Dani Soares has certainly been on a rollercoaster journey since her turn as the second stew on Season 2 of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht. A hot-n-heavy boatmance simmered between her and fellow castmate Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux on the show that was followed shortly by a shocking pregnancy announcement. It was later revealed during the reunion show that despite Soares’ insistence that the baby was Cerza-Lanaux’s, he still wanted a paternity test. The challenges apparently have continued for Soares and her now-7-month-old daughter, both of whom unfortunately caught COVID-19 at the same time.
The reality star is based in Australia, a country which was under strict COVID-19 lockdown protocols in 2021. Their "no travelers allowed in or out" rule was supposedly what made a paternity test unfeasible for Dani Soares’ baby. Their borders were eventually opened back up in mid-December, but things quickly took a turn for the worse during Soares’ first Christmas with her daughter Lilly. The Below Deck castmate shared to the Daily Mail Australia,
Having Covid together and being sick was very challenging. Lilly got it from childcare and passed it on to me. My whole body hurt and I suffer from migraines as well and I had one on the worst day. I can only imagine how Lilly felt. She wanted to be held at all times and I couldn't blame her because I would want the same.
The list of celebrities catching COVID appears to be ever-growing now that the Omicron variant is spreading. But for Dani Soares, testing positive with her kiddo came on top of having a lot of struggles as a single mom in another country. She shared that Lilly had trouble breastfeeding and then later resisted taking a bottle, forcing Soares to juggle work with continual tripes to the childcare area so she could breastfeed still.
Things are looking up, though. The 33-year-old Below Deck: Sailing Yacht alum revealed to the outlet that the two of them are “almost 100 percent” after their bouts of COVID, with Lilly only coughing “a little bit” still. Her baby daughter is also now finally taking from a bottle and eating some solid foods. Currently, Soares is working part-time as a beauty therapist whilst going to nursing school full-time. She stated:
I have two more years of study and I should graduate at the end of 2023. It will be very challenging for the next two years studying full time and working part time, but it's just that push so we can have a better more stable life. I'm focusing on giving my baby the best life I possibly can and that will come after all the hard work.
It is still unknown if Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux finally got that paternity test and if he is indeed the father of Dani Soares’ baby. After saying his own piece about the situation back in June, Cerza-Lanaux’s social media accounts have been left completely defunct. Meanwhile, there have been no pictures or indications of reconciliation between the two on Soares’ own accounts. But she did, in fact, leave the door open for him to be a part of the baby's life in the future.
With 2021 now officially in the past, hopefully Dani Soares and her child will see a more peaceful year ahead. The same can’t exactly be expected for her Below Deck franchise co-stars and their ever-present drama…
