Nathan Gallagher Reveals Real Reason He & Gael Cameron Split

Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Nathan Gallagher is taking blame for the demise of his and Gael Cameron’s relationship. 

Though the Season 10 premiere already teased their happy ending, Nathan and Gael had to navigate some seriously stormy weather in their romance, first. That, of course, included a breakup in late 2023, and as Nathan revealed not once, but twice during Episode 3, he was the one at fault.

First, while enjoying some downtime between charters with his Below Deck Med castmates in Barcelona, Spain, stew Kizzi Kitchener and deckhand Tessa Budd asked Nathan for intel on his exes.

“The most recent one was last season. We’re, like, best friends,” he shared. “I just kind of f–ked it up.” 

Nathan’s second admission of guilt arrived a bit later in the episode, after he had a playful pre-bedtime phone call with “cheeky” Gael. In a confessional, the newly promoted bosun opened up about how his current stint on Below Deck Med just wasn’t quite the same as the previous one.

RELATED: Nathan and Gael’s Romance Is Threatened in Below Deck Med Season 10 Trailer: “Hurt Me Again”

“Last season, I had an amazing girl like her on the boat,” Nathan explained. “We had an amazing deck team and a great bond within the team. I don’t have that feeling this year. And I think a major part of that is not having Gael around. There is, like, a slight hole in my heart, yeah, but I’m trying not to show it, because I f–ked things up.”

As he concluded, “I think it’s just time to move on to a new chapter.”

Nathan Gallagher wanted a “casual” relationship before reconciling with Gael Cameron

Earlier on Below Deck Med‘s Oct. 13 episode, Nathan also shed some light on what he was looking for in a relationship, at the point in time, prior to his and Gael’s eventual reconciliation in September 2024.

“Because of what I went through with Gael last season, I want casual. Casual is exactly what I like,” he told a producer. “I’m a bosun on the boat, but when I’m in the club, I’m a playboy. Nothing’s off the cards.” 

It seemed that might even include a boatmance with Kizzi, whom Nathan sized up as being “definitely trouble” after a dinner conversation about “vajazzling” her private parts.

Chief stew Aesha Scott suggested that he might lose out to deckhands Max Salvador or Christian Trimino — who’d both already made no secret of their interest in pursuing a romance with Kizzi — if he didn’t “swoop in soon.” As Nathan replied, “Aesha, I don’t lose.”

RELATED: Captain Sandy Yawn and Aesha Scott Sound off on Working With Nathan Gallagher Again (EXCLUSIVE)

After all, Nathan and Kizzi already had a flirty conversation prior to their night out in Barcelona, during which he teased that he was going to turn on the “charm” for her. At the time, Nathan acknowledged to her that he was “up against” Max and Christian. Kizzi, for her part, encouraged him to “go for it,” but quipped, “Your stats aren’t looking good.”

Perhaps complicating matters for everyone, though, was the fact that Kizzi revealed during the group dinner that she had a “gentleman at home” named Tommy.

“Holy s–t, she has a boyfriend?” Nathan said in a confessional. “That’s f–kin’ bizarre.”

What went wrong in Nathan Gallagher and Gael Cameron’s relationship

During Below Deck Med‘s Season 10 premiere, Aesha asked Nathan to bring her up to speed on what happened between him and Gael. By his estimation, they dated for about six months, before he “kind of just cut it off” with her around Christmastime. He said they had decided to remain “friends,” though.

“After the season, we went traveling for six, seven weeks together,” Nathan 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.”

You’ll have to tune in to find out what happened in between, but fast-forward to today, and Nathan and Gael are back together after becoming parents to a son named Kayden Cameron-Gallagher in June 2025.

In the meantime, get the latest update on what Nathan has planned next for Gael and their baby boy.