There was a lot of confusion after Below Deck: Sailing Yacht’s Season 2 reunion concerning the baby that castmate Dani Soares was soon going to give birth to. Well, Soares wasn't confused – she knew her co-star Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux was the father, but she stated he wanted nothing to do with the child. Conversely, he claimed that he just wanted a paternity test to make sure. Cerza-Lanaux's paternity of baby girl Lilly was finally confirmed just recently but, not long after, Soares seemingly shaded him on social media.
After the bombshell reunion in June, Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux went silent on his own social media accounts. But he broke the hiatus on Instagram to reveal that an “international DNA test” was completed and that he was “happy and proud” to say that the baby was indeed his. The Below Deck: Sailing Yacht deckhand also would indicate that co-parenting efforts were still in-progress because of how they both work in different countries, with Cerza-Lanaux at sea for “extended periods of time.”
Dani Soares made no public statement about the positive paternity test. However, in an Instagram post just a few days after the father of her child, the former second stew celebrated raising her daughter over the past eight months as a single mom – with name drops of who was there to support her along the way. And Jean-Luc didn't make the cut. The Below Deck star shared a smiling pic of her baby and wrote:
The new Below Deck Sailing season is just around the corner and I would like to take this chance to thank some of my fellow crew from season 2 who supported me in every way I needed and without whom I don't think I could've made: @allidoreporfavor @parlayrevival_colin @daisykelliher87 @living_vicariously_through_me
The Bravo alum added in the post that “Life is better with friends.” It's reading like a snub, given that Jean-Luc's name is left out of her co-star support system list, which includes nearly the entire Season 2 cast as it stands. Still, if that's the case and she was shading her ex-hookup, it's not entirely surprising. After they left things on such a sour note at the reunion, the star has been documenting her solo struggles as a first-time mom online, including her difficult breastfeeding journey and later catching COVID-19 alongside her daughter. (Jean-Luc’s name wasn't in those posts, either.)
At least the official paternity is out there in the open – for those who didn't do the math of the Sailing Yacht season. Since giving birth, though, Dani Soares has retired from the high seas and drama and is currently going to school to become a nurse whilst working full time in Australia.
Not so surprisingly, Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux is also not returning to the franchise for another stint. Instead, Season 3 of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht will see only alums Daisy, Colin, Gary and Captain Glenn, with a bunch of newcomers. Someone might want to warn the green crew to avoid entanglements on board – as we know, it can sometimes get a little confusing. Check out the new season when it premieres on Bravo on February 21 at 9 p.m. EST!
