The Below Deck franchise is all about hiring aesthetically pleasing people to be working in front of the cameras. The crew that we see on camera regularly consists of the captain, deck team, and interior stews. Occasionally, there is an engineer shuffling through the shot, or someone referencing First Officer So-And-So that comes to the rescue when s–t gets real on the boat.
These quick instances are the only indication that anyone else is present onboard. Lady Michelle presumably has a chief and second engineer, as well as a first officer due to her size. And while bosun Malia White turned down deck hand David Pascoe, she did find love with someone behind the scenes.
After a difficult relationship with Below Deck Mediterranean chef Tom Checketts, Malia professed wariness for boat romances. She seemed to enjoy being single, and was quick to shut down advances from David. But maybe the right person gave Malia the sense of security she needed to give love another chance.
Us Magazine confirmed the news of Malia’s new relationship with Jake Baker, an engineer who was working behind the scenes on Below Deck Mediterranean Season Six. While Malia has been quiet on social media, Jake has been teasing fans with tidbits of information. When you put those little hints together, they indicate a romance between the duo.
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First there was a birthday message to Malia in July. Jake wrote on her Instagram, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Moon Boot Queen herself.” Then there was a double date a month prior with Captain Sandy Yawn, her girlfriend Leah Shafer, Malia, and Jake. Malia’s social media was quiet on the event, but Leah posted, “what a wonderful evening! Played top golf with my love Captain Sandy Yawn and Malia White and friends! So great to finally meet Malia in person, what an amazing soul!”
Jake and Malia were linked together in May when Florida-based event styling company The Little Gatherings shared a social media post of their date. They wrote, “Tonight we had the absolute pleasure of curating something special for these two cuties- @maliakpwhite was a goddess in that white dress and @bakeyjakeyy was equally as lovely.”
If all that weren’t enough for us social media sleuths, Jake shared a sweet picture on August 29th of he and Malia kissing by a pool. And that seems to make it official. Chief stew Katie Flood posted a fire emoji in response, and third stew Courtney Veale wrote that the picture, “just broke the internet.”
It will be curios to see if Jake makes an appearance on the show, and if he played any part behind the scenes because Malia went from not being “in a place to look for romance,” to being crazy in love.
Certainly Malia’s separation from Tom affected her. In September 2020, she wrote on Instagram, “yes, Tom and I have split. The details surrounding all of it I am trying to keep a little private just out of respect to him and I. But yes, I am single.”
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Malia blamed the industry. “Yeah, we were, you know, working on different boats,” she explained, “it was in the pandemic [that] had just happened. So, it was impossible for us to see each other. It was right when the show is coming out, it’s obviously a lot going on in our lives. And, yeah, he found someone else on his boats, and I didn’t know for a couple of months.”
Apparently, David had to be subjected to a long-winded explanation about Tom as he was being rejected by his crush. Malia told Us Weekly, “I think I even told David [about the split, explaining] that everything with Tom and I was falling apart right before we filmed this season. I was a mess coming into it and I was just like, ‘You know, I don’t really want to even see men right now.”
Despite her feeling at the start of the season, Malia never ruled out a chance at love on the sea. She said, “the people you work around are the ones you build these close relationships with. And for us, these may be the only people we meet for months at a time. So, you naturally develop feelings toward people.”
Well, clearly it takes the right person.
RELATED: Below Deck Mediterranean Bosun Malia White Defends Captain Sandy Yawn After She Publicly Questioned Malia’s Sexuality
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MALIA’S NEW MAN? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BOAT ROMANCES?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
