Below Deck Mediterranean 's Captain Sandy Confirms She Is Dating Gospel Singer Leah Shafer
Love is in the air for Captain Sandy Yawn!
The Below Deck Mediterranean boss has revealed she is dating gospel singer and skin aesthetician Leah Shafer.
Yawn, 54, confirmed her happy news on her Twitter, by sharing her interview with The Cheat Sheet and writing “Love is Love!” and “So Happy!” in two separate tweets.
Opening up about their “unexpected” romance, Yawn said the couple first met on Facebook in June 2018 after Shafer, 45, reached out and congratulated her on the Bravo reality series.
“She sent me a nice message that said, ‘I came across your show, congratulations, many blessings,'” Yawn told the outlet, adding that her note’s inclusion of “many blessings” particularly attracted her as a spiritual person to the Denver-based skin coach.
After getting to know each other on the social networking platform, the pair finally met in person in Los Angeles, where Shafer explained the sparks between them really began to fly.
“It was definitely unexpected,” she admitted to the outlet of their first face-to-face encounter in November. “It just happened, when you meet another soul that you connect with at such a deep level, it is unexplainable and so beautiful.”
“It was like a spiritual connection in the beginning,” Shafer continued. “She has a passion for inspiring through music and the youth. And broken people and so do I coming from the gospel industry. That’s what brought us together.”
“And then, of course, the attraction and falling in love with a beautiful soul and knowing you want to be with someone forever. I’ve never felt that way before,” she added to the outlet.
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Though the women are happily in a “deep, committed relationship,” Schafer acknowledged that they have faced backlash for being so open about their love in their faith-based communities.
“I think you can’t help who you fall in love with. God is love. He doesn’t care.”
Because of how well things have been going between the couple, Yawn revealed that she had since moved from Los Angeles to Denver to live with her new love.
That happiness has also been evident on social media, as both Yawn and Shafer have shared several photos together on their Instagrams. A photo from May 18 features Yawn hugging her partner and confirming their shared new home, as both flash smiles for the camera.
“Living in Denver and so happy, having a blast with @leahraeofficial! Listen to her angel voice on iTunes,” the Below Deck star captioned the shot.
Before Yawn, Shafer was married for 20 years to Ross Shafer, with whom she shares a 13-year-old daughter, Lauren “Lolo” Rae, according to her personal website.
Yawn, meanwhile, has previously been open about having a tough time finding love while she was away at sea filming Below Deck.
“It’s hard to have a relationship being a yacht captain,” she told The Daily Dish in May 2018. “Most of my friends that are yacht captains, they’ve divorced or they hook up with people in the industry, and so far I haven’t met anyone, really… It’s about the person for me.”
As for what type of partner she was looking for, Yawn said she hoped to find someone who embraced life and enjoyed music.
“I want someone who wakes up happy, just is happy to be alive. Like, that’s how I wake up every day of my life — and yes, when there’s something going on in your life, of course you don’t wake up happy,” she explained.
“But the majority of the time, someone who wants to live, wants to experience, wants to travel, wants to try different restaurants, wants to go see shows,” Yawn continued. “And I love music. Someone who loves concerts because I am a concertgoer.”
Sounds like she may have found her match in Shafer, who, aside from her skincare profession, also has a singing career in secular and Gospel music and often performs at churches and sporting events, according to her website.
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