‘Below Deck Mediterranean’: Joe Bradley & Nathan Gallagher Talk Boatmances & Bromance

The source of the messy boatmances aboard Below Deck Mediterranean at the moment can be traced to lead deckhand Joe Bradley and deckhand Nathan Gallagher. Second stew Elena “Ellie” Dubaich and stew Bri Muller had eyes for Bradley. Dubaich felt Muller broke the girl code after she mentioned her interest in him. It’s a love triangle that has rocked the interior. Aesha Scott, chief stew, is none too happy about the hostility.

Chemistry was felt right off the dock when Gallagher met fellow deckhand Gael Cameron. Things looked to be getting hot and heavy at one point, which created a sticky situation for Gael, who has a boyfriend. Despite all the drama, the crew has to pull things together to serve the guests of the M/Y Mustique and not get fired by Captain Sandy Yawn. Here, cabinmates Bradley and Gallagher talk about their lady troubles, the season so far, and their bromance.

What’s life been like for you since the season premiered? 

Joe Bradley: I didn’t expect it to be like this. It’s an eye-opener. We’re not putting up a front. We’re just us and have nothing to hide.

Nathan Gallagher: We’re loving it. It’s our first time in New York right now going around talking about the show.

Gael Cameron, Iain MacLean, Nathan Gallagher (Fred Jagueneau/Bravo)

In the last episode, the deck team faced some big issues including no power on the windlass, which winds up the anchor chain. Another one you try snaps and sends the anchor down. Guests are delayed and worried about missing their flight.

Joe: It was an intense environment, but that’s yachting at the end of the day. These hiccups can happen. Nobody is perfect in this industry. If hiccups happen with the windlass, we have to overcome and rise.

Nathan: We will find a solution. We will get those guests to the airport.

Joe: Even if it’s swimming on my back or with me on a paddleboard.

Nathan: I’m quite good at getting lost at sea with those, so I’m not sure about that.

You two bonded pretty quickly. How would you describe the crew dynamic at this point? 

Joe: Everyone has a part to play because you have to fulfill a position, but there is nothing like it.

Nathan: You see it grow and blossom.

Joe: But people do butt heads over departments and have some arguments. That is called yachting.

Joe, you’re in this love triangle here. Looking back, do you think it was the right move to have Bri sleep on your cabin floor? 

Joe: I think it was the right move. She needed to get away and be in her own headspace. I know what it’s like to sleep in the crew mess. I’m not allowing not only my cabinmate or work colleague, but a friend to sleep in a crew mess because I know what it’s like. And we’re friends. Come in, get your thoughts together and we’ll sort it out.

Nathan: She was feeling down, so we uplifted her by bringing her to our cabin. If we can do that for anyone, we’ll do it.

Joe: We’re friends at the end of the day. I’ll do anything for a friend.

Do you think you should have let your intentions known to either Bri or Ellie before things got messy between them? 

Joe: I have no regrets. I think I made the right decision to help a crew member. If it was Ellie, I would have done the same. I could have played it differently, but everything was happening quickly.

 Nathan: It’s the dating game. You have to explore, don’t you?

Joe: You also only have six weeks to make these connections.

Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

Nathan, Gael gravitated to you early on despite having a boyfriend. You two may have hooked up early when you were looking for a place without cameras. In retrospect, are you happy it didn’t happen? 

Nathan: I’m very happy it didn’t happen on that first night. I’m happy that we didn’t do it that night. We’ll see how it plays out. I’m happy it didn’t happen on that night because we grew over time as friends, most importantly. We had an amazing rapport and had fun. There was always banter between the two of us, so that created a great friendship straight away. No regrets that we waited.

What can you tease in regards to how things play out with the ladies?  

Joe: Absolutely chaos. It’s madness. A rollercoaster.

How would you rank Iain [Maclean] as bosun?

Joe: He is a professional at the end of the day, but he just lacks communication. He is a lovely person. Our personalities are very different. However, you can’t relate to everyone. On a professional level, he just needs to communicate in yachting standards. It’s very important what we do. People might not say it looks like it or they think it’s just tying a rope. It’s not just like that. There is a lot to take in and pressure. He just crumbles under pressure a bit.

Nathan: He is good at his job and knows his stuff but doesn’t know how to manage people. I think for Iain, being on Below Deck Med is a good experience to look back on and see how he can learn.

How do you feel about Captain Sandy’s leadership style? 

Joe: She is amazing. She is the captain anyone would be happy to have on board.

Nathan: She makes you feel comfortable because she has the patience and a willingness to teach. We were blessed to have her.

Charles Sykes/Bravo

Tell me about the guests. How was Trishelle [Cannatella]?

Joe: Trishelle was very exciting to have onboard because she is a very attractive lady.

Nathan: We love eye candy.

Joe: Most of them are half naked on board, so as a young man, it makes my job easier. They are all great people. We bring the fun factor to the yachting world. We’re the ones showing the fun.

Nathan: Every charter brings a different dynamic.

How is it watching the show back? What feedback have you gotten from family or friends? 

Nathan: Watching it back, it’s amazing to see how our personalities come out. I personally don’t know what I’m like just living our day and floating around. To see it unfold, it is amazing.

Joe: I always send pictures to my mum of all these places. She can actually see now the professionalism that comes with being a yachty. She can see what I do for a living and what I want to do with my life. It’s a gift for me for my family.

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What do you want to say to fans about the rest of the season? 

Nathan: Tune in.

Joe: It gets naughty. Some things you don’t expect with things you do expect.

Would you do another season? Are you a package deal now? 

Joe: We’re a team. Look at us, we’re always together.

Nathan: We want to do s**t together.

Joe: If we go back, happy days. If not, we want to do our own thing. This is a team.

Nathan: We’re going to start up a business. It’s crazy what we have planned. It’s the Nathan-Joe show.

Below Deck Mediterranean, Mondays, 9/8c, Bravo