Panic attacks, three ways, and a raw steak-licking con artist? From
love triangles to law breakers, the drama got even juicier off-camera.
Here are the dark secrets these yachties just couldn't hide!
Fans will surely remember a particularly severe anxiety attack chief stew Hannah
Ferrier experienced in season 3 of "Below Deck Mediterranean.” While skeptical fans wondered
if it was all drummed up for the show, the reality star confirmed to Decider in 2018,
"The anxiety had been going quite badly for eight days leading up to the attack,
it didn't just come out of nowhere. […] You can't get away from the cameras,
you can't get away from the work environment, the charter guests just keep coming."
"Should you go to the doctor, honey?"
"No, no."
"Do you think you have food poisoning?"
"It's not food poisoning, it's anxiety, Sandy."
As for any doubters who may have thought that Hannah might have been amping up
her anxiety symptoms for the cameras, the "Below Deck Mediterranean" star admitted,
"It was […] disappointing to see a few people saying, 'Oh, it's a drama queen.' I was like,
I wouldn't be on Bravo, I would be accepting my Oscar if I could act like that."
That said, Ferrier seemed to be fine with people having seen her experience an anxiety attack,
especially since she received a positive reaction from those
managing their own mental health. She added,
"I think it was good to see people's response that they felt less alone."
Deckhand-turned-bosun Ross Inia might have seemed like he had it together on "Below Deck" Season
6. But his post-reality TV life has been filled with drama. Ross was arrested in West Palm Beach,
Florida for disorderly intoxication and battery during a night out with fellow
cast member João Franco in 2018. That evening, João shared in an Instagram Story, writing,
"Ross is in jail and we've been looking for him four hours and counting."
Meanwhile, police reports published by the Daily Mail revealed that Ross
had reportedly punched and threatened an officer.
"I'll just shut up there. You get the point. No need to say any more."
Later, Ross found himself in hot water over the nature of his relationship with
former charter guest Krystal. After sharing a loved-up photo on Instagram in January 2019,
it was reported that he and Krystal had gotten involved,
leading the reality star to clarify their status in a since-deleted Instagram post. He wrote:
"We are not having an 'affair.' I have had the opportunity to spend time with
her and her husband. We poked fun at all the assumptions. Remember everyone is going through
something in their personal life and it's no [one's] business to get involved or judge."
Season 4 of "Below Deck Mediterranean" served some major drama in the form of
Chef Mila Kolomeitseva. She was apparently Le Cordon Bleu-trained
but couldn't even make a decent plate of nachos. But while Mila's food was bad,
her seemingly homophobic views left fans and castmates horrified.
"I don't want to see a man kissing a man in front of me."
While many viewers thought Mila was only hired to stir up the crazy, Hannah Ferrier tweeted in 2019:
"There really isn't any way to know if someone is going to be homophobic in a normal job interview
and her CV looked great. She's OBVIOUSLY not great but it wasn't set up like that."
"You're not bringing Aunt Jemima into this? Like,
leave her out of it. If you're a chef and you can't cook pancakes, you're not a f---ing chef."
Still, fans started doing some digging of their own. Starcasm found several online profiles for
the alleged chef, albeit with her surname spelled incorrectly. Her StarNow profile,
for example, listed Mila as an "actor, extra,
[and] model," further fueling the claim that she might have simply been a hired performer.
"I think she's a Russian spy and she's back at the agency."
While we may never know if Mila was legit, we're just really glad we
never had to eat that steak she licked before nuking it in the microwave.
During Season 2 of "Below Deck Sailing Yacht," Dani Soares and Jean-Luc Cerza-Lanaux struck
up a romance, but things turned sour after filming wrapped. In April 2021,
Soares announced that she was pregnant on Instagram. And fans immediately started asking
if Jean-Luc was the father. They were less than impressed with the deckhand's response.
"I asked for a paternity test, and essentially,
that turned into a lot of backlash and her not wanting to hear from me."
In May 2021, Dani welcomed her daughter Lily Rose, but Jean-Luc seemingly didn't
take a paternity test right away. Then, in January 2022, he finally revealed,
"An international DNA test that was done awhile ago was no small feat. I'm happy
and proud to say Sweet and beautiful Lilly Rose is my daughter. Dani and
I have been working and communicating together to the best of our ability."
Reacting to the situation, fellow cast member Gary King told Page Six,
"The fact that it's taken him almost a year to come out and admit that he's a father, kind of
just shows that in his age or his immaturity, and I just hope that he can learn from this."
