Fans of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? were left shocked, confused, and full of questions after the release of the Season 9 trailer completely omitted longtime couple Julia Trubkina and Brandon Gibbs despite their confirmed participation in the show and their ongoing drama-filled storyline which had already stirred intense speculation among viewers who quickly took to social media to voice their bewilderment and suspicions but behind this mysterious absence lies a whirlwind of deeply emotional events strained promises raw therapy sessions and heartbreaking loss that could explain why TLC deliberately kept Julia and Brandon in the shadows until the season’s biggest reveals unfold on-screen because their last appearance in 90 Day: The Last Resort Season 2 had already brought their troubled marriage into focus with therapy sessions that unearthed deep rifts and unresolved issues rooted in jealousy trust and miscommunication such as the infamous explosive party scene where Julia’s desire to dance with other cast members triggered Brandon to lash out in a moment of name-calling that stunned both castmates and fans as it laid bare the fragility of their relationship and the emotional wounds still unhealed from their tumultuous history yet as the episodes progressed the couple confronted their ghosts with unexpected honesty and found fragile common ground with Brandon acknowledging the need to treat his wife with more respect while Julia realized that her husband’s happiness required her to reconsider not just their present lifestyle but also their future as potential parents because in a rare emotional breakthrough Brandon committed to helping Julia bring her parents to the United States to alleviate her homesickness while Julia took the brave step of seeking fertility consultations to address her long-standing concerns about starting a family but while fans hoped this reconciliation would mark the start of a new era for the pair nothing could have prepared them for the shocking update that followed as mid-2025 brought devastating news with Julia publicly revealing the death of her beloved pet dog Simba whose passing left her heartbroken and emotionally shattered and while this might seem minor to outsiders longtime followers of Julia know how central Simba was to her emotional wellbeing and mental health and how his companionship had helped her navigate the loneliness and alienation she often felt after moving to the United States and adjusting to rural farm life with Brandon’s family so when Simba passed away it wasn’t just the loss of a pet but the collapse of a cornerstone of her emotional support system and fans suspect this heartbreak may have significantly delayed production or altered the narrative arc of her and Brandon’s story leading TLC to withhold them from the official trailers perhaps out of respect or as a strategic move to preserve the surprise drama but that didn’t stop the rumors from spiraling out of control as the absence of Julia and Brandon in the promotional teasers—especially while other high-drama couples like Jasmine and Gino Jovi and Yara Darcy and Georgi and even newcomer duo Tiger and Lely received ample screen time—fueled theories that perhaps Julia and Brandon had either left the show entirely or suffered a catastrophic off-screen fallout but all of that speculation was upended in late June 2025 when Julia herself broke her silence posting a cryptic photo of her and Brandon accompanied by a caption that stunned fans: “No spoilers about our story what we shared with you and what we went through” an ominous and tantalizing message that only heightened the mystery around their absence while simultaneously confirming that their story was not only still alive but possibly the most dramatic and emotional of all and not long after Brandon added fuel to the fire by sharing the official promotional poster for Season 9 along with a statement that their journey would continue in what he called “the most intimate and dramatic chapter of our lives” a statement that left many wondering whether we are about to witness a transformative redemption arc or the heartbreaking unraveling of a couple that has fought hard but perhaps not hard enough to make it work and the lack of spoilers or advance footage speaks volumes in a franchise known for dangling every ounce of drama it can to draw in viewers so if TLC is keeping Julia and Brandon’s arc this tightly under wraps it likely means we’re in for a seismic development one that may include a long-awaited family reunion with Julia’s parents arriving in America a surprise pregnancy or even the revelation of a major betrayal that could threaten to undo all the healing they’ve done thus far and with Season 9 already shaping up to be one of the most star-packed emotional and conflict-driven installments of Happily Ever After in years fans now know to keep their eyes on Julia and Brandon not despite their absence from the trailers but because of it as their silence may very well be the calm before a storm that changes the entire trajectory of their relationship and once again proves that in the chaotic rollercoaster of love on 90 Day Fiancé the most dramatic stories are often the ones that don’t scream for attention but wait silently in the wings ready to explode onto center stage.