‘Below Deck’: Elizabeth Frankini Admits She Was Disappointed She Didn’t Get To Work for Kate Chastain

Stew Elizabeth Frankini admits she was disappointed she didn’t get to work for chief stew Kate Chastain on Below Deck. She also hints at why she may have preferred to work for Chastain instead of new chief stew Francesca Rubi.

Frankini recounts walking up to the boat, excited to meet Chastain only to be introduced to Rubi. So how did the two chief stews compare?

“This question I can’t give too much away here, but I will say that there’s a reason why I said, I think I would’ve liked to have met Kate,'” Frankini teased on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast.

Is there drama between Elizabeth Frankini and Francesca Rubi?

Frankini continued by adding that Chastain was patient and kind. “Because I did feel that Kate was so good at her job, she knew her stuff and she was really good at delegating,” she continued. “She was a great leader. She was also very patient, she had stewardesses under her that like, didn’t even have that much experience or didn’t know how to do things.”

Adding, “And she wasn’t threatening to fire them or anything,” she said. “She would be just more patient and I did think that she gave people a chance and she was like, nice, actually.”

While Frankini didn’t reveal what happens with Rubi, the two may definitely have some drama. They both don’t follow each other on Instagram and the trailer teases friction between the two. “I am your boss, I am your superior,” Rubi is seen telling Frankini. “You really pissed me off.” Rubi also says that she’s “had enough of you” to Frankini in another scene.

Elizabeth Frankini admits to being shocked when she didn’t see Kate Chastain

Chastain publicly announced her retirement after the season 7 reunion. Season 8 was already gearing up for filming, which is why Frankini didn’t realize Chastain would not be on the cast.

“I was like excited to work with Kate, to be honest,” she said. “I mean I kind of like freaked out. It’s funny. Cause like right when I was walking to the boat, you know, My Sienna, like getting onto to this first part of the show and everything.”

“I saw somebody with blonde hair, like up on the flybridge and I couldn’t see her face, but then I was like, ‘Oh, it’s Kate,'” she recalled. “So then when I actually got on the boat and I met the new chief stew and I was literally so shocked cause I was just expecting to see Kate and then I was like, ‘Oh, it’s this other girl.’ And then all of like my like preparation just went out the window, you know.”

She said she was ready to work under Chastain, remembering her pet peeves and details about how she works. “And I’m like, okay, I have no idea who this girl is and what she’s about,” she said. “But if she’s like any chief stew, you know, I have to prepare that she’s gonna be a hard ass.”

Below Deck is on every Monday at 9/8c on Bravo.