Thanks, I Hate It
'Below Deck Down Under' second officer João Franco and his girlfriend have been together for more than 1 year.
Published on September 17, 2023
2 min readBelow Deck Down Under second officer João Franco said his girlfriend wasn’t a yachtie when they met. Instead, they started dating and she got into yachting.
Franco recently offered some insight into his relationship with girlfriend Domi Tiesi, especially in light of his short-lived boatmance with chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph.
“Fun fact – we actually met through Tinder in Mallorca,” he captioned a photo on Instagram. “Another fun fact – she did not know what yachting was before we met. And another – we both did not want to be in relationships when we met! And here we are. One more – We’ve already traveled to 33 countries together!!”
Franco and Mace-Ralph had a boatmance when he joined the Below Deck Down Under Season 2 crew in spring 2022. Tiesi initially showed up on Franco’s Instagram timeline during the summer of 2022, after his Below Deck season ended. The couple marked a year of dating in June 2023.
João Franco from ‘Below Deck Down Under’ and his girlfriend have worked together
Tiesi may be new to yachting, but she seems to share Franco’s passion for the industry. She definitely shared his love of travel and posted photos throughout Europe long before she met Franco.
In April 2023, she was working in yachting, but on land. “New country, new job, new office,” she wrote. “Based on land for the next 3 month then off to sea.”
By May, she was working on a boat alongside Franco. She posted a photo of the couple in their crew uniforms. “First trip is done! Hard work but so glad we get to do this together.”
João Franco and his girlfriend have been together for more than a year
Tiesi posted a sweet tribute on Instagram when the couple celebrated being together for a year. “1 YEAR ** I fell for you so quick and so strong, there was no turning back even after the first week and I feel the same way now,” she captioned a series of photos.
“I never thought a year can pass by so quickly. If you love every moment of it, it just flies by… we have traveled to over 20 countries, lived in 2 and are now exploring the seas together working side by side. I love you and our adventures and can’t wait for all the years to come.”
She also marked the couple’s six-month anniversary and Tiesi posted a photo marking the milestone.
Franco first appeared on Tiesi’s Instagram in July 2022. She captioned a series of photos, “A Saturday to remember.” By October, she had visited Franco’s family in Zimbabwe and the couple planned to travel to South Africa.
What happened between João and Chef Tzarina on ‘Below Deck’?
Franco and his girlfriend met after he filmed Below Deck Down Under Season 2, which means his boatmance with Mace-Ralph fizzled quickly.
Of course, the relationship was already put on ice after she referred to him as “fake” during their anticlimactic date. But do they end up leaving the boat as friends or foes? They don’t follow one another on Instagram, so do they have a confrontation before the season ends?
The Below Deck Down Under Season 2 finale airs on Monday at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
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