Cape Breton woman makes The Real Love Boat finale
THE STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS
SYDNEY, NS – A Westmount woman came close to winning the $50,000 grand prize on a reality show set on a Princess Cruise Line.
However, Kendra Yurczyszyn and her partner on the show Jordan Malabanan were not crowned the winners of The Real Love Boat.
“We lost (every challenge) before the finals, so it wasn’t any different when we didn’t win everything,” said Yurczyszyn, who now lives in Calgary.
Laughing, she added: “We just had a losing streak (all challenges) so we didn’t care.”
Produced by CBS and Paramount Plus, The Real Love Boat challenged a group of singles to find love on the ship and stay together to the end.
At every port where the cruise ship docked, new potential partners came on board and tried to be part of the pairing action. But Yurczyszyn and Malabanan, an Ontario firefighter, stuck with the newcomers and their bond grew stronger with each episode.
What viewers saw each week wasn’t exactly what happened, and Yurczyszyn said she’ll never be able to watch reality TV the same way again.
While viewers saw the many dates Malabanan had, many of Yurczyszyn’s dates with other Love Boat passengers remained on the cut plane.
The advertising executive, whose specialty is social media marketing, said this has happened to a lot of people.
There were also instances where 26-year-old Yurczyszyn made a joke about other contestants staying away from “her man,” which after editing made it seem like she was more serious than she was; a way to add tension.
“For the most part, there was literally no tension on the boat,” she said, noting that overall it was a good experience. “It was more of a friendship boat than a love boat.”
After the show, Yurczyszyn and Malabanan stayed together but recently broke up due to living in two different provinces and returning to their real lives.
“On the cruise ship you are basically on vacation. You have no responsibility. Someone arranges everything for you, all your dates,” she said. “Back home, I have a full-time job, I have a dog. I’m very busy.”
No couple who were together during the show are now together.
The strongest bonds she formed were with her female castmates, most notably Shea-Lynn Noyes, who Yurczyszyn calls her best friend.
For a future in reality shows, Yurczyszyn doesn’t rule that out. She was asked if she could possibly be on another show and said if the right one comes along she might take another leap.
