The Most Interesting Below Deck Romances Happen Off-Screen — Solène Favreau Proves Just That

The latest drama on Below Deck Season 12 isn’t just on the deck or inside the galley — it’s also in the crew’s personal lives. Solène Favreau, the newest cast member, is the latest to open up about her romantic past, which is already stirring up intrigue. In the Monday, June 16 episode of the Bravo series, Solène shared details about a bracelet she’s been wearing from her ex-boyfriend, Dylan.

Kyle Stillie, ever the curious deckhand, noticed the bracelet and asked Solène about it. The stew admitted she’s been wearing it “more than two years” after their breakup.
“This bracelet is from my ex-boyfriend, Dylan,” she explained to the cameras, as footage of Dylan Pierre De Villiers from Below Deck Season 11 played. “We were very in love and I didn’t hide what I felt.”

Solène revealed that their split was caused by the distance between them due to their careers, with Dylan being in another country. “We broke up because he was in another country, so [there was] distance. Even after, I still love him and I was very sad.” Despite the breakup, Solène made it clear that she still has feelings for him.

Since then, Solène has taken a break from dating. She explained: “So now that is why I try to keep everything at no risk. Since Dylan, I’ve never been in love again. I am young, free and I’m not looking for a relationship,” before joking to Kyle that she was “not sleeping” with him.

While it may not be a surprise that Below Deck alums tend to hook up outside of the franchise (think Madison Stalker and Rob Westergaard, or Jamie Jason and Chandler Brooks), the romantic drama on this season still has fans intrigued. Kyle, in particular, is at the center of some scandalous moments. In the trailer released in April, Kyle was seen potentially hooking up with a guest at the beach, with his coworkers as witnesses. Captain Kerry Titheradge later confronted Kyle about the incident, but Kyle refused to confirm anything.

Kyle also seemed to question his own actions, asking the producers if his comment about “f*ing”** a guest while her husband was on the charter was “a joke.” In response, someone behind the scenes asked him the same question back.

“There was an investigation done. I’m not too sure how much of that will be shown, but I did a thorough investigation before I made my decision,” Captain Kerry told Us Weekly earlier this month. He added, “It will be interesting to see what happens after I interviewed each of the crew members — including what was actually said behind [my back].”

While Kerry wouldn’t spoil whether Kyle was fired, he admitted he didn’t see everything that happens on the yacht. “I don’t get to see what’s going on Below Deck because I’m in the wheelhouse or I’m over here and I can’t be everywhere,” he explained. “I don’t micromanage. I allow my crew to grow and I like to be here and to help encourage people. There’s a lot I don’t see and there’s even more I don’t want to see.”

Fraser Olender, the chief stew, also gave his thoughts on the situation, sharing that “things were turbulent” even before Kyle’s extracurricular activities with the guest.
“I’ve done it before, so I can’t speak on [hooking up with a guest]. What is a hard no is on charter and what is a hard no is potentially engaging in something whilst their married significant other is also around,” Fraser teased. “It was definitely [the most explosive thing I have been a part of]. Because this situation then was the catalyst of so many other problems. And this really did spiral into something that no one saw coming. So it’s the beginning of the end. It’s so good though.”

Below Deck airs on Bravo on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.