‘Below Deck’: Elizabeth Frankini and Simone Mashile Have This 1 Thing in Common

While Simone Mashile and Elizabeth Frankini from 'Below Deck' were both moved back into the third stew position, they reacted to the demotion differently.

by Gina Ragusa

Published on December 29, 2020

2 min read

Both Elizabeth Frankini and Simone Mashile from Below Deck held and lost the second stew position on the series.

While Mashile was never formally demoted to third stew during season 7, chief stew Kate Chastain handed Courtney Skippon two stripes in front of Mashile when Chastain didn’t think Mashile could cut it as the second stew.

This season, Elizabeth Frankini was also demoted, but chief stew Francesca Rubi did it in a formal fashion, asking Frankini to return the two stripes and then giving her back the one stripe.

Frankini was just happy she wasn’t fired. But Mashile was confused and exchanged barbs with Chastain on Twitter after she was no longer the second stew.

Simone Mashile thought Kate Chastain should have trained her

The turning point for Mashile came when she did not know how to open a bottle of wine. She was also timid around the guests, which prompted Chastain to promote Skippon. But Mashile didn’t think Chastain gave her a chance in the second stew position.

“Oh I hear it’s Sink or Swim but who ever swam the first couple of times they learnt to swim,” Mashile tweeted. “Or ran the when they were first trying to walk. It’s called learning.”

I don’t mind teaching you to “swim” Simone but I’m not going to have you represent us in the Olympic 800 meter freestyle when you’re still wearing safety water wings. #BelowDeck (not being able to open a bottle of wine is the same as having to wear water wings btw) https://t.co/NxJZ9HTOkE
— Kate Chastain (@Kate_Chastain) December 3, 2019

Chastain didn’t agree. “I don’t mind teaching you to ‘swim’ Simone but I’m not going to have you represent us in the Olympic 800 meter freestyle when you’re still wearing safety water wings,” she replied. “#BelowDeck (not being able to open a bottle of wine is the same as having to wear water wings btw).”

Captain Lee Rosbach explained in his blog that the crew didn’t have time to spend on training. “Third stew should is where you need to be, till you can hone your service skills,” he wrote. “The guests shouldn’t suffer because your feelings are hurt. That’s not what they paid for.”

Elizabeth Frankini reacts differently than Simone Mashile

Unlike Mashile, Frankini was just happy she wasn’t fired. “I was just so happy I wasn’t fired,” Frankini admitted in the Below Deck After Show. “Like getting demoted, I was like okay.”

Also unlike Mashile, Frankini was actually on the verge of being fired. Rubi went to Rosbach to ask about replacing Frankini after she unwittingly created a toxic gas from combining cleaning products. “As a second stew, I have an expectation of how they work,” Rubi said in the After Show. “And when I took those two stripes away from Elizabeth all of a sudden the expectation was nil.”

There's no room for error on a NEW #BelowDeck as @hargroverachel preps a 10 course meal! pic.twitter.com/hxAhxMSUas
— Bravo (@BravoTV) December 28, 2020

“I took a lot of responsibility as second stew but in the end, that’s just a stripe,” Frankini said. “It’s just a name for something. Being demoted didn’t matter to me. I was going to work just as hard. Obviously harder. Neverending of course! If that what makes her feel better about me and more confident in her job, she needs to demote me, that’s fine.”