Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Joe Bradley didn’t hold back when discussing why he thought Nathan Gallagher shouldn’t have returned to the show.
“I love the fact that he’s a working man and he fights for his family and he’s put himself in that position financially to fight for his family. I can’t take that from him,” Joe exclusively told Us Weekly. “I admire that as much as I don’t like him. I admire fighting for your family.”
Joe noted that despite Nathan stepping up, he appeared overwhelmed.
“He should not be there. It’s detrimental,” he said about Nathan trying to balance work and raising his newborn with girlfriend Gael Cameron. “You might think to yourself, ‘Oh, it’s only six weeks.’ But those six weeks feel like nine months.”
After joining Below Deck Med in season 9, Joe and Nathan became quick friends. They fell out, however, following Joe’s tumultuous love triangle in season 10, which resulted in Nathan choosing sides.
Joe told Us that he has maintained “absolutely no” contact with Nathan.
“He did message me when I was in Australia,” Joe said. “But I didn’t answer him back so he can taste his own medicine.”
Season 11 of the hit Bravo series captured numerous moments when Nathan was frustrated with Joe. For the lead deckhand, it was gratifying for viewers to see his experience with Nathan.
“Watching it back and seeing Nathan — who he truly is — is rather refreshing to me,” Joe added. “I know who Nathan is, I know what he’s like, how he can react and for him to get his two minutes of how he actually is is refreshing to me.”
Joe pointed to the instances when Nathan went off on him in public, adding, “The fact that he can just switch is so alarming to me because I’ve seen it before.”
He continued: “It didn’t look good for him. We’re all professionals at the end of the day so [the rest of the crew] don’t know who Nathan really is yet. This is Nathan. This is who he is. He switches. He’s generally got anger issues and you hopefully throughout the season you will discover what Nathan has to offer in terms of who he is.”
Before Below Deck Med returned, Joe reflected on his growth between seasons.
“You will see a level of growth [this season] because I felt it. You will see that I’m comfortable in my own skin on board. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a bit boisterous at times,” he previously told Us. “That’s where Nathan [and I differ]. I can actually be social, but I have a good time as well and do my job well. You will see growth and you will see a level of change because I’m fed up with all these [love] triangles now.”
Joe clarified that he “learned” his lesson, revealing that he’s focused on his duties as lead deckhand.
“I really do hope that you see it on this season. My job is my main priority. I’m going to say my [biggest] regret right now was the situation with Victoria, I could have handled that very differently. I could have handled that in a mature manner,” he shared. “I was just boisterous. Obviously, we haven’t had any contact yet. But if I could sit down with her today, I would apologize. If she allows me one day to actually get all around and say I’m sorry for what I’ve done, I will do that.”
Looking ahead, Joe was determined to prove his critics wrong.
“I understand it’s not a comfortable position — even just being a viewer. Watching myself back, I have learned from the situation. I’m really focused [on] my job right now,” he concluded. “I am taming it down [in my romantic life on board] to just being one person. I don’t need to be greedy anymore. I’ve had my and I’m just ready to get the job done.”
Below Deck Med airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
