‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Reunion: Gabriela Reveals Why She Was so Grim [Exclusive]
Gabriela Barragan said her anxiety was through the roof during the Below Deck Sailing Yacht reunion because she thought the cast was going to gang up on her.
Barragan had a tense relationship with Ashley Marti and chef Marcos Spaziani. She told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the majority of the cast were not speaking to her by the time the reunion rolled around, which added to her stress level.
Gabriela hadn’t talked to any ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ crew before the reunion
Barragan, who was pretty lively on Below Deck Sailing Yacht was unusually quiet throughout the reunion. “I know why I was quiet during the reunion,” she said. “I was super nervous because it’s my first time seeing everyone since pretty much I left. Except for Gary [King]. I had seen him in L.A. when we did our pickups, and we were fine. But everyone else, it had been like touch and go except for Kelsie [Goglia] and Tom [Pearson], who I talked to the most.”
“So I was in my own weird place because it’s like, these are the people that were pretty s***ty to me and now I have to face them all at the same time,” she continued. “So my anxiety was at a 10. And what I imagined was that I was going to get ganged up on and everyone was going to attack me.”
She was ‘done’ by the time the ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ reunion rolled around
Barragan was not attacked. But she admitted to being somewhat paralyzed by her anxiety going into the reunion. “My anxiety was so thick, I just couldn’t even say anything,” she said. “Also, I didn’t really have much to say to these people. I reached out after I left the boat. Throughout the airing of the show.”
“I was trying to create or maintain friendships,” she added. “And it wasn’t being reciprocated. So by the time the reunion came, I was done. I apologized to who I needed to apologize to. I owned my s***. I’ve taken responsibility for what I can take responsibility for. But I never got an apology from anyone else. So at the reunion, I was already done.”
And while she maintained a friendship with Goglia, Barragan wished she would have had more support. “No one ever validated me,” she said. “No one ever reassured me, really. Except for Kelsie. But Kelsie’s Switzerland. She never takes sides. She tells you very positive things to make you feel better. But sometimes you just want a friend to agree with you and talk s***.”
Gabriela said she was never validated on the show
Barragan had a strong start on the show and chief stew Daisy Kelliher put her in the second stew position. But Marti, who thought she should have Barragan’s position complained endlessly to numerous cast members and also undermined any direction Barragan gave her.
Barragan said she felt gaslit. And she eventually quit Below Deck Sailing Yacht. So going into the reunion, old emotions, plus not being in contact with the cast weighed heavily on her. “My experience was never being validated,” she said. “So it was like a lack of reassurance, like, hey, am I going crazy or is this happening? It’s always like, oh, you’re paranoid, oh, you’re trippin’. Over and over and over again. So I had no one to really talk to that would validate my reality. Which, in the long run, it does make you go crazy.”
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