Below Deck Mediterraneanhas featured some of the franchise’s worst villains over the years. The Mediterranean-based yachting series became the firstBelow Deckspin-off in May 2016 with thenow-late Captain Mark Howard. After a successful pilot, Captain Sandy Yawn replaced him during season 2 and has led the show as captain ever since. Over the years,fans deemedBelow Deck Medthe best series in the franchise. However, recently, the series has faltered in popularity, specifically after season 5 whenlongtime Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier was fired.
The show took drastic steps to restore it to its glory inBelow Deck Medseason 9, including tapping Aesha Scott to return to the crew. After leadingBelow Deck Down Under, the Chief Stew switched toBelow Deck Med, where she got her start in the franchise during seasons 4 and 5. Her positivity as a professional and reality TV personality is infectious. Luckily for Bravo, Aesha was the saving grace of season 9, though she couldn’t make up for all the villainous personalities in the crew. From seasoned yachties to new wavemakers, there havebeen so many villains onBelow DeckMedthroughout the years.
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10João Franco
Below Deck Med Seasons 3 & 4, Below Deck Down Under Season 2
João Franco is notorious for his villainous behavior duringBelow Deck Medseasons 3 and 4. When drinking, he transformed into his alter-ego, “Jezebob.” João blamed his bad behavior on Jezebob. He didn’t get along with Chief Stew Hannah but was promoted to Bosun after his first season. João notably had a rocky relationship with Aesha during the fourth installment ofBelow Deck Med.He called her a “Russian prostitute” during one night outand continuously picked on the stew throughout their first charter season working together.
João made his shocking return to the franchise inBelow Deck Down Underseason 2 after Luke Jones was fired as the Bosun. Aesha was taken aback that he was brought in as the replacement Bosun, though she worked hard to put their issues from season 4 aside.She admitted he was still “the worst”and that it was difficult maintaining a professional relationship with João given his treatment of her in the past. However, the rest of the deckhands found issues with his leadership style, and Aesha kept herself virtually out of drama with him.
9Elena “Ellie” Dubaich
Below Deck Med Seasons 7 & 9
Before she joinedBelow Deck Medseason 9, Elena “Ellie” Dubaich” served as a replacement stew for Kyle Viljoen after he suffered an injury in season 7. With little experience in the franchise, she returned as Aesha’s second stew. She mentored the third stew, Bri Muller, and was a big help for the interior team at the beginning of the season. Ellie admitted she found lead deckhand Joe Bradley attractive and told the third stew she wanted to seek a boatmance with him. However,Bri disregarded her feelings and hooked up with him after a night out.
After their hook-up, Ellie took out her frustrations on the third stew.She exerted the hierarchy of yachting to make Bri feel less thanat times. Ellie could not put their issues aside and acted out often. She clashed with Aesha toward the end of the season for virtually no reason. Ellie and Bri’s feud came to an end when she overheard Joe singing a song about not wanting to choose either of them. However, a lot of damage had already been done to their relationship at that point.
8Kyle Viljoen
Below Deck Med Seasons 7 & 8
Plenty of crew members onBelow Deck Medseason 8 exhibited villainous traits, butKyle Viljoen was the undisputed villainof the season. He began stirring updrama among Tumi Mhlongo and Natalya Scudderbefore they met on the show. Kyle admittedly warned the Chief Stew about Natalya, clouding her judgment before she could get to know the stew. They couldn’t get on the same page, though Kyle maintained his stance that he had no hand in their beef. However, if he hadn’t gotten involved in their relationship early on, they could have startedBelow Deck Medseason 8 on much better terms.
7Malia White
Below Deck Med Seasons 2, 5, & 6
Whether she’s deemed a hero or villain by the fans, Malia White is embedded in the history ofBelow Deckas the first woman to serve as a Bosun on the show. She debuted within the franchise during season 2 and swiftly impressed the crew. She returned with quite the promotion in season 5, where she received the groundbreaking accolade of being named Bosun. Malia proved to be a good head of the exterior department, thoughher time on the show is remembered due to her hand in Hannah’s infamous exit.
By some fan’s standards,Malia is credited for Hannah’s firing. When the Bosun found out the Chief Stew had a vape pen and an unprescribed Vallium onboard, she took this information to Captain Sandy, which led to her being fired. At the end of the day, Hannah was kicked off the boat because she broke the rules. Someviewers believe Malia vindictively went out of her way to tell Captain Sandy about her mishap. Nonetheless, she returned the following season as Bosun but hasn’t been on the show since. Malia has a future on the show, and her recent appearance onWinter Houseseason 3 hints she’s in good graces with Bravo and theBelow Deckfranchise.
