Domnica, 26, - who has been accused of “distracting” the captain on the night of the crash – revealed she would sneak into married Schettino’s cabin at 2am for sex sessions, even though he would be on duty early the next morning.
Domnica said: “I would make my way to his cabin in the middle of the night. It was all very secretive.”
The mum-of-one started a relationship with Schettino, 53, in December 2011 but the affair only came to light when she gave evidence during Schettino’s trial for manslaughter.
“I had to make sure no one saw me.”
The classically trained dancer said they kissed passionately on the night the ship ran aground, but did not have sex and denied their late night trysts made him tired.
She said: “He is not stupid. He is a very good captain. I still respect him so much.”
Domnica – who was acting as a tour guide on the cruise liner – was on the ship’s bridge the night it crashed, but denies claims she distracted him.
She said: “I was about 150ft away from him [Schettino] and there were 25 to 30 other officers there. The officers had really shocked, scared faces but Captain Schettino remained calm and in control.”
The Costa Concordia sank off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13 21012, claiming the lives of 32 passengers.
Schettino faces 20 years in prison if found guilty of manslaughter. It is alleged he sailed too close too the shore when making a “salute”, causing the catastrophic crash.
Schettino was dubbed “Captain Coward” after he left the stricken liner when there will still 300 passengers on board.
But Domnica is standing by him.
She said: “I pray he doesn’t go to jail. I feel sorry for him.”