Below Deck Mediterranean fans may have been skeptical about the dynamic between returning castmates Natalya Scudder and Kyle Viljoen. Given their history last season, that would be the first thought. Kyle and former chief stew Natasha Webb banded together and shirked their responsibilities, only to dump the workload on Natalya. Then, they reacted defensively when she called her interior team out on it.
But they ended the season on a cordial note. So perhaps there was hope for them to start over without Natasha in the middle. Sadly, the Season 8 teaser indicates nothing is further from the truth. At one point, Natalya calls Kyle a “terrible human being.” Enough said.
A few conversations with Kyle got Natalya “quite upset”
Except now Natalya is being called to explain her decision and tease the upcoming season. She recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the matter to coincide with the new Below Deck Med season.
“I held off for way too long about confronting Natasha and Kyle about how I was feeling with the work duties,” Natalya explained. “This year, I definitely approach it very quickly, and it does not work out for me.””
There’s definitely people I just would never work with again,” she said of finishing her second season. “If someone just disrespects me, doesn’t treat me how I would treat them, I am not going to sit there and just be like, ‘Oh, just because you are in a higher role than me just means I am going to take it.’ Like, I will straight away, I don’t bite my tongue. I just say it how it is. Some people really just like that about me, but I do like that about myself.”
Ironically, on the season premiere Natalya was “so excited” when she heard Kyle was returning. The two had “spoken since last season,” so the anticipation was a positive one.
“We realized like, oh my god, we were so tired, you know? Like, it’s a very intense process, filming, so I went into it very excited,” Natalya explained. “I pushed for us to share a cabin together. I was like, I have a lot of stuff happening in my personal life, I would love if me and Kyle could share … ’cause I needed support from a familiar face at that time and, yeah, all I can say is I was very excited for him to step on board, but things go pretty sour. But then they go back, and it’s up and down again.”
Things went south on Mustique
The interviewer asked the interim chief stew how she and Kyle ended the current season. Natalya teased to check who she is following on Instagram as an answer. Unsurprisingly, Kyle is not one of those people.
“There is a reason I got to that point,” she said.
To her credit, Natalya urged viewers from picking sides. Rather than add outside fuel to the fire, she and Kyle sorted matters out after the season ended.
“I don’t want anyone to be like ‘Team Natalya’ and ‘Team Kyle,'” she said. “We’ve already dealt with it, and it’s just stressful. We are going to have to relive through it all again.”
Despite dealing with it, there’s no working future. “Absolutely not,” she said of working with her crewmate again.
Natalya’s open secret
One major factor was Kyle’s opinions about Natalya’s relationship. While filming, the reality TV star was in an open relationship and found it hard to deal with that kind of arrangement.
“I was just very confused,” she explained. “I really depended on Kyle this season to help me get me through, and then we have a few conversations that also get me quite upset … and you have a lot of opinions. People get very involved with your business on board, and I think I am very open and honest, and maybe I regret saying some things that I did, like talking so openly about this relationship and my struggles, because a lot of people were not supportive and kind of, like, joke about it.”
Natalya’s unmet expectations clearly led to bigger issues. It’s unfortunate for their friendship, but us viewers can enjoy another volatile season.
Catch Below Deck Mediterranean Mondays 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED BETWEEN NATALYA AND KYLE? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THEIR DYNAMIC LAST SEASON? ARE YOU SURPRISED NATALYA REFUSES TO WORK WITH KYLE AGAIN?