Captain Sandy Yawn and chief stew Hannah Ferrier worked together
on "Below Deck Mediterranean" from Season 2 until Season 5,
when Hannah was fired. While the pair managed to be cordial with one another onscreen,
there was apparently no love lost between them off-camera. During an interview with Australia's
"Kyle and Jackie O Show," Hannah opened up about her relationship with Captain Sandy, explaining,
"What had happened is she'd watched the show before she came on,
and she'd made her decision about me."
Unfortunately, Hannah and Captain Sandy never quite hit it off,
despite working together for four seasons of the hit show. Hannah told the outlet,
"I think it was like about 45 seconds from our first introduction they had
to stop production and be like, 'Sandy, you can't talk to her like that.' Like
straight off the bat. It was something where I'd literally pronounced a dish
wrong or something when the chef hadn't told me and given me enough notice."
Still, Captain Sandy claims it may have been Hannah's friendship to lose.
"There was a relationship there. I'm sorry that there is not, but, I mean, what can I do?"
"Below Deck" star Rhylee Gerber certainly caused some drama during her time on the show,
even getting into a feud with bosun Ashton Pienaar after calling the deck team misogynistic. But it
would seem that Rhylee has also gotten herself involved in some serious drama offscreen, too.
"I'm gonna do whatever the f--- I'm gonna do, I can say whatever the f--- I wanna say."
Ahead of Season 6, Radar Online reported that Gerber had been
arrested in January 2018 for trespassing in someone else's home in Harris County,
Texas. The outlet also noted that she allegedly refused to leave the property,
and was appointed a lawyer because she couldn't afford her own.
Rhylee didn't go to jail, but instead was ordered to complete 12 hours of community service,
and mandatory classroom education. Since her time on the show, Rhylee appears to be thriving, and
revealed on Instagram that she’s been traveling the country while living in a camper van.
On "Below Deck" Season 10, deckhand Ben Willoughby caused quite the mess when he got entangled with
two different women on board. First up was Camille Lamb, a deck stew who later got fired,
leaving Ben heartbroken. The pair planned to reunite after the charter season was over,
leaving Ben hopeful that they might be able to continue their romance. But their
love story was thrown into jeopardy when new stew Leigh-Ann Smith joined the boat,
and it was revealed that she had already been messaging Ben on Tinder prior to the season.
"We both have nudes of each other on our phone. Yeah,
we decided to sext a little bit, and here she is."
With Camille gone, Ben kissed Leigh-Ann. But by the end of the season, Ben made his choice.
"I really like you, but I really want to see what's going on with Camille."
In March 2022, the deckhand revealed that he had gone on vacation to the Dominican
Republic with Camille, but their romance hadn't worked out. He posted to Instagram,
"Sadly soon after we decided that this wasn't meant to be and being
honest that was a very tough pill to swallow."
Ben apparently then pursued Leigh-Ann. She then revealed on Instagram that they had moved
in together in Florida. Even so, their situation reportedly ended abruptly, with Leigh-Ann writing,
"Ben decided to cut all ties with me with no explanation."
Kate Chastain was the chief stew on "Below Deck" from 2014 to 2020,
and viewers got an inside look at her love life as a result. In January 2016,
Kate revealed that she was dating a woman, Rocio Hernandez, telling The Daily Dish,
"I never, ever imagined myself dating a girl. I never was attracted to girls.
So I'm a little caught off guard, but she's just a really special person."
"At first I was like, I really like hanging out with her, but I don't want
to give her the wrong idea, 'cause I'm not a lesbian. Then, one night, I kissed her."
But the relationship took a turn for the worse when Kate was arrested in
2016. According to TMZ, Rocio filed a complaint against Kate,
who was subsequently arrested on charges of felony domestic violence by strangulation.
In a police report published by Radar Online, documents stated:
"Ms. Chastain went into a fit of rage and physically attacked Ms.
Hernandez and tried to steal her phone. [Hernandez] was bitten on the forearm,
inner bicep and leg. She was also held down and choked, 'strangled.'"
Charges against Kate were later downgraded, and the chief stew only faced misdemeanor
charges. In November 2016, she opened up about her past failed relationship, telling Starry Mag,
"It really added unnecessary stress to my already stressful life onboard and I
think it kept me from bonding with my fellow crew members in our downtime."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.