Despite weathering several ebbs and flows — and several messy love triangles, in between — Jess Theron and Bárbara Kulaif’s relationship definitively hit the rocks after filming wrapped on Below Deck.
Following Season 12’s penultimate episode, Bárbara revealed that she and Jess are no longer together during a Sept. 8 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. The stew first signaled trouble in paradise to host Andy Cohen when she admitted to regretting giving Jess another chance amid the latter’s on-and-off situationship with Solène Favreau.
“I don’t regret anything from my life, but my therapy isn’t proud of me,” Bárbara quipped on WWHL.
As it turns out, she blocked both Jess and Solène very soon after cameras stopped rolling, after an incident in which the latter duo “f–ked up” with her. According to Bárbara, the breakup occurred while they were all staying at a hotel on Sint Maarten after disembarking St. David.
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“I went to Jess’ hotel room, because we were supposedly together, and we had a fight because, in my mind, they still had a thing, she said. “I wasn’t wrong, by the way.”
After the dustup, Bárbara returned to her own room for the night. The next morning, she and her castmates were loading their belongings into vans that happened to be parked outside of Jess’ room. That’s when she got the stunning confirmation she needed: “Jess just opened the door and she left with Solène — and Solène was naked.”
Where Bárbara Kulaif stands with Jess Theron and Solène Favreau today
In the time that’s elapsed since then, Bárbara has at least made some progress in her friendships with Jess and Solène, though they’re nowhere near as close as they were on Below Deck.
Despite blocking her in the immediate aftermath of Season 12, Bárbara has since met Jess’ new girlfriend, Katie.
“I think she’s the best part of the relationship,” Bárbara added on WWHL, shading her ex. “She’s lovely, she’s a really lovely girl.”
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When it comes to Solène (aka Soso), she noted that they “were really good friends” on St. David, but that tight bond was broken after the “f–ked up” moment with her on Sint Maarten. Â
“I think nobody’s surprised,” Bárbara said. “We keep in touch. I think she really thinks we are still good friends — and maybe we are good friends — but friends I would never bring home to parents.”
Ultimately, though, she thought Solène was a “100 percent” a better match for Jess than she was, concluding, “They both need to grow up together.”
Jess Theron responds to Bárbara Kulaif’s WWHL comments
After Bárbara’s WWHL appearance, Jess shared her side of the story in a reddit comment. As viewers might recall, Jess called her loved ones on Below Deck Episode 15 to let them know she planned on traveling to New York with Bárbara when the charter season ended, rather than immediately return home.
“Barbara ended things right after cameras stopped filming,” Jess wrote on Sept. 9. “It upset me and we fought, she ignored me and cancelled our plans to go to New York together. Whatever I do after she ended things was none of her business.”
Jess also claimed to have “receipts and messages” to back her version of events.
“However I don’t believe getting into this on live television is anyway to go about it,” she continued. “I am very happy with my girlfriend, and that’s enough for me tbh.”
As you await the Season 12 finale, don’t miss the latest update on recent Below Deck romances and hookups.
