Karine Martins Launches GoFundMe to Regain Custody of Children She Shares with Ex Paul Staehle; Confirms Pregnant with Third Child
Former 90 Day Fiance star Karine Martins is asking fans for donations to help her fight to regain custody of the two children she shares with ex Paul Staehle, while also confirming that she is currently expecting her third child.
As The Ashley previously told you, Paul and Karine had their two sons, Ethan and Pierre, removed from their care in 2022 and as of June 2023, the boys were in the care of Paul’s cousin. Paul claimed in March 2024 that Karine hadn’t seen the children since late 2023 and that he hadn’t seen the boys himself since the summer of 2022.
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While Paul has reportedly been living in Brazil for some time, Karine has been living and working in Kentucky and, according to her, she is still working to reunite with her children.
This week, Karine launched a GoFundMe (with a goal of $50,000) to fight to “regain custody of my kids.” The former TLC star explained that she’s turned to accepting donations “out of desperation and as a last resort,” claiming that Paul’s cousin is demanding from her an amount of child support that she is unable to pay.
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“ … Paul’s cousin, who I have always offered everything I could to help my children, declined because she owns a very large interstate construction company and told me she didn’t need [the money],” Karine explained on her GoFundMe page. “Now she has demanded child support, which is over 50 percent of my income. I work part-time at UPS and attend college using the UPS program at JCC.”
Karine said she is being asked to pay more than $1,000 a month in child support and that she also has to pay nearly $400 a week to see her children at a supervised facility. In addition, Karine claims that the family court lawyer she’s been working with “now wants $5,000 a month,” telling fans her “daily and monthly living expenses are overwhelming.”
While explaining the reasons for her financial issues, Karine confirmed on the GoFundMe page that she’s currently expecting her third child, telling fans that, due to a new law in Kentucky, her baby may be taken from her at birth. (According to “90 Day Fiance” blogger John Yates, Karine’s boyfriend Michael is the father of this baby, NOT Paul.)
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“ … a new law is about to go into effect in KY, Kentucky House Bill 574, which will allow the government to take my newborn baby after she is born and not allow me around her unsupervised,” Karine wrote. “I breastfeed my children, and this is a huge problem for me. I know I have made many mistakes in my past, but I love all my children and want to be with them.”
Karine concluded her GoFundMe message by telling fans that if she’s unable to pay her monthly child support, she may be arrested, which would hinder her court application for citizenship and residency and potentially result in her being deported. In the event that this were to happen, Karine said she would have to get a federal lawyer to “fight to allow my children to return with me to their home country of Brazil, where they were born.”
“This would never happen in Brazil,” Karine added. “I am so confused. They treat me so hostile because I am not American.”
Currently, Karine has raised less than $1,000 through her GoFundMe.
As fans of “90 Day Fiance” may remember, this isn’t the first time Karine has turned to GoFundMe in an attempt to raise money to regain custody of her children.
Back in 2022, Karine launched an online fundraiser titled, “Lawyer to get my kids back,” where she told fans she was not being given an opportunity to get her kids back “because I am Brazilian.” She further stated in the description for the fundraiser that she’s an immigrant from Brazil whose “two Brazilian children were taken from [me] by American CPS because me and my husband argued in front of our children.”
Karine also stated on her previous GoFundMe page that, despite being compliant with CPS for nearly a year, she was only allowed to see her children once a week during a one- or two-hour supervised visit.
“Please help me to hire a lawyer and fight for my rights to have an opportunity to get my children back,” she wrote.
Karine’s GoFundMe from 2022 appears to still be active, with the most recent donation being made in early 2025. Her goal for the previous GoFundMe is set at $10,000, of which she has raised nearly $7,000.