Aesha Scott on ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ Season 10 and How Long She’ll Stay on the Franchise 

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Alongside Captain Sandy Yawn, Aesha Scott is essentially the face of Bravo’s Below Deck Mediterranean. 

Entering her sixth season on the franchise, the Kiwi is well accustomed to the demands of working on a superyacht while filming a reality TV show. It’s a job Scott knows well, one that she’s perfected over two stints on Below Deck Down Under and leading into her second run in the role of Below Deck Med season 10.

A fan-favorite Below Deck yachtie, Scott steers clear of the show’s dramatic storylines and, instead, provides comedic relief for audiences while leading her team of stews. She’s grown to become a fixture of the franchise, one that all but confirms viewers will tune in. 

But with an engagement and wedding slated for next year, how long will Scott remain on Below Deck? “I always say never say never with the NBC world,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter, not exactly answering how she’ll move forward with the show after tying the knot. 

Heading into a new Below Deck Med installment, Scott reunites with her season nine co-worker (her TV “little brother”) Nathan Gallagher, whom seemingly most of the series’ narrative will center around. Season 10 will track him and Gael Cameron’s, a fellow season nine deckhand, split from being romantic partners, their reunion on the show and, fast forward to modern times, their journey to becoming a family of three. 

There’s a lot going on. But if anyone is equipped to guide a crew through the rough seas of reality TV drama, it’s Scott. 

“For me, I know that I’m a good chief stew,” Scott says when asked what she’s taken away from her years on the show. “I’m good at that skill set, so it’s not really working on that. It’s working on my managerial approach and how I communicate what I need with my crew.” 

Below, Scott reflects on the Below Deck Med season 10 premiere, defends her friend and boss Captain Sandy against critics, explains why she doesn’t see herself ever returning to Below Deck Down Under and what she sees herself doing when her time on the franchise comes to an end (Hint: hopefully more reality TV). 

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The premiere of Below Deck Med season 10 was hectic for the deck team. Was this a healthy contrast for you after having such a hectic beginning to season nine with your interior team?

Yes, oh my goodness. And I said this to Nathan so many times throughout the season, I’m like, “I’m so sorry, but I don’t feel sorry for you,” because I got absolutely rinsed last year. [It] felt like it’s about time it’s not my department that’s going through the wars. It selfishly felt nice to see someone going through that that wasn’t me.

We saw the moment when you learned that Nathan was coming back to the crew. Were you surprised that Captain Sandy promoted him to bosun so quickly?

No, I wasn’t surprised, because I think when we filmed season nine, he was just one of those people that you can tell straight away just has it. He’s got common sense, he’s got good intuition, he knows his way around a boat and he’s one of those people where I also would have felt confident without the experience he could have [been promoted]. He can rise to the challenge and do it. 

When you did learn that Nathan was returning, did you think in the back of your mind, Maybe Gael will be returning too?

No, I didn’t think that. But I was very curious to see where they stood, because they’re just the cutest things ever. I did keep in touch with [Nathan] and he told me about how they fell out of touch because of the long distance, and so I was just really keen to see him, to ask where they stood on everything. And it was so nice to see him, because Nathan, we’ve always had this relationship, like he’s such a little brother to me.

Season 10 of Below Deck Med is going to tell the story of Nathan and Gael’s split, then reuniting and now, modernly, having a child together. Looking back on those moments when you first met Nathan and Gael, did you ever anticipate this was where their journey would lead them?

Oh my goodness, never in a million years. And I’ve seen them since they’ve had the baby, and I’m just like, “Did you guys ever think in those first moments, sitting in the crew mess giving each other eyes, that within literally two short years, you’re gonna be sitting there with a baby?” It’s just so cool. And that’s what I love about life: you really don’t know what turn it’s gonna take ever.

You’re also now engaged! After you and Scott get married next year, how do you see yourself moving forward with the Below Deck franchise?

Well, I always say never say never with the NBC world. Because what I love about NBC and Bravo, Below Deck, is they always do find a way to keep you in their family. And so, you know, I never like to fully close the door, but at some point down the line, I definitely do want to have some babies of my own. So it just depends when we make the decision to do that.

We saw pieces of Captain Sandy’s wedding last season. Do you think that in the future, we might see your wedding on the show?

I don’t think so, to be honest. I mean, I love that for Sandy, and it was such a nice way to memorialize it for her. But for me, I would rather have it be more private.

This is your second year on Below Deck Med, but do you ever see a world where you may potentially go back to Down Under or work with Captain Jason [Chambers] again in the future?

I don’t think so. I obviously had the opportunity to go back to Down Under after Med and carry on down there, but the Med is where my heart is. You know, when I was 22 and first flew to France and I walked the docks with my sister, that’s where I did all of my [early] yachting years. And it really is just where my yachting home is. So I don’t think I’d ever want to go back [to Below Deck Down Under.]

What is it about Captain Sandy that allows you two to have such a great relationship?

I think it’s because we both have this really big inner child. And you don’t get to see it much from Sandy, because we’re at work and they’re often showing the parts where she’s got to reprimand someone or guide people, but she is honestly the biggest little kid in the world. And when we’re together, we’re just so silly and we’re laughing and making fun of each other, and that’s where we really, really bond.

