After Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10 deckhands Tessa Budd and Christian Trimino were fired by Captain Sandy Yawn, she was forced to scramble to find replacements in Episode 5—and one familiar face answered the call. But the returning deckhand also boarded Bravado with a big flaw: a history of complicated boatmances.
“I was out at sea. I got the text from Captain Sandy saying that my best mate needs me on deck. Get me out,” Joe Bradley, who was also a deckhand during Below Deck Med Season 9, explained in his confessional interview. “I’m back, baby!”
Bosun Nathan Gallagher was thrilled to have his former co-worker back on board. “Joe’s coming back! Me and him just vibe on a whole different level. I mean, if I knew Joe was going to come back, I would have sacked [Tessa and Christian] on charter one.”
It was a manifestation for Nathan, who complained to chief stew Aesha Scott back in Episode 2 about his lacking crew. “I wish I had the team last year, you know? I wish I had Gael [Cameron] and Joe ‘cause they took initiative,” he told her.
Captain Sandy Yawn reacts to Joe Bradley’s Below Deck Med Return
Sandy described Joe in the Oct. 27 episode as “a good deckhand” who’s “experienced,” and Joe agreed with that assessment. He confessed, “I do consider myself like a really good deckhand. But, I had a few flaws. I’ve had a year to learn. I’m comfortable on the bow now, and I know exactly what’s going on. I’ve just leveled up. And I feel so good and so confident in myself. Just ready to absolutely smash it.”
But those plans were put on hold when Joe met stews Victoria “V” SanJuan and Kizzy Kitchener—and Nathan declared Joe was “in trouble.”
Joe Bradley confesses romantic feelings for Victoria SanJuan and Kizzi Kitchener
As Joe and V met each other in the crew mess in the Oct. 27 episode, Joe called her “stunning.” V admitted, “Dang, they finally brought someone on board who’s really handsome.” V also fell for Joe’s familiar greeting, muttering to herself later, “The double kiss—how cultured.”
When Kizzi entered the crew mess, V brought her up to speed on the new arrival, declaring, “He’s so f—king hot!”
Kizzi and Joe also greeted each other with a hug—and Joe knew he was facing a problem. He admitted in his confessional interview, “Oh, god, she’s gorgeous as well. I’m in trouble.”
When V and Joe were paired together to lead a guest excursion in Barcelona, Aesha worried trouble was brewing.
“I don’t want to say this too early, but with V’s kind of naive nature, I can see her getting swept into Joe’s charm very easily,” Aesha confessed. “V’s a wee little innocent fish, and he’s a big bad shark.”
Joe also kicked things into a dangerous mode when he flirted with Kizzi in front of V in the crew mess by “working out” with Kizzi and flexing her body up and down in his arms.
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V commented, “Isn’t that interesting?” of the move, while Kizzi confessed, “I think we’re going to have fun.”
Kizzi also admitted to Nathan that sparks were flying between she and Joe, and added, “I think he’s beautiful.”
As Joe and V flirted and spoke in Spanish to each other in front of the guests on the excursion, Joe feared he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
“You’ve got Victoria who’s this lioness. The eyes—when she stares into your soul,” he explained. “And then you’ve got Kizzi, this gorgeous little pocket rocket.”
He later asked producers, “Am I worried about going into another love triangle like last season? Yeah. Have you seen these girls on this boat? I’m totally f—ked. You do know that, don’t ya?”
Details on Joe Bradley’s love triangle during Below Deck Med Season 9
Being caught between two stews in a love triangle is familiar ground for Joe. Back on Season 9 of Below Deck Med, he flirted with Elena “Ellie” Dubaich while also kissing Bri Muller.
Joe shared in the Oct. 27 episode he didn’t want to make the same mistake again with Kizzi and V, adding, “It was super tough last season with the love triangle that I got with Bri and Ellie. I’m going to try and behave.”
Ellie told The Daily Dish back in 2024 that she felt like Joe was “leading both” of them on. Things boiled over when Bri and Joe hooked up after a crew night out.
“I do feel a little bit snaked by Bri,” Ellie said in Season 9, Episode 5, noting she had spoken to Bri about her interest in Joe. “You don’t give a f–k about my feelings…This is irritating and disappointing.”
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Bri explained on the Below Deck Mediterranean After Show that she and Joe just got caught in the moment. “You know when you look deeply in someone’s eyes? I feel like that moment just happened with us,” she added.
The tension among the three spilled over after the boat docked and the season ended as Joe continued to see both women on dry land.
“He told me he could never post a picture with me because people talk,” Ellie said on the After Show. “Never let me post the flowers he bought me, because he didn’t want people to talk. Next thing I know, he’s in LA with Bri, posting 15 stories with Bri, rubbing it in my face. I’m sorry, you stayed at my place, and you don’t even have the respect to post one picture with me to say ‘Thank you,’ but you go to LA and post all these stories with Bri right to my face? I blocked him after that.”
Ellie later told The Daily Dish that Joe later “reached out and offered a heartfelt apology for being immature and not realizing how his behavior was affecting others.”
Don’t miss Kizzi revealing how she feels about Nathan today, following their flirty moments still to come on Season 10 of Below Deck Med.
