Dani Soares is revealing what life as a single mom looks like and if the baby’s father will be in her daughter’s life.
The Below Deck Sailing Yacht star, 33, admitted life has been “really, really hard” since welcoming her first child, Lilly Rose, just last month.
“It’s quite frustrating sometimes when she cries and I’m not sure what’s wrong with her,” she shares. “And I had quite a bit of problem breastfeeding, but thank God that’s solved now … I’m getting used to it now. Just the first and second weeks are really scary.”
Soares also admits this is not the life she envisioned when she pictured motherhood.
“In my head, I always wanted to meet somebody, get married and then have kids. Have a traditional ‘family,’ ” she says. “I definitely didn’t want to move to a new country … get a job and then [have] a new baby, about to start university.”
Soares reveals it is her work friends who “come by sometimes and they hold Lilly for an hour or two so I can get things done around the house….it’s just my work friends because I was already pregnant when I got here. So, I didn’t get the chance to go out, meet people. They are super supportive, but they are all I have,” she adds. She continues adding “as soon as the borders open” she plans to fly her mom in from Brazil to help her with Lilly.
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So who where is the baby’s father? Soares says she’s “not going to force anybody to do anything,” but she is “absolutely” open to having him in her daughter’s life should he choose.
And while Soares has yet to say who her daughter’s father is, it is alleged that Jean-Luc “J.L.” Cerza-Lanaux is the dad, ever since a preview for the Bravo show’s season 2 reunion showed Soares saying that her baby’s father is keeping a distance from her and his offspring.
“He thinks it’s not his child, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Soares stated in a teaser for the episode.
“I’m not going to badmouth anybody because my daughter is going to see everything that I’m saying, everything that I’m doing and I don’t want her to see things going back and forth on social media or things being said in a moment of anger,” Soares shares. “As I said, the door’s always open, but you need to do more than just talk. You need to actually have some action, do some action.”
“The father was part of it, I didn’t make her alone,” she adds of her daughter. “So, if he wants to be part of her life obviously [he can]. But he needs to do more than talk.”
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In an Instagram post this past weekend, Cerza-Lanaux tried to “clear the air.”
“While others are off chasing their 15 minutes of fame, I am working on a yacht in Central America and heartbroken to have to hear about the baby’s birth on social media and read headlines like ‘Dani Soares Says Her Baby’s Father Doesn’t Want Anything to Do With It,’ Cerza-Lanaux wrote. “All I can say is if she’s mine, I want to be involved 100%.”
“As someone who grew up with parents who weren’t together, I wouldn’t wish that on any child,” he added. “Not looking for a pity party. Just want everyone to know how strongly I feel about this, especially the haters who are so sure I am neglecting my responsibility. No one wants to know more than me if this is my baby girl!”
Cerza-Lanaux followed up the post with another, addressing why he hadn’t gone to see Soares or her daughter yet, writing: “No, Australia isn’t open yet or I would have already gone so those of you saying ‘just go’ must not know that. We are truly on different continents so easier said than done.”
Soares revealed her pregnancy news in April, posting a snap of her baby bump to Instagram with the caption: “It’s just you and I little baby.” She announced the birth of Lilly in May, captioning a photo of herself holding the baby’s hand, “She is here. She is perfect. And we trying to figure this thing out.”