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Season 3 of Below Deck Down Under was once again about navigating changing circumstances — and dynamics among the crew. Stewardess Brianna Duffield expressed that although she had feelings for lead deckhand Harry Van Vliet, she wasn’t quite ready to label him as her official boyfriend.
“He made it very clear that he’s really into me. But, considering I was recently engaged, the thought of having a defined relationship status is challenging,” she shared with chief stewardess Lara Rigby and stewardess Marina de Barros in Episode 16. “I also don’t appreciate feeling overwhelmed.”
Lara pushed Harry not to assume “exclusivity,” forcing him and Brianna to sit down and have a talk.
During his confessional, Harry mentioned, “I’m not anxious about discussing becoming official with Bri. I believe we’re aligned … if the ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ topic arises, we can certainly address it. Bri is definitely someone I’d love to introduce to my family. Absolutely.”
Are Brianna and Harry boyfriend and girlfriend?
The Katina crew once again gathered around the CCTV and the crew mess table, this time to watch Bri and Harry chat on the yacht.
“She’s stressed. She’s stressed right now,” Lara commented as sous chef Alesia Harris asked, “Is that the girlfriend talk?”
Harry started the conversation off.
“We both obviously really like each other. I don’t want to say something because I don’t want to go too quickly,” he said. “And maybe I’m wrong in saying this. Maybe we both do feel the same way. I really, really like you and I do see you as my girlfriend, you know? I don’t know when the point is to ask you. Maybe this is the point?”
When Brianna hesitated, Harry continued his thought.
“I don’t want to rush it. I don’t want you to be pushed in or me to be pushed in. How about we make this thing Facebook official? Exclusive partners,” Harry concluded.
“I like that,” Brianna answered, as they kissed, and everyone watching in the crew mess clapped and cheered.
What does “exclusive partners” mean in a relationship?
Harry said he was “excited to make it official,” by becoming an “exclusive partner” with Brianna.
Brianna described “exclusive partners” as a “stepping stone in the middle” of their relationship status.
“Exclusive partnership is the warm-up to boyfriend and girlfriend,” she explained, and later added, “In an exclusive partnership you’re testing the dynamics of the relationship before you fully lock it down. You know, I don’t expect Harry to meet my parents right now. I don’t expect Harry to show up as a partner would. I was not ready to quite sign off on that yet.”
Bri did share with Marina and Lara that she and Harry were “exclusive.”
“It was nerve-wracking, because I don’t know if I’m ready to be like, ‘I have a boyfriend,’” she shared.
“You’re basically together. You just don’t want to label it, but — ” Lara added, as Bri replied, “We’re not going to use the ‘B’ and ‘G’ words yet. But it still scares me a little bit.”
