BELOW DECK SY JL admits he’s the father of Dani’s baby
When we witnessed Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux and Dani Soares while filming Below Deck: Sailing Yacht in the Mediterranean, no one saw a tense paternity scandal coming. After a great deal of strife and putting off a paternity test, Jean-Luc has revealed that he is, indeed, the father of Dani’s baby Lilly Rose.
Jean-Luc buried the news in a rambling Instagram caption next to a photo of his back. He said, “I’m happy and proud to say Sweet and beautiful Lilly rose is my daughter.”
Below is JL’s caption in full:
“As the year 2021 came to a close. A new year in 2022 begins with high ambitions and positivity. My silence on social media has been intentional and much needed. I used that time to focus on what was important to me and my mental health.
I can’t let 2022 go any further without sharing some beautiful news. An international DNA test that was done awhile ago was no small feat. I’m happy and proud to say Sweet and beautiful Lilly rose is my daughter. Dani and I have been working and communicating together to the best of our ability; given Dani is a full time mother and worker, and I being gone for extended periods of time not knowing when I will step back on land. This is imperative for the sake of our daughter as she needs both parents in her life.
With that being said, going forward, I will no longer feel the need to explain myself to anybody, when realizing people only understand from their level of perception.
I am thankful for my friends, and family who have stuck by my side through thick and thin. As I look forward to this new year with new opportunities, I will be striving to be the best man and father that I can be. God bless.”
Even though JL and Dani were really into each other while working together and taping the show, they did have some problems over their age difference and Dani’s desire to settle down and start a family. Dani was 33, but Jean-Luc was 25 and seemed scared of that level of commitment. Still, the couple decided to throw caution to the wind and have unprotected sex, with Dani saying that if she got pregnant it was “God’s will.”
At the reunion, Dani says she found out she was pregnant shortly after returning home to Australia, and since Jean-Luc was the only person she says she had been with in the time frame, she knew it was his baby. However, a severe breakdown of communication happened between them. Jean-Luc wasn’t sure it was his baby but refused to get a paternity test for a while, and the fact that they were so far away from each other further complicated matter. JL also failed to show up for the show’s Zoom reunion show, but host Andy Cohen was able to get him on a call for a one-on-one conversation where he opened up further about the possibility that he was a father.