When you see people critique Captain Sandy for how she’s portrayed on the show, how does that make you feel? Because obviously you have such a strong bond with her, and you know her in real life. You don’t know her as this TV personality.

Exactly. Oh, it makes me so annoyed, because it’s so unfair. Because, you know, obviously everything that they’re showing [on Below Deck Med] is what happened, but it’s like everyone says — you’re seeing the little snippets and the highlight reels, and obviously the parts where Captain Sandy is going to come in is when someone needs to be reprimanded or someone needs a student talking to, so you don’t really get to see as much of a light, fun side. When people think that that’s all she is, it makes me feel really sad for her, because she’s so, so much more than that.

Looking back on season nine to now season 10, what is the biggest piece of knowledge that you took away from season nine, because it was quite hectic for your interior team?

I think the biggest piece that I took away, which I feel like happens every season and I’m continually trying to work on, is trying to nip things in the bud quicker so that they don’t go on and on and turn into bigger issues than they needed to be. And it’s so hard to achieve that when there are only three of us in the interior [team], and I’ve barely got time to breathe or go to the toilet or eat, let alone figure out different ways to manage my staff. It’s always going to be a struggle. But for me, I know that I’m a good chief stew, I’m good at that skill set, so it’s not really working on that. It’s working on my managerial approach and how I communicate what I need with my crew.

Why do you think Below Deck Med only has three stews and not four [like the mainstay Below Deck]?

It’s always been like that. A lot of the time it’s up to the manning requirements of the boat. Like on [Below Deck’s superyacht] St. David, they’ve got extra extra cabins. And I think legally, they need to have X amount of crew on, [according to] the tonnage boat that they have, whereas the boats that we’re using, obviously they don’t need to. So, if you don’t need to, then they don’t [hire four stews], I guess. But God, I get jealous of Fraser [Olender, the chief stew on Below Deck.] 

Have you seen the discourse about the social media grid [editing technique] on Below Deck season 12?

Yes, I have. 

What’s your take on that?

Well, I think it’s a show that’s gone on for a really long time, and the producers are always trying to find ways to keep things fresh and new. Sometimes they hit it, sometimes they don’t, but they’re just trying to find ways to keep it fun.

Do you think that fans have been too hard on the show for that new editing approach?

Yeah. I mean, I understand when it’s such a long-standing show, they’re familiar, they want it a certain way. But I think that, you know, you just got to give the producers grace and just realize that they’re just trying their best as well.

Looking at your wider career as a reality TV personality, you’ve already kind of stepped away from Below Deck, having just competed on The Amazing Race. As you continue to grow in your career and think about potentially leaving Below Deck, do you see yourself continuing to stay in the spotlight on other reality shows?

Yes, absolutely. My ultimate dream one day is I really want to become a presenter [or] a TV host. So things like The Amazing Race, I want to be the person that’s standing at the mat being like, “You are the fourth team to arrive.” That’s the goal, that’s what I’m working towards. I do hope to stay in TV for a long time.

Are there any other shows that you’d be interested in potentially hosting, other than Amazing Race?

I would love to host Love Island, but Ariana [Madix] is already doing a really good job at that. Any other sort of show where it’s contestant-based, that’s really what I’d be interested in.

Speaking of people from the Below Deck universe who have branched out, we have Kate [Chastain], who has been on The Traitors twice. Would you want to go on The Traitors?

Oh, I would love to go on The Traitors. I feel like I would be terrible at it, because I’m such a bad liar, but I think it would just be such a fun experience. I’m always searching for new experiences.

Looking back on when you started this reality TV journey with Below Deck Med, how many seasons did you see yourself doing the show? Did you think it was going to be a one-and-done experience?

I honestly thought it was going to be just one time and then it was going to be finished. Because when I first started, the show was big, but not as big as now. And I didn’t even know what the show was the first season I did. I hadn’t watched it, I didn’t know anything about it, which was great, because I was just so fully present in the experience. And then it wasn’t until it aired afterwards, and I was walking through New York and someone ran up to me and was like, “Oh my God, you’re from this show!” And I called someone on the network and I was like, “Is this a big show or something?” They’re like, “Yeah.” I had no idea. And so because I didn’t understand the TV world, I just always assumed it was a one time thing and then I’d carry on doing something else. And I never in a million years dreamed that it would take me all the way down this line and end me here. I feel so fortunate.

When you get that reception from viewers and they tell you that you bring them joy on the show, how does that make you feel?

Honestly, it makes my heart so happy and so warm. And I mean, I do this because it’s fun, but then that, to me, is what makes all of it worth it. Because sometimes, it is a lot. You’re having to post a lot and always be present and around and on, but when people message me and say things like, “I was in a really sad mood today, and you totally changed my day.” I’m like — that is why I’m doing it. That’s what makes it so worth it, and that’s the effect that I want to leave in the world.

Describe season 10 of Below Deck Med in one word.

Varied. 

It was one of those seasons where every single charter something crazy happened, storywise. And it’s not toxic, it’s not gross — just so much happens in the season. And every time you think things are coming down again, something else happens and something else happens. I was just surprised the whole time. So it’s a very varied season, and everyone will find it really interesting.

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New episodes of Below Deck Mediterranean season 10 release Mondays at 8 p.m. on Bravo, and stream Tuesdays on Peacock.