'90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way' Sneak Peek: Steven Recaps His Love Story with Russian Fiancé Alina

"She didn't even want to meet up with me because she was afraid that I was going to sell her organs," he says

The third season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way is bringing back fan-favorite couples — but viewers will also get to meet a few of the franchise's newest additions.

In PEOPLE's exclusive look at Sunday's premiere episode, newcomer Steven from Salt Lake City shares how he met and fell in love with Alina, who is originally from Russia.

Steven, 25, is a devout Mormon whose faith is "superbly important" to him. At 19, he was called to go on a mission and wound up living in Eastern Europe for two years. He met Alina, 20, during that time on a language exchange app.

"I learned to speak Russian [while living abroad]. I'm super grateful that I did learn it, because I have Alina," he says in the clip.

"I started helping her English a little bit and she's helping me with Russian," he continues. "From the very get-go, we are kind of interested in each other. So I said something kind of flirty like, 'Can I have your number?' That kind of a thing. We started calling each other every day. And since then, we haven't stopped."

Upon learning Steven is a Mormon, he recalls Alina being "super nervous" to meet him because the religion is seen as "a cult" in Russia.

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way
Discovery+

"She didn't even want to meet up with me because she was afraid that I was going to sell her organs," he says. "I decided to invite her mom, invite my mom. Maybe I convinced her like, 'Hey, like, I'm not gonna harvest your organs, I'm not gonna kidnap you. Your mom will be there,' which is kind of silly. I feel like it'd be just as easy to kidnap two people, but it made her comfortable and then she agreed."

Reflecting on their first time meeting, Steven says: "She comes out of the elevator, we make eye contact and I run up and I hug her. And it seems like something off a movie where like, [we're] instantly connected."

On this season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Steven and Alina encounter many obstacles throughout their journey together.

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"When the Russian border closes because of the coronavirus pandemic, Steven and Alina come up with a backup plan to meet up and marry in Turkey instead," a description from TLC reads. "Once there, secrets of Steven's past and Alina's suspicions of infidelity begin to threaten their future together, and Alina questions if she truly knows the man she's about to marry."

Fans will also get to see the return of Kenneth, 58 (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Armando, 32 (Mexico), Jenny, 63 (Palm Springs, Ca.) and Sumit, 33 (India), Ariela, 29 (Princeton, N.J.) and Biniyam, 31 and Corey, 34 (Mill A, Wa.) and Evelin, 28 (Ecuador). Newcomers Ellie, 45 (Seattle, Wa.) and Victor, 38 (Colombia) will also appear.

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way returns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.

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