João Franco Reveals Why Brooke Laughton Ultimately Won His Heart in the Below Deck Mediterranean Love Triangle

Boat romances are hard enough, as we've seen on Below Deck Mediterranean. But what's a guy to do when he has feelings for two women on board? 

That's exactly the predicament João Franco has found himself in this season of Below Deck Med. The deckhand has been at the center of a little — OK, a big — love triangle between himself, Brooke Laughton, and Kasey Cohen. 

But if you ask João, he never thought he was playing games with Brooke and Kasey's hearts. "It's really tough for me to answer how I felt then because I definitely feel that I'm not that same person, and I wouldn't do it again. I felt with who I was and seeing how insecure I was, I can say that for me it was just a game, but it was a lighthearted game. It wasn't anything to do with screwing anyone over. I never tried to actually kiss anyone," João explained when The Daily Dish caught up with him in New York City on Tuesday. "For me, it was this flirting, funny, trying to just be funny, and it backfired. It definitely did, because I didn't intend for feelings to get involved. I also didn't intend for me to find feelings for anyone. Seeing how the show has taken us to where we are so far, I do understand more of how it was, and I do regret more of how I was." 

The turning point in this love triangle came during Hannah Ferrier's 30th birthday party when João proclaimed that he knew what he wanted and seemed to imply that Kasey had ultimately won his heart. But after Kasey left the party, Brooke sat down next to João, professed her love for him, and kissed him. He kissed her back, leaving many a Below Deck Med fan scratching their heads. 

João explained to The Daily Dish what he really meant by his comments to Kasey that night. "I seem to say she's the one, but I actually just say that I know what I want. I did know what I wanted, and to be fair, I wanted to be with Brooke, but at that time when I said, 'I know what I want,' I wanted no one," João said. "I had a certain idea that I wasn't going to get with anyone. I also had it in my mind that if Kasey tried to kiss me, I may have kissed her back. I did not expect Brooke to sit down and actually for the first time express her feelings towards me. And right there and then, it all made sense to me." 

He also shared how he knew that Brooke was the one he ultimately wanted to be with. "In that moment, when she was being real, I did, I had a crush on Brooke throughout. But this hard shell in me and this ego side of me didn't want to show it. And in order to not show it, I did, I played around with Kasey, flirting around," he said. "So when she had expressed how she felt, I just felt it... I do say [in my interviews] that if I wanted anything serious with anyone, it would be with Brooke. I just didn't want to be with anyone. It was just a momentary thing where everything kind of sunk in, and I was like, I really do like this girl."

As one might expect, João and Brooke's romance is going to cause some waves with Kasey as this season of Below Deck Med continues with an all-new episode Tuesday at 9/8c. Check out a sneak peek, below.

João Franco Calls Out Kasey Cohen