Bárbara Kulaif, Jess Theron, and Solène Favreau experienced a messy love triangle during Below Deck Season 12. To recap, Bárbara liked Jess. Thankfully, Jess also liked Bárbara, alongside a side serving of Solène. And, what about Solène? Well, Solène liked many people, including Jess.
While Bárbara and Solène were never romantic, they did grow close as Below Deck Season 12 progressed. But after Jess started making out with both Bárbara and Solène, their friendship experienced a slight rattling. It’s hard to call someone a friend when they keep trying to steal moments with your all-too-willing partner, after all.
But now that their cameras have gone dark, where do these three ladies stand? Have Jess and Bárbara broken up, and if so, did Jess return to Solène? And what about the friendship between Bárbara and Solène? Now, thanks to a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, where Bárbara just appeared, we can go ahead and answer these questions.
Are Below Deck’s Jess and Bárbara still together?
During Episode 6, Jess kissed Solène. But Solène was already kissing Kyle Stillie. So, when Bárbara expressed an interest in Jess, Jess went all in on Bárbara instead. However, Solène lingered in the background, and during a stay in a private villa, Jess caved and messed around with Solène in her secluded bathroom.
Afterwards, Solène kept up her flirtations with Kyle. She also kissed Fraser Olender, just for fun. Several weeks later, Damo Yorg, another deckie trying to yank Solène into his arms during their last handful of days on Below Deck Season 12, also entered this chat. And all of these interactions made Jess reevaluate her hookup sessions with Solène.
So, Jess asked Bárbara for a second chance. Shockingly, Bárbara relented. Shortly after, she and Jess became an official item. It was all so very messy and frustrating to watch.
But, as Bárbara recently clarified, she and Jess are no longer an item. They split after their cameras went down. Additionally, Bárbara now regrets giving Jess that second chance during filming, a sentiment that she explained in detail on WWHL. And yes, color us unshocked by everything that Bárbara revealed.
What did Bárbara catch Jess and Solène doing in a hotel room?
After Episode 15 aired, Bárbara appeared on WWHL. While here, host Andy Cohen joked about the Solène-ness of it all. Then, he laughed, asking, “Lez get to the bottom of this budding relationship, okay?”
At first, his questions were easy. Rattling these answers off for our readers, Bárbara was not attracted to Jess at the start of filming. Also, she does not think that Jess has any game. And, oh yeah, she has met the woman that Jess has now been dating for well over a year.
Then, Bárbara turned shady, noting that this “lovely” girlfriend was the best part of that relationship. She also declared that Jess paired much better with Solène than her, “because they both need to grow up together.” Clearly, Bárbara has no love left for Jess or Solène. And now that she has just explained why, we can’t say that we blame her.
“Jess and Solène, they f*cked up with me after filming,” Bárbara began, making it known that she has since “blocked them” both. When Andy asked what these ladies did to warrant her frustrations, Bárbara explained, “After filming, we were at the hotel in Saint Martin. And I went to Jess’s hotel room, because we were supposedly together. And we had a fight because, in my mind, [Jess and Solène] still have a thing” going on.
Bárbara went back to her room. The next day, the crew started flying back to their home countries. But, while making her way to her assigned sprinter van, Jess opened her door, and inside, Bárbara saw a very naked Solène. “Well, there you go,” Bárbara ended.
Bárbara seemed over the love triangle drama on Watch What Happens Live
As things stand, Bárbara is no longer close with Solène. Instead, these former friends are now acquaintances. Like Bárbara said on WWHL, Solène still does not understand that she “f*cked up.” And her inability to see how greatly she screwed up, well, that is something that Bárbara can no longer tolerate.
As Andy chatted with Bárbara, her disdain for this season-long storyline was clear. After filming, Jess is happy, Solène remains oblivious, and Bárbara is over everything. SAME, BÁRBARA. Below Deck turned into a careless version of The Love Boat this season, all thanks, in part, to this storyline from hell.
Bárbara should have come in and nailed her first season on Below Deck. She works hard, and her patience with Solène, a new, very green stew, was far better than anyone else’s, complete with responses that were (mostly) way kinder than anything Solène ever deserved. In looking at the bigger picture, Bárbara had all of the makings for a Below Deck returnee. Until this love triangle got inside her adorable head, that is.
But now, Bárbara is leaving this series with a broken, yet healing, heart. And instead of detailing her incredible work ethic, we are still talking about a sneaky link named Solène, alongside her easily tempted fling, Jess.
Below Deck is streaming on Peacock and Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – ARE YOU SHOCKED THAT NONE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS REMAINED INTACT?
