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Go Inside Tzarina Mace-Ralph's and João Franco's Boatmance
While on their first official date, Tzarina admits that she's overthinking things: "My walls are up."
This Below Deck Down Under boatmance is officially setting sail.
Shortly after Culver Bradbury asked stew Jaimee Neale to be his girlfriend via a note, another pair has decided to take the next step in their relationship: João Franco and Tzarina Mace-Ralph.
After flirting and hooking up after a crew night out, João asked the chef out for a dinner date. The pair discussed their connection and they went out on their date on Episodes 16 and 17 of Season 2.
Get your recap on Tzarina and João's romance by scrolling below!
João Franco and Tzarina Mace-Ralph's Connection
Though Tzarina agreed to go on a date with the Bosun, she was hesitant about getting too emotionally attached to him. After all, Tzarina and João knew one another from before their time on Northern Sun, and she wanted to keep things casual.
"I'm excited about my date with João, but my walls are up," Tzarina said in an interview on Episode 16. "João has come into the season as the most perfect man that you would run off into the mountains and get married with, but once a f-ckboy, always a f-ckboy. I don't trust that he won't just wake up one day and just leave."
João also was afraid to lead with his emotions because he was still dealing with the fallout from his last relationship. (He ended his engagement to Michelle Dicu in 2021.)
"Tonight is my date with Tzarina. I'm excited for it," he said in his own interview on Episode 17. "Since my breakup, I haven't been emotionally connected to someone for a long time. Do I like her? Yes, I do, but I feel like she's hiding a lot of who she is. She just needs to tell me how she feels, and I could tell her how I feel and we can figure things out from there, you know?"
João Franco and Tzarina Mace-Ralph's Date
Despite their respective hesitations about moving forward in their boatmance, João and Tzarina parted from the rest of the crew to go on their date.
During their dinner, João and Tzarina discussed their pasts, and their hopes for the future.
"I feel like I'm going to constantly be figuring you out for so long," Tzarina said.
"If you're trying to figure me out, then it may mean that you don't want casual," João responded, and Tzarina noted that she was "the queen of casual."
João Franco and Tzarina Mace-Ralph Talk About Their Romance
As Tzarina later explained, when she's only dating one person, it's hard for her not to "get feelings."
"It has to be completely open, we can do what the f-ck we like, we're really honest with each other," she told João about the ground rules for their relationship, before adding that she would "one hundred percent" develop feelings for the Bosun if they were only dating each other.
"I sadly have a wall up," Tzarina later explained, which João said "wasn't fair."
"You are a light that I have literally been so happy to wake up to and I just don't want to ruin it," João said about where he sees things going with the chef.
"You almost have, like, all of the positives," Tzarina said, but that didn't stop her from questioning their connection.
Though she told João that she wanted to keep things informal between them, Tzarina later admitted that she "overthink[s] everything."
"I can't explain [it]," she added.
Tzarina Mace-Ralph Reflects on the Date
When Tzarina and João reunited with the rest of the Northern Sun crew, the chef opened up to Jaimee about her bond with the Below Deck Mediterranean alum.
"I need to get into my real world to see, actually, if we can do casual," she said, and Jaimee agreed that she would have to find out if Culver can be her "happy place" outside of the boat as well.
See more from Tzarina, João, and the rest of the Northern Sun crew by tuning in to the Below Deck Down Under Season 2 finale on Monday, September 18. Stream new episodes on Peacock as well.
