‘Below Deck Med’: Courtney Thinks Romance With Zee Would Have Destroyed Their Friendship [Exclusive]
Courtney Veale and Mzi “Zee” Dempers had a playful boatmance on the last season of Below Deck Mediterranean. But now that she’s back Veale said they decided to put the romance on ice in order to save their friendship on Below Deck Med.
“No … no more kissing,” she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Literally, the last kiss we had was probably the second time we did it on season 6. We just have such an amazing friendship. I’m so glad nothing else kind of happened from that season because I do feel like I would have lost him as a friend.”
Zee was ‘my safety blanket,’ Courtney says about this ‘Below Deck Med’ season
Dempers giggled when asked in a confessional if he and Veale would pick up where they left off from last Below Deck Med season. He too said they decided to be just friends and Veale said they are very close.
Veale was also relieved to see he was on deck when she arrived well into the season. “We are great friends and he’s a massive part of my life,” she shared. “I like to think that I’m a big part of his and we speak nearly every day. And it was really nice to have him on that season and for our friendship to grow and for everyone to see the kind of friendship that we have kind of formed in season 6.”
“And also, he was like my safety blanket,” Veale added. “I was super nervous to go on there mid-season. And then I felt that was kind of nice because then I saw Zee and I was like, OK, everything’s going to be fine. Me and Zee would just you know … would take a step back. Like if there are arguments or anything … just sit back and watch.”
She wanted to prove herself as a deckhand too
The pressure to do well on deck was definitely on, Veale recalled. “I felt the pressure from Captain Sandy [Yawn] because I knew how excited she was for me to be on deck,” she said. Veale began on Below Deck Med Season 6 as a third stew. But eventually, after Lexi Wilson was fired and it didn’t work out with Delaney Evans, she moved up to second stew. Veale and chief stew Katie Flood finished the season with only two of them in the interior, which proved to be exhausting.
Returning to Below Deck Med, Veale wanted to prove to herself she could be a strong deckhand. “And I kind of wanted to prove to myself and to everyone else, she said. “And season 6 was great workwise, but I always feel like I have to prove myself in a way for like all of the reasons.”
Veale’s “can do” attitude on deck comes naturally. “I think maybe I’m quite competitive,” she laughed. “So, if someone asks me to do something, then without even thinking I’ll just say yes or I’ll volunteer to do it. Like it’s just always been how I’ve been. And even if I’m really scared to do something, I’m usually like, I’ll do it. Or, you know, I’ll try, and then let’s see.”
Captain Sandy and Malia White also inspired her on deck
Having Dempers supporting her on deck, but also encouragement from Yawn and former Below Deck Med bosun Malia White gave Veale the motivation on deck. Veale said Yawn encourages her to work toward becoming a captain someday.
“Her and Malia were my biggest inspirations to make my jump to deck,” she said of Yawn. “It was great having her as my captain because there were a couple of things I probably wouldn’t have done if she weren’t like, ‘Courtney, you can do it.’ She was really great with me.”
Plus, Veale had White to call for advice. “I was so nervous,” Veale recalled prior to joining a deck team. “I was messaging Malia, like ‘What do I need to know? Tell me everything!'”
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Below Deck Mediterranean is on Monday nights at 8 pm ET on Bravo. Episodes drop one week early on Mondays on Peacock
