Below Deck Mediterranean’s Biggest Drama Through the Years: Mila’s Nachos, Hannah’s Drugs and More
As soon as you step foot on a Below Deck Mediterranean charter yacht, you’re guaranteed one thing: a whole lot of drama. Throughout its five seasons, crew members like Captain Sandy Yawn, Hannah Ferrier, Malia White and more have been know to butt heads with each other — all with the purpose of delivering a top-quality yachting experience.
As chief stewardess since the show’s inception (it’s a spinoff of Bravo’s original Below Deck), Hannah has butted heads with just about everyone on board. Take her long-standing feud with second stewardess Christine “Bugsy” Drake, for example.
Hannah and Bugsy first feuded during season 2 of Below Deck Med aboard superyacht Sirocco. In addition to Bugsy calling Hannah a “lousy” chief stew, the South Africa native found text messages between Hannah and a charter guest, Jason Ziegler. When she shared them with the rest of the crew, it became Hannah against everyone — but especially Hannah against Bugsy.
The Australia native would go on to fight with many members of her interior crew, including Kasey Cohen, June Foster and most recently, Lara Flumiani.
But even after Lara’s departure, the season 5 drama continued.
Lead deckhand of season 5’s The Wellington superyacht, Pete Hunziker, was fired in June 2020 after posting a racist meme via Instagram. Because the incident happened after filming wrapped, Pete was not fired from his yachting job. Instead, his punishment came from the top. “Bravo and 51 Minds are editing the show to minimize his appearance for subsequent episodes,” the network wrote in a statement at the time.
While the season continued with little to no Pete, other storylines were pushed to the forefront — including Hannah keeping Valium on board.
Scroll through the gallery for some of Below Deck Med’s most dramatic moments ever.
Credit: Bravo (2); Inset: Courtesy Jason Ziegler/Twitter
Hannah’s Relationship With a Guest
During season 2 aboard Sirocco, Hannah hit it off with charter guest Jason Ziegler, a wealthy New York businessman. She admitted to Bravo in a June 2017 interview that the two “had chemistry” and shared “a very quick kiss” during charter, though that goes against crew rules.
When Bugsy found out that Hannah had been texting Jason after the charter ended (the messages were popping up on the boat’s iPad after Jason logged in during charter), she was quick to share it with the crew. “This is a huge violation of yachtie code,” Bugsy said to Bravo cameras. At this point during the season, Bugsy had already felt like Hannah wasn’t pulling her weight as chief stew, so the texts only further strained their relationship.
Of the incident, Captain Sandy told Us Weekly in May 2020 that it was one of the most surprising things to see when watching the season back. “When a crew crosses that barrier, so many crew [members] in the past have done it, but not on the boat I work on,” she said. “They think that they can hook up with the charter client. It's like, ‘Yeah, no, that can't happen.’”
Credit: Bravo (3)
Malia Plays the Field
Aboard Sirocco on season 2, Malia was the object of both Wes Walton and Chef Adam Glick’s affection. During a private interview, Adam confessed he and Malia — who was a deckhand at the time — actually knew each other before working in Croatia and decided to keep their relationship and their past a secret from the rest of the crew.
That became hard when Malia developed feelings for her bosun Wes. Adam soon began pursuing Malia even more aggressively, seemingly jealous of her relationship with Wes. Late in the season, Adam confronted Wes and Malia who admitted they’ve made out.
“Did I have feelings for both you? Yeah. Did I come down where I wanted to choose someone? No. I want to make it through charter and remain friends,” Malia said.
Adam’s take on the situation? “She played me like a f—king flute.”
Credit: Bravo (2)
Chef Mila’s Nachos
“In nine years of yachting, I’ve never refused to take a dish,” Hannah said when she saw Chef Mila Kolomeitseva’s plate of nachos. The dish was part of a season 4 charter dinner — Mexican-themed — but looked more like a drunken snack than a meal you’d get on a superyacht.
The nachos, made with prepackaged cheese, was just one of Mila’s many mishaps that season. She also licked a raw steak before preparing it for clients. “In my career, I promise you, this has never happened,” Captain Sandy told Us. “Chefs don’t do that. At all.”
Credit: Bravo (3)
June, June, Hannah
After Mila was given the boot during season 4, third stew Anastasia Surmava, who had some culinary training, stepped into the chef’s role briefly on Sirocco. If she didn’t, audiences would’ve never met June and the greatest Below Deck Med joke — “June, June, Hannah” would’ve never been born.
June’s lack of experience was an issue for sure, but her lack of communication was an even bigger one. During charter, crew members communicate with another over radio, speaking the other member’s name twice and their own once to signify who’s calling. During season 4, it felt like Hannah was always crying “June, June, Hannah” to no avail. Ultimately, June was let go when Captain Sandy found a new chef and Anastasia returned to her role as chief stew.
