Malia White Reveals What "People Might Not See" of Her Relationship with Captain Sandy Yawn

Captain Sandy Yawn and Malia White may be getting along swimmingly in Season 5 of Below Deck Mediterranean, but that doesn't mean the boss isn't sometimes hard on the bosun as well.

Malia shared a deeper look inside her relationship with Captain Sandy while responding to those who think she shows the bosun "favoritism" during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: @ Home on July 13. "I think Captain Sandy, people might not see it, but she actually is pretty tough on me at times," Malia said in the above clip. "I think she wants to hold me to the same standard that she holds herself."

In fact, it is this approach to managing her crew that has taught Malia so much about how to be a leader in the yachting industry. "I think what I like about Captain Sandy and her leadership style and kind of what she said to me is you just have to demand the level of respect that you want and just put your foot down sometimes. Like, we’re not there to be their friend. We’re not gonna be best friends all the time with every crew. You've got to know when to put your foot down and stand up for yourself, which is great advice," Malia told The Daily Dish during an interview earlier this season. "Otherwise, you’re not gonna be happy in your workplace."

One of Malia's deckhands, Robert Westergaard, applauded her job in leading the deck team so far this season of Below Deck Med while appearing as the bosun's fellow guest on WWHL: @ Home. "I feel that all the decisions that Malia made were in her best judgment, so I don't feel there were any bad decisions that Malia made," he said in the below clip. "We were all in a learning experience, you know, so I respect her judgment."

Robert Westergaard Rates Malia White’s Job as Bosun

Want more Below Deck Med? New episodes air every Monday at 9/8c or catch up on the entire series through the Bravo app.

It looks like there's going to be some tension between Malia and Rob in the next episode of Below Deck Med. Check out a sneak peek, below.

Malia White Comes Down on Robert Westergaard

Photo: Malia White/Instagram