Jono Reveals What Ellie Dubaich “Confided” in Him Off-Camera About Carrie: “I Heard..."
Chef Jono Shillingford spilled on Ellie's previously-unheard remark about new stew Carrie's arrival during the Below Deck Mediterranean After Show.
A new stewardess has started on Below Deck Mediterranean, and not everyone is thrilled about the extra help. During Season 9, Episode 14, which aired September 1, Carrie O'Neill joined the Mustique staff, much to the relief of chief stew Aesha Scott who had been struggling to run a big boat with a lighter staff than normal all season. However, Aesha's second in command Elena "Ellie" Dubaich was less excited about a new coworker.
During the Below Deck Mediterranean After Show, Chef Johnathan Shillingford let fans in on exactly what Ellie said to him after Carrie started working.
"Ellie definitely confided in me that she felt like Aesha was pushing her to the curb because of the way Carrie kind of came in and was taking on other responsibilities," he said.
Fellow stew Bri Muller chimed in to note that this made sense, though. As she put it, "The difference is, Carrie has been a chief stew before, Ellie hasn't."
According to Jono, Ellie disputed this during the season. "Ellie said that she was never a chief stew, she was a sole stew pretending to be a chief or something," he claimed. "I don't know. I heard all this drama."
Ellie, for her part, reiterated this on the After Show.
Ellie Dubaich clarifies her stance on new stew Carrie O'Neill
The yachtie, more specifically, said, "Let's be honest, Carrie's a chief stew on a 30-meter. Like, a solo stew."
Ellie continued: "Don't tell me about standards from a booze cruise in Miami. That's unacceptable. Anybody who's in yachting, when they hear the boats I've worked on, they know what's up. So, I'm not going to have Carrie come in here from a random booze cruise telling me about standards. As arrogant as that sounds, that's just the reality of the matter."
Further explaining her feelings toward Carrie, Ellie said, "There was an underlying mocking tone with Carrie that I sensed. That was her vibe. In my eyes, the floating position is basically a fourth stew position, so regardless of how much experience you have or what your rank is elsewhere, you've got to adapt to your rank in this environment. So, in my eyes, Carrie's job was to assist us, finish the season on a high note. It wasn't her job to come and supervise us."
Carrie O'Neill reacts to Ellie Dubaich's criticism
Carrie also made an appearance on the After Show and defended her past experience as a chief stew.
"I've been a chief stew 8 years. As chief stew, 47-meters is the biggest [boat] I've worked on," she said, disputing Ellie's claims. "It would've been three [yachties] underneath me."
"I did a lot of land based [work] as well," Carrie added of her time aboard a houseboat. "It's different but it's also the same. Obviously the house doesn't move but it's f-cking big compared to a boat. And then the owner of the house also had a boat so I'd go and work on there as well from time to time. If he wanted to throw a party or whatever, he tended to favor me to go and deal with that. And then at the house, I had four girls, and then I also had outside staff, so three guys on the exterior. That's quite a lot. That's seven people you're sort of responsible for."
Carrie also noted that she was never coming for Ellie's job.
"The whole rank thing, people sometimes really hold onto it," she said. "I mean, the whole second stew, third stew, fourth stew thing — I'm a bit like, 'Eh.' I'm more than happy to just be put anywhere."
Kate Chastain and Aesha Scott weigh in on Ellie vs. Carrie
Kate Chastain and Aesha also chimed in to say that rank should really be the least of a yachtie's worries.
"A good yachtie, a good team player, anyone who deserves to be second stew, doesn't care about being second stew," noted Kate. "It's like fight club. We don't talk about rank, we just are like 'What are the guests doing and how can I help?'"
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Will the ladies end up getting along for the rest of the season? Tune into Below Deck Mediterranean on Mondays at 9/8c to find out. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
