Malia White Confirms She's Dating Below Deck Med's Engineer Jake
The Below Deck Med bosun also commented on "the biggest differences" between Jake and ex Tom Checketts.
Malia White has a new special someone in her life, and it's a familiar face to Below Deck Mediterranean fans.
The bosun confirmed that she is dating Season 6's engineer, Jake, during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on September 27 (clip above). Jake is one of the crew members who works aboard the Lady Michelle but that we don't typically see on-camera, along with Alex, the chief engineer, and Marten, the chief officer, all three of whom Captain Sandy Yawn introduced as the charter season got underway in the Season 6 premiere.
On WWHL, Malia played it coy when it came to answering questions about her new relationship. When host Andy Cohen first asked "when did things start up between the two of you," Malia cheekily replied, "I don't know what you're talking about [laughs]. Like, I needed a lot of oil changes."
She then went on to spill a little bit more tea, including that Jake made the first move and that their romance bloomed after this season of Below Deck Med. Malia also addressed "the biggest differences" between Jake and her ex-boyfriend, Tom Checketts, who joined the Below Deck Med crew as chef in Season 5. Her comments, which you can check out in the above video, made Andy's jaw drop.
You might think that Malia talking about her current relationship in front of her fellow WWHL guest David Pascoe would be a little awkward, considering the deckhand revealed he had a crush on the bosun this season of Below Deck Med. However, David confirmed that he's not jealous of the new romance.
The round of questions ended on a high note with Malia sharing that she and Jake are still together today. The news got some major applause from the Bravo Clubhouse audience, and Andy commented, "Nice!"
Malia told Bravo Insider during an exclusive interview in August that she was not interested in pursuing a boatmance in Season 6 of Below Deck Med following her breakup with Tom just before the charter season began. "Well, I think you see, like, I talk to Tom on the phone at the beginning of the season. Our relationship had — it was still pretty fresh, like the breakup and everything," she recalled. "So I was not really open to relationships or romance or anything. You know, I’d just [gotten] out of a pretty bad breakup, so [I was] pretty closed off."
But that doesn't mean Malia ruled out dating a fellow yachtie again. "I mean, I’m open to it. I mean, I’ll never say, like, 'I won’t date someone on a boat again.' I think in our industry, it makes the most sense for you to date someone in the industry. So I’m not against it. I’m not saying no," she shared. "I just think I needed time, like a little mourning period [laughs]."
Want more Below Deck Med? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.
Photo: Malia White/Instagram
