out with one man for the rest of her life, but also said she’d feel jealous if Josh explored his end of the open relationship. Despite this conundrum, Catie said her proposal was completely serious as she “doesn’t want the door to be closed” for future romantic opportunities.
“Right now, maybe we don’t need [an open relationship], but in the future, what if we’re bored?” Catie asked. “What if you have a crush on someone? I’d rather have you talk about it with me than keep it to yourself.”
Catie said she believes having an open relationship would encourage open and honest communication between her and Josh instead of fostering resentment because they’re bored. As for Josh, he was very much opposed to Catie’s open-marriage concept during Sunday’s episode of “90 Day Fiancé.”
New episodes of “90 Day Fiancé” air Sundays on TLC. Watch Catie’s full interview on ‘The Sarah Fraser Show’ below.
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