6Joe Bradley
Below Deck Med Season 9
Joe is the master of mischief onBelow Deck Medseason 9.He juggled the three stews, Ellie, Bri, and late arrival, Carrie O’Neill, during his short time on Mustique. It wasn’t enough for him to hook up with one woman, so he opted for all of them except Aesha, who was engaged, and Gael Cameron, who was in a boatmance with his dear friend and fellow deckhand Nathan Gallagher. On deck, Joe struggled in his position as lead deckhand, with Captain Sandy admitting Iain Maclean should have named Nathan his second in command.
He reprimanded Gael on numerous occasions as well. At times, Joe would make sly comments about her work ethic andadmitted he thought she was acting like a “princess” due to her boatmance.His misogynistic views shined through in his love triangle with Ellie and Bri. When the second stew overheard him singing a childish song about which lady he was going to pick, they ended things, and he immediately moved on to pursue Carrie.
5Natalya Scudder
Natalya proved to be aBelow Deck Medvillainin season 8. At the top of the charter season, she filled in for Tumi as Chief Stew when she got caught in customs. Behind the scenes,Kyle warned them about each otherand spread gossip among the crewbefore they met in person. By the time Tumi arrived, they clashed during their initial meeting, and the season was destined for failure.Natalya and Tumi’s feudlasted during the entire charter season and negatively tainted the show’s success.
Instead of complying with her Chief Stews orders,Natalya had an extremely negative attitudeonboard. After fighting with Tumi, she voiced her opinions to the crew instead of keeping her feelings to herself. Kyle continued to tell each stew what they thought about each other behind their backs, further exacerbating their conflict. They should have put their beef aside, but Natalya took any chance she got to express her disapproval of Tumi as Chief Stew. Her pessimistic attitude in season 8 is likely why she didn’t return for season 9.
4Dave White
Below Deck Med Season 7
Contrary to other villains fromBelow Deck, Chef Dave White’s most scandalous moments happened to none of the crew’s knowledge. He had an undercover boatmance with Natasha Webb after they worked on a superyacht before the show. However, she had a relationship off the boat, which made their boatmance quite dramatic. Natasha asked him to keep their connection quiet among the crew, andwhen he grew frustrated with their secrecy, he sent her scathing messagesthat were so bad they didn’t air on the show.Dave had a terrible attitude, though Captain Sandy still considers him the best chef she’s worked with.
3Mila Kolomeitseva
Below Deck Med Season 4
Mila Kolomeitseva is the most unhinged chefto appear in the franchise. Like Malia, her casting marked history as the first woman chef onBelow Deck. However, soon after she began cooking in the galley, fans speculated she was a producer plant due to her lack of experience. Chef Mila has gone down in history as the worst chef in the franchise. Some of her worst moments include preparing pancakes from a boxed mix, licking a steak on camera, andher infamously terrible nachos.Chef Mila was fired early in the season, to no one’s surprise, and she’ll probably never return.
2Tom Checketts
Below Deck Med Season 5
Tom Checketts was quite the anomaly in season 5 of the Mediterranean-based spin-off. He served as the replacement for Chef Hindrigo “Kiko” Lorran after he was suddenly fired. Fans speculated the production planned to bring inTom because of his relationship with Malia. Despite having the comfort of his girlfriend onboard, the chef acted erratically and was ill-prepared. Granted, he seemingly wasn’t expecting to join the crew, thoughhe wrongfully took out his frustrations on his co-workersinstead of better managing his emotions. Chef Tom hasn’t returned to the series since season 5, and that may be for the best.
1Bri Muller
Many crew members were accused of beingproducer plants onBelow Deck Medseason 9due to poor performance allegations, and Bri was no exception. She went into the yachting season eager to work with Aesha and Ellie, though things took a swift turn. When the second stew expressed her interest in Joe, Bri didn’t mind her sentiments and kissed him in the hot tub. From that moment forward, their relationship as stews and friends was tainted.They continuously fought while Bri struggled to manage her tasks.She was terrible at laundry and failed to get better by the end of the ninth series, which led some fans to believe she was sabotaging the crew.
There have been so many villains in theBelow Deckfranchise over the years. As one of the best spin-offs,Below Deck Mediterraneanhas had its fair share of deplorable yachties. Whether they’re new faces in the franchise or longtime alums, the show proves anyone can be deemed a villain.
Below Deck Mediterranean
Cast
Below Deck Mediterranean is a Bravo reality television series that follows a crew that works aboard a gigantic superyacht during the busy season. The show highlights the challenges of the crew as they serve their high-end clientele. Each season tackles new locations, such as Greece, Croatia, Italy, and France, with some repeating.