Credit: Bravo
Pete’s Off-Camera Racism
As Bravo fans know all too well, plenty of the drama happens when cameras aren’t rolling. Take Pete’s firing, for example. While The Wellington’s lead deckhand came under fire throughout the season for calling his bosun Malia “sweetheart,” it was his off-camera actions that led to his termination.
The network announced its decision to fire Pete in June 2020 after he shared an offensive meme that featured a Black woman in shackles. Bravo edited the rest of season 5 to minimize his appearances.
The Miami native later apologized for his actions. “A little over 3 months ago, someone sent me a meme on social media and I thoughtlessly reposted it,” the deckhand posted via Instagram in July 2020. “I now realize how painful the imagery and symbolism is and, upon deeper consideration, I realize that the implicit bias that exists in the brief text written in the meme is offensive.”
He continued: “To all those I have hurt and offended, please know that I am genuinely sorry. I have always supported equal rights and equal opportunities for ALL people. Be safe, stay well, and always think before you post. With love, Pete.”
Credit: Bravo (2)
Lara Quits
Not everyone’s made for yachting. Things got off to a rocky start during season 5 when second stew Lara and Hannah began fighting the second they met. During one argument, Hannah found Lara cleaning up the crew mess and asked her to do laundry instead.
“Ah, of course. So I’m interrupting this now to come … start do something else?” Lara, who is a native Italian speaker, asked. Things went awry quickly when Hannah heard this.
“You’re not interrupting this. You’re not doing it anymore,” she told Lara. When the second stew refused to take orders, things got physical, with Hannah pointing a finger in Lara’s face.
Although the two women tried to put their differences aside at the recommendation of Captain Sandy, Lara ultimately left after the crew’s first night out. "I'm not a quitter, especially before a charter, but sometimes in life, you have to choose between your happiness and a job," Lara said in an interview during the episode. "So I choose my own happiness."
Credit: Bravo (2)
Hannah’s Stashing Drugs on Board
One of the most shocking moments in Below Deck Med’s history came when Hannah’s stash of Valium was found during season 5. After the story line had been teased and drawn out nearly all season long, fans were shocked to learn it was Malia who reported the chief stew.
During the episode, Captain Sandy received a photo from an anonymous crew member. The photo included a pack of Valium, a vape pen and a lighter. The episode concluded with Captain Sandy, calling Hannah up to the aft deck and confronting her about what was found. (Hannah, who openly suffers with anxiety, had taken the medication in front of Malia after Chef Kiko Lorran departed one episode prior.)
Later, Malia appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen to discuss the incident.
“[I reported it] because it was my duty to,” Malia told Andy Cohen.
Hannah defended herself on Twitter following the episode, displaying the photo Malia took as well as the back of the Valium box to show that she has a prescription. “I like Malia’s arranging skills. So that’s prescribed Valium, CBD (which is legal in Spain), a lighter (not sure what this has to do with anything) and my passport holder… And for anyone who’s interested the prescription is on the other side of the box as shown… #belowdeckmed,” she wrote.
Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo
Lexi vs. the Entire Crew
During a night out with her fellow cast members, Lexi Wilson found herself at odds with almost everyone and went on to fight with her roommate Malia. Tensions escalated through the night and the second stew ended pushing Mzi Dempers.
"I had a s--t ton of stuff going on in my head, like, a lot of stuff, but I didn't tell anyone, which is my fault. And I guess I wasn't dealing with it properly, which is also my fault," she told The Daily Dish about the July 2021 episode. "In that short space, you know, 15-hour working days, a lot going on, and just, like, alcohol doesn't make it better. I had a lot going on with my dad. I'm still reeling with emotions there. Any little thing triggered me, like out of control, actually."
Although Lexi apologized to the crew, Malia admitted that she didn't necessarily believe her.
“I think she was kind of like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I don't remember. I'm sorry. Like, everyone get over it,’” the bosun exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “We were like, ‘How do you not remember? You were saying some, like, pretty intense stuff, you know?’ So, I don't think it was as sincere as we wanted it to be, but I think for her, that's the best we were going to get.”
After another fight between Lexi and Mathew, the stew was let go by Captain Sandy and chose not to appear in the season 6 reunion.
Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo
Chef Mathew's Multiple Exits
The chef originally left during the first charter due to a leg injury that required medical attention. Mathew Shea returned, only to later quit during a crew night out.
"They can find some f--ker to do their s--t. Good luck. You'll have some f--king asshole chef now," Mathew said as he hit multiple production cameras following a fight with his costars.
The Below Deck Med star explained to Us that he felt like leaving was the best option at the time.
"They had issues with me. I left; I abandoned the first day ... and then, like, I obviously bothered them at this dinner," he noted. "There was a lot of tension at that dinner and alcohol involved and sometimes you just need to remove yourself from bad situations."
The next morning Mathew returned, but Captain Sandy explained that she had already requested another chef because she thought he left for good. Mathew stayed to help cook for the guests while the replacement chef was in quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mathew ended up finishing the rest of the season but accused Captain Sandy of being "one of the worst captains" he has ever worked with during the season 6 reunion.
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