Amidst a sea of new faces on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10, Captain Sandy Yawn and chief stew Aesha Scott couldn’t have been more excited to reunite with Nathan Gallagher.
This time, though, Nathan joined the two aboard Bravado, not as a deckhand, but in his new role as bosun. Needless to say, there were some growing pains (more on that below), as he navigated the uncharted waters of leading a green, three-person deck crew, consisting of Christian Trimino, Max Salvador, and Tessa Budd.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Dish, Sandy admitted that Nathan “struggled,” at first — and “rightfully so,” in her opinion.
“He had never done it before,” she pointed out. “I applied a lot of pressure, which sometimes makes people a little more nervous and they make more mistakes.”
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That wasn’t necessarily the case for “sweet human being” Nathan, with whom she first worked on Below Deck Med Season 9.
“He has the best reset button of all time,” Sandy added. “Nathan recovers very quickly. I just wish it was more consistent in the recovery part.”
Regardless, she teased that “Nathan gives us a very good season,” and she would, “of course,” work with him again in the future.
Captain Sandy Yawn weighs in on Nathan Gallagher and Gael Cameron’s Season 10 relationship drama
As much as she said she loves Nathan, Sandy was not privy to his and Gael Cameron’s relationship ups and downs that will play out on Season 10.
“I’m the captain. People are very limited when they share things with me,” she further explained. “But that doesn’t mean I might walk around a corner and see something and decide not to be a part of that and kind of back up my pace.”
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Indeed, Sandy recalled exactly that happening “so many times” when she’d encounter Nathan and Gael aboard the vessel. In hindsight, though, she described the couple’s journey from “the split and now the coming back together”— and, eventually, becoming parents to a son named Kayden Cameron-Gallagher in June 2025 — as “fascinating.”
As she put it, “Some people are just meant to be together.”
Nowadays, Sandy is “1,000 percent” in touch with Nathan, Gael, and their new baby, describing the trio as her “family.”
Inside Captain Sandy Yawn and Aesha Scott’s reunion with Nathan Gallagher on Below Deck Med Season 10
On Below Deck Med’s Season 10 premiere, Sandy similarly illustrated her bond with Nathan, who arrived a day late after coming down with food poisoning.
“I’m excited about having Nathan come back as bosun this season,” she remarked in a confessional. “He’s had a lot of experience on other vessels, handling lines. He’s very comfortable on deck. And he’s trustworthy. I think this is gonna be a great charter season.”
Prior to him coming aboard, Sandy also described “new bosun” Nathan to the crew as an “awesome guy” who “knows his stuff.” That immediately caught Aesha’s attention, who chimed in, “Is it Nathan Nathan?!” As the chief stew further gushed to a producer, “I love Nathan! I think Nathan is going to absolutely nail it — if he’s alive.”
Alive, he was, and both she and Sandy excitedly greeted him aboard with warm hugs the next day.
“I’m so happy that you’re here,” Aesha exclaimed while jumping up and down. “Like, so happy.”
Later, she asked Nathan to bring her up to speed on what happened between him and Gael. As he laid out for her, they dated for about six months, but at the time, were just “friends,” after he “kind of just cut it off” with her around Christmastime.
“After the season, we went traveling for six, seven weeks together,” he elaborated. “And then we tried to maintain it, but the distance was an issue. And because of how busy I was, working 13 hours a day, it just wasn’t sustainable.”
Aesha responded, “It’s hard doing distance, unless you’re, like, fully committed. … You’re young, man.”
How Captain Sandy Yawn navigated Nathan Gallagher’s rough start on Below Deck Med
Once all the pleasantries and catching up was out of the way, the Bravado crew quickly got to work on the season’s first charter. Despite his arriving only hours before the yacht left its dock near Barcelona, Spain, Captain Sandy put her full “trust” in Nathan’s abilities. As previously mentioned, he struggled to acclimate to his new role, however.
From minor mistakes during undocking to major gaffes involving long delays launching the “water toys” and an unattended wave runner floating off into the Mediterranean, Nathan initially labeled his deck crew’s inexperience as a “f–king nightmare.” As their leader though, he was the one who had to face the captain.
At first, she cut him some slack: “This is Nathan’s first time leading a team, so I’m not gonna apply pressure,” Sandy said in a confessional from Below Deck Med‘s Sept. 29 episode, adding that she expected “precision” by charter three.
As she told Nathan directly after he apologized for his team’s errors, “Don’t be sorry. You’re learning.”
Problems persisted, however, amid what Nathan referred to as an “absolute s–t show,” and after another one-on-one with him, Sandy seemed to be losing patience. By episode’s end, when he damaged a Bravado navigation light while hoisting a wave runner back onto the yacht in plain view of the charter guests, she, once again declared, “We gotta talk about this.”
Now that Season 10 is underway, take a sneak peek at what else is ahead for the Below Deck Med cast.
