David isn't letting his age deter him or the fact that he doesn't have any combat experience.
During a special episode of 90 Day Diaries on Monday, the 90 Day Fiancé spinoff focused on how the crisis in Ukraine is affecting some of the franchise's most memorable cast members. In addition to sharing the touching story of how Natalie was able to take care of her mother by getting her to safety in Poland, Yara doing what she can to help her loved ones and Caesar's ex, Maria, alarmingly showing her life in Kyiv, cameras also followed David, who was formerly engaged to Lana from Ukraine.
Although the two had a shaky engagement that ended when he said they stopped communicating after he stopped giving her money, David said he was able to connect with her to check on her amid the crisis. The 63-year-old Las Vegas native said she was currently in hiding.
"Since the war broke out, Lana and I have been able to get in touch," he said. "She's amid all the bombs going off in Kyiv but the last time I heard, Lana's in hiding so I think she's OK. Right now, I won't fear for the worst."
David, who spent three years in the army but doesn't have any combat experience, said he applied to be a foreign fighter for Ukraine. He was conditioning himself, going on runs and doing target training.
"Ukraine is like my second home," he told cameras. "I've talked to many friends who are over there, and it sickens me to see the destruction that is going on in cities that I know very well."
"I have a close connection to Ukraine, and I want to go help defend it," he continued. "I will not sit back and watch Ukraine get destroyed."
David wasn't letting his age deter him.
"I'm 63 years old and people say that's too old to fight. Is it really? " he asked. "To defend your country or to defend your land, is any age too old? I can certainly pick up a rifle to shoot. I do know that there's a huge risk that I could lose my life. But, I don't even think about it, really. That's how much I'm motivated to do this."
Not surprisingly, his close friends were against the idea. Still, David spent thousands of dollars to put together his own gear to fight in Ukraine. He didn't end up needing it however, since later, he shared that his application was denied by the Ukrainian Embassy because he didn't have any combat experience. David said he was now focusing on humanitarian aid and helping his close friends leave the country.
"That changes everything right now," he said, clearly disappointed. "I want to be there and help and now I can't."
During the tell-all special that aired in June 2020, David said that back in the '90s, before the dating websites, he used to receive catalogs in the mail with pictures of Ukrainian women and if he liked any of them, he could invite them to a "social" and travel to Ukraine to meet them. David said he'd been to Ukraine over 20 times to meet women, and estimated that he's talked to over 1,000 women. He said he'd spent $300,000 to a quarter of a million dollars in total over the years but didn't regret it, calling it an "amazing adventure."
On a recent episode of 90 Day Diaries, he said he was still looking for love on international dating sites and was chatting with a woman named Olga from Ukraine, though she's wasn't the only woman he was talking to.
"When you're doing this international thing, you've got to have multiple irons in the fire," he told his close friend, Jim. "So if this doesn't work then it's like, next, you know? It sounds like crazy guys who do this, but, girls can do it too."
"If I was dating women here, would I be dating five or six women at the same time? Oh, of course not," he added to cameras. "But when you're talking online, you have to."
In March, 90 Day Fiancé star Loren talked to ET about how the crisis was affecting her husband, Alexei, who grew up in Ukraine. Watch the video below.
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