Messy, messy, messy. That’s the best way to summarize how the second season of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht played out last year. Co-stars Dani Soares and Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux started up an on-screen romance that resulted in — shocker of all shockers — a baby being conceived as filming wrapped. Cerza-Lanaux later suggested at the reunion that he might not be the father, and that he'd been wanting a paternity test for some time, only to have his paternity eventually confirmed. Now, the show’s Captain Glenn Shephard has offered up the latest in that situation for curious fans.
Captain Glenn returned for the Season 3 of the Bravo reality series Below Deck: Sailing Yacht, which is still in the midst of airing. Dani Soares and Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux decidedly did not go for a round two, which is understandable given how a real-life child (born in April of 2021) is now in the mix. But it also means there haven’t been many publicly reported follow-ups on how the former boatmancers are co-parenting nowadays. According to the good captain, though, the dynamic remains relatively the same in terms of geography, with Cerza-Lanaux still not living near the baby nor her mother in Australia. He said to Us Weekly:
I know that [Jean-Luc] has some involvement now with [his and Dani’s] baby. I heard that he’s setting up a college fund and that he talks to her regularly on zoom because they’re far apart. [Dani is] in Australia and his boat is in the states. He has to keep working obviously and I don’t think he can go to Australia and start a job.
Previously, Dani Soares had shared with fans and followers the many hardships she was facing as a single mother in a country on lockdown. Such troubles obviously compounded further when she and her daughter Lilly caught COVID-19 together over the Christmas holidays. Still, the last we'd heard about them was in February, when their Below Deck: Sailing Yacht castmates blasted Cerza-Lanaux for his lack of action on their living situation, in their estimations. It’s a sentiment Captain Glenn has echoed too of late, adding to the outlet,
I was asking someone what’s his involvement because it’s been a while. Personally, I think he should do more. But I don’t know all the details. I’m not that close with them so I can’t really speak to it.
In the wake of the initial backlash over how he handled the baby’s paternity, Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux has largely steered clear of further commenting on such things online. What we have seen on his Instagram are various pictures from his work travels instead — from Costa Rica to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. For her part, Dani Soares hasn't been saying much about the father of her child anymore either, as she continues to pursue a shift from the yachting life to attaining a degree in nursing.
Many Bravo viewers were led to believe that Season 3 of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht was about to see a different kind of drama from last year resurface. In other words, it looked like bosun Gary King might be taking up a romance with chief stew Daisy Kelliher, who was/is best friends with Ali Dore, King’s ex-boatmance from Season 2. Alas, their situation didn’t turn out to be much more than a drunken smooch.
Regardless, the latest update about Below Deck babygate from Captain Glenn proves that he has a bit more shade in him than his easy-going show persona lets on. Already, we learned his blunt thoughts on those primary guests this season leaving the lowest tip in the franchise’s history, and now he’s hinting that Jean-Luc could step up to be a better dad? Yowza.
Stay tuned for what more transpires on the remaining episodes of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht airing on Mondays, 8 p.m. EST on Bravo! And check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are on the way soon.
