The Real Love Boat is sailing the Mediterranean aboard Regal Princess and starting to hit its stride. Some couples seem to be making real connections while others are still getting to know each other. And with two new passengers making their arrival last episode (Kendra and Dean), will the dynamic of new personalities create drama as the ship docks in France?
Here’s what happened in Episode #3 of The Real Love Boat to catch you up on what you missed…
Docking in Marseille, Couples Have to “Come Clean”
This week’s episode has the ship docked in Marseille, France. But before we get to what happened along the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean Sea, it’s helpful to remember which couples are currently together on the ship.
Following the last Sail Away Ceremony (where the guys were in charge and picked their respective ladies), the couples include:
- Marty & Emily
- Daniel & Shea-Lynn
- Nathan & Alisa
- Jordan & Kendra
- Dean & Nicole
Brett left on last week’s episode due to being unwell, and Brooke followed after not being selected at the ceremony.
The episode began with some insight into what the couples are thinking about each other. Jordan, despite meeting Kendra only last episode, says he had an “instant connection” with her. Meanwhile, Daniel and Shea-Lynn are hitting it off as they have since the start and even share their first kiss. It was just a peck, but Daniel says that it was “mesmerizing.”
HERE WE GO!!! #REALLOVEBOAT @RealLoveBoatCBS pic.twitter.com/ybaZSUD8u8
— Jerry O’Connell (@MrJerryOC) October 20, 2022
Then, with several girls at a morning yoga workout, Alisa shares that she is concerned that Nathan doesn’t seem as open with her as she wants.
With the ship in France, the couples make their way to the day’s challenge. As usual, up for grabs for the winning couple is a meal together at The Captain’s Table, a key to the romantic Love Boat suite, and the winning lady gets to pick first at the Sail Away Ceremony.
In this challenge, set in a beautiful lavender field, the couples have to get really personal with each other. First, they have to race through the field to a table with a nine-letter scrambled word puzzle. Once completed, they then grab a bag with a bar of soap. Within the bar of soap is a gold coin. Run back to an open-air tub, the couples have to jump in and soap each other up to reveal the coin. The first to free the coin wins the challenge.
The couples start the challenge and upon reaching the scrambled word, quickly determine it is Marseille, the city where the ship is docked. The only issue is that it’s tough to spell.
Fun @RealLoveBoatCBS Fact: I stole lavender soap from this place #TheRealLoveBoat pic.twitter.com/LqUvjASA9w
— Jerry O’Connell (@MrJerryOC) October 13, 2022
Dean and Nicole are the first couple to solve the puzzle, grab their bar of soap, head back to the tub, strip down to their swimsuits and start scrubbing. But other couples soon follow. In fact, most seem to get the puzzle easily except for Marty and Emily.
With plenty of gratuitous slow-motion soapy shots of the lovely couples, it’s obvious that no matter who won the challenge they could all be considered winners. But it is Daniel and Shea-Lynn who are the official winners and get all the rewards.
A New Guy Makes His Appearance on the Ship
Back on the ship the couples are enjoying their evening with cocktails when the hosts — Jerry and Rebecca — introduce this week’s newest contestant, Jay.
Jay is a 32-year-old teacher from California. And right from the start, there is some interest between him and a couple of the women. Nicole — who is currently partnered with Dean — says that Jay catches her eye. And Alisa, who is not sure about her connection with Nathan, is “intrigued” by the new guy.
At The Captain’s Table, Daniel and Shea-Lynn continue to form their bond, including a fun moment when Daniel says he hopes they won’t be served snails while in France… only to moments later be served a plate of escargot.
They discuss Daniel’s previous engagement, and Shea likes that despite the tough breakup, Daniel seems like he has “healed” from the experience.
And with that, they both decide that the time is right to experience the Love Boat suite for the first time.
Inside the suite are all the classic romantic touches, including chocolate-covered strawberries, champagne, and rose petals on the bed. While we don’t find details of exactly what happened, later in the episode Shea-Lynn shares that they had a great connection and laughed uncontrollably for hours. It certainly seems that among all the couples that these two might have the strongest connection.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jay and Nicole have poolside mimosas in the morning. They seem to hit it off, and Nicole isn’t sure what to do in the Sail Away Ceremony.
Meanwhile, Alisa and Nathan have a pickleball date after which she finally confronts him about how he seems reserved and not open with her. Nathan explains that in the past, he’s moved quickly into a physical relationship and it turns into a fling. This time, he wants to take things slow and make sure he is friends with the person before it turns sexual because he is thinking longer term.
Alisa seems to swoon over the fact that Nathan is now starting to open up to her. Still, later in the room with all the girls before the Sail Away Ceremony, she does say that she isn’t 100% sure and if she needs a reset, she could choose Jay.
Who Gets Picked at the Sail Away Ceremony?
As mentioned earlier, this week the ladies are in power, which means they will be picking which man they want to stay on the ship. And with six guys but only five girls, that means one person will be headed home.
Since Shea-Lynn and Daniel won the challenge in port, she is the first to pick. As expected, she picks Daniel to continue sailing with and they obviously have a strong connection.
Kendra is next up and while we didn’t hear much from her and Jordan this episode, things seem to be going well. She picks Jordan to stay.
Emily again picks Marty, as the couple has hit it off since the first day on the ship.
Nicole was chosen by Dean in the last episode but also seems to have made a connection with the new guy on the ship, Jay. In this case, however, she says that she is attracted to Dean‘s humor and feels comfortable around him as she selects him to stay on the ship.
That leaves Alisa with a choice between the new guy Jay, or Nathan, who she has struggled to connect with quickly. It seems that Nathan opening up to her earlier helped as she chooses him to stay and Jay then has to head home after being on the ship only one day.
TOTAL BUMMER. HE WAS THE REAL DEAL. #REALLOVEBOAT @RealLoveBoatCBS https://t.co/AaJvL1a86u
— Rebecca Romijn (@RebeccaRomijn) October 20, 2022
Those choices actually leave the couples exactly as they were at the start of the episode. However, next week could bring changes. The next episode see the Regal Princess headed to Rome and teases two new ladies joining the ship to tempt the guys.
If you missed any part of the first three episodes of The Real Love Boat, you can catch up by watching for free on CBS.com.
You can also read our previous recaps here:
This episode was so dull. But we get to see so little, it’s hard to know if anyone has much chance to change their mind about partners…
Gotta agree. It was an hour to end up with the same exact couples.