Chef Dave Knew His Relationship With Natasha Was Disruptive to the ‘Below Deck Med’ Crew
Chef Dave White knew his messy relationship with chief stew Natasha Webb was disruptive to the Below Deck Mediterranean crew. Their weird hot and cold romance spilled over onto service, seen most recently during a botched wine pairing night.
Deckhand Courtney Veale told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the crew witnessed White and Webb either ignoring one another during key moments during service or looking cozy in the galley. And yes … it was frustrating.
Chef Dave knew his fight with Natasha impacted the ‘Below Deck Med’ crew
White knew his drama with Webb was becoming problematic for everyone. He took accountability for his behavior, when he sent aggressive messages to Webb after she ghosted him. “To be fair, I made a terrible example,” he said referring to Webb’s comment that she was happy when White didn’t go out with the crew. “I don’t blame her for saying it. I make multiple mistakes.”
He then reflected on the wine pairing night that went horribly wrong. He planned a street food menu, while she decided to do an elegant wine pairing night. They weren’t communicating and the dinner went downhill. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, White explained why he wasn’t more forceful with his stance on why the meal wouldn’t work with a wine pairing.
“It was affecting the crew so much, what was happening between us,” he recalled. “I knew [stew] Kyle [Viljoen] was having such a terrible time. He was struggling, he was exhausted. So I just wanted to make it easy for everyone else. That was why.”
Courtney Veale said Chef Dave and Natasha’s relationship was frustrating
Veale said White and Webb’s tense relationship definitely had a ripple effect on the Below Deck Med crew. “The whole Tash and Dave thing, I was just as confused as everyone,” she laughed when she chatted with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Honestly, I couldn’t deal sometimes because it was affecting a lot of stuff at one point,” Veale reflected. “And it was kind of hard for me to watch. Because I did click quite well with Dave. And I think the only times me and Dave ever really clashed is when he was trying to stick up for Tash.”
“Everyone didn’t know if they would be friends this day or not,” she recalled. “Yeah, it wasn’t great. I mean, I like them both. But I like them both separately. Obviously, I don’t think they’re matched. And I do think things could have definitely been handled better.”
The ‘Below Deck’ chef and chief stew relationship can make or make charter
This isn’t the first Below Deck chef and chief stew boatmance to go south and kill service. Chief stew Jenna MacGillivray and chef Adam Glick‘s boatmance on Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 1 spilled over to the crew and made everyone’s lives miserable on the boat.
Somewhat similar to White and Webb, Glick and MacGillivray’s hot and cold romance became problematic during service. Sometimes the couple would be seen cuddling in the galley while on charter. Other times Glick would reject MacGillivray and leave her questioning the relationship heading into a new charter.
At the time MacGillivray told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that while their relationship was rocky it wasn’t necessarily for the worst. “You will see as the relationship between Adam and I progresses, I can tell you we do have up’s and down’s, but I do feel like to elude to some event, you’ll see some definite f**king up’s and down’s and rockiness,” she said.
Even if the chief stew and chef aren’t dating, their working relationship can resonate and hurt a charter. Another few other toxic pairings include chef Ryan McKeown and chief stew Aesha Scott, who had multiple communication breakdowns on Below Deck Down Under Season 1. Plus, chef Leon Walker and chief stew Kate Chastain on Below Deck Season 3. Walker even tried to throw Chastain under the bus and told Captain Lee Rosbach he thought he saw Chastain drinking alcohol on charter. Both Walker and McKeown were fired.
