‘Below Deck Med’: Daisy Kelliher Says Natasha Is ‘Hard to Watch’ – Why Some Viewers Struggle With This Season’s Chief Stew [Exclusive]
Even though Below Deck Mediterranean Season 7 is drama packed, some viewers shared on social media that they can’t get into new Below Deck Med chief stew, Natasha Webb.
Webb’s hot and cold relationship with chef Dave White and nonstop texts with her boyfriend has taken the wind out of some viewers’ sails.
So why isn’t Webb resonating with viewers? Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Below Deck Sailing Yacht chief stew Daisy Kelliher, who offered her insight into why perhaps Webb missed the mark, wondering if the new Below Deck Med chief stew ended up on the show during a rough period in her life.
Daisy said Natasha is ‘hard to watch’ and feels sorry for her
“It’s hard to watch, to be honest, and I feel sorry for her for sure,” Kelliher said. “Like, oh, God, I’m so lucky that it wasn’t me. If you just missed the mark, they’re just going to go after you.”
Kelliher described what Below Deck viewers want to see from a chief stew on the show. “They want supportive. They want people who back their team, and they want people arguing with the guest, not with each other,” she shared.
“And they want to feel like the way they do at their own work,” Kelliher continued. “The customer is an a**hole and they love their team kind of thing. So unfortunately that’s gone a bit wrong for her with the initial Dave thing and the Natalya [Scudder] thing, and yeah Bravo viewers just don’t like that.”
Stew Natalya Scudder ended up going to Captain Sandy Yawn about how Webb and stew Kyle Viljoen spent more time gossiping than working.
Filming ‘Below Deck Med’ is tough if you aren’t in a good place mentally
Kelliher added that Below Deck viewers love a chief show who can lead a team while getting a little spicy about the guests. “They really want to see a chief stew who is good with their team and who hates the guests,” she added. “So I feel bad for [Webb], it’s not easy to watch. Because [after Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier] there has been no chief stew with the kind of staying power except for me and Aesha [Scott from Below Deck Down Under]. So Natasha is getting a bad run”
Kelliher also empathized with Webb, sharing that going on reality TV can be especially brutal on people who aren’t in the best place in their life at the time. “I’m really lucky because I’ve always been in a really good place mentally when I’ve done a show,” she said. “God forbid I do the show when I’m in a bad place mentally. Because I can also act crazy and do irrational stuff. There’s always going to be one of [the crew members] in there. So you just kind of go on the show praying it’s not going to be you.”
What makes for a good ‘Below Deck’ chief stew?
If Natasha Webb missed the chief stew mark on Below Deck Med, what does Kelliher think is the secret sauce for a great Below Deck chief stew? Kelliher said being authentic and showing your true self on the show is important to being successful in the role.
“I had the attitude when I came on the show, I’ll just be myself,” she recalled. “And it either works or it doesn’t. I felt confident that even if people don’t like me, if I leave being happy with myself, then I’m going to be happy. And I think that was a key kind of point just to be yourself and people will see through that and will respect that.”
Kelliher also observed that Below Deck fans want a chief stew who is a real yachtie. “I didn’t aspire to be on reality TV, it was more of a circumstance kind of thing,” she said. “I think I’m lucky because I did just concentrate on my job, which is super important. And then I’m also not afraid to voice my opinions because they’re my opinions and I stand by them and I don’t care what other people think.”
Below Deck Mediterranean is on every Monday at 8 pm ET on Bravo and new episodes drop weekly on Peacock.
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