Is This 'Below Deck' Couple on the Sea of Love?

When you put good-looking singles together in one place and cut them off from the people, places, and responsibilities of their regular lives, sparks are bound to fly between at least two individuals. It's human nature. That's why reality shows are always ripe with showmances that may be just hook-ups for the time being or actually lead to real-life romances. For that matter, Bravo's yachting reality show Below Deck is basically a singles cruise with Season 2 crew members Kelley Johnson and Jennice Ontiveros hooking up on the ship this year.

In the early previews of Season 2 of Below Deck, Johnson and Ontiveros appear to be the official couple of the Ohana. Before joining the Ohana crew, Johnson said working in such tight quarters and with women would be a new challenge for him since he was in the Marine Corps for four years. However, he ultimately realizes he'll be just fine and gives in to the chemistry he feels with Ontiveros, the only female deckhand on the yacht.

From what I can tell so far, Johnson and Ontiveros don't appear to be super-secretive about their affair on the ship either. They don't hide their kisses in front of the cameras and may even get it on so loudly that the rest of the crew can hear it. When the ship's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'.

So now that we know Johnson and Ontiveros are an item on the show, are they still together now that filming has ended? Let's first examine the success of other Below Deck flings in the romance department. In Season 1, Sam Orme and C.J. LeBeau had a thing going on, but Orme was not really into him, and LeBeau had an open relationship with his girlfriend back home. By the reunion, they were no longer anything but friends. Kat Held and Ben Robinson also hooked up in Season 1, and it looks like that soap opera will continue into Season 2 with a possible Below Deck love triangle now including newbie Kate Chastain, who has said, "It's not about the boy; it's about winning." I don't see this ending well for anyone.

Hopefully, Johnson and Ontiveros can be our shining beacon of hope that relationships last on deck, too. Unfortunately, Johnson and Ontiveros weren't kind enough to announce their relationship status for the whole world, but they seem pretty affectionate on social media.

There's a few recent photos of Johnson and Ontiveros together, one where they're playing pool, one where they're chilling with a big group of friends, and one that's a candid shot with Johnson's sister and Below Deck cast mate Amy. You know that if Johnson's sister likes Ontiveros that's a good sign. And then there was this tweet, which seemed to be the most romantic of them all.

Doesn't the sunset combined with the message that Ontiveros wants to be with Johnson just make you melt? Sure, it could have been a friendly tweet, but it's much more fun to imagine that there was something more amorous about it.

I'm guessing even if Johnson and Ontiveros were currently dating, they wouldn't want to reveal too much publicly since Season 2 of Below Deck hasn't even set sail yet. And I guess we don't really want anything spoiled for us anyway. I just hope the wait will have a big payoff.

Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo