Ben Robinson and Kiara Cabral are no longer engaged. On a recent episode of Below Deck Down Under, Ben shared his side of the story. Allegedly, Kiara had been cheating on him with one of his friends, and their tryst had been going on for quite a while. However, shortly after his claim aired, Kiara went online and told a completely different story from her ex.
Unlike Ben, Kiara doesn’t have a massive platform. She’s not a reality television star like he is. So, when Ben made his televised accusations, labeling her as a cheater, Kiara felt “demonized” and without “a voice” in Ben’s storyline. But once she decided to speak up, her rebuttal started trending, and now, many BDDU fans are standing in her corner.
As of this morning, Ben hasn’t responded to Kiara’s testimony. But here’s what’s been said so far, both on BDDU and offline.
Chef Ben Robinson accused ex-fiancée Kiara Cabral of cheating with one of his friends
In 2024, Ben and Kiara called off their engagement. Neither party explained why. But when the BDDU Season 4 premiere aired, Ben finally broke his silence.
“This might come as a shock to everyone, but I am actually single,” Ben shared in one of his first confessionals. He added, “Fairly recently, I broke up with my fiancée — having spent $50,000 on a wedding I didn’t attend.” Nevertheless, Ben was happy to return to filming, since his “future” had just “been solidified,” meaning, it “vanished into thin air.” But since “Yachting was a big part of my formative life, it’s actually nice to come back to it,” he admitted.
Then, in Episode 3, Ben grew emotional following a night out on the town. He started crying in the hot tub, so Daisy Kelliher pulled him into her arms and comforted him as best as she could. As this was airing, viewers were also treated to another confessional interview, where Ben added, “I was meant to get married last year, [but] I caught [Kiara] — she had been seeing one of my friends for a very long time.”
Back in the hot tub, Ben further explained that he’s “sensitive because everyone’s just f*cking let me down.” So now, Ben has a “lack [of] faith in humanity.”
Kiara responded to Below Deck Down Under chef Ben’s claims on TikTok
Meanwhile, Kiara’s story is vastly different than Ben’s. Over the weekend, Kiara released a statement online, basically calling her ex a liar.
“Hi, my name is Kiara, Chef Ben Robinson’s ex-fiancée,” Kiara began, admitting, “Those of you who are watching Below Deck may have heard of me, and not in a positive light at all.” Regardless, Kiara stressed, “Everything Ben has said about me on the show is 100 percent false.”
As Kiara explained, “I have never, and I would never be romantically involved with any of his friends. That’s not the kind of person I am. The truth is, I was the one who left the relationship, not easily, I may add, because of the way he was treating me. There was a lot of trauma I had to deal with from that relationship,” she stressed, “And honestly, I just want it to be over.”
It’s been “over two years” since she and Ben parted ways. Over this period, Kiara’s done a lot of healing. But now, “the internet [is] blowing this up and demonizing me,” she argued. And “it’s opening a lot of scars.”
“This is the narcissism that I’ve walked away from,” Kiara ended. “And I just wanted to come on here and say that. I don’t have a platform. I’m a nobody. I know Ben has his fans, but I really want to be [at] peace.”
So far, most of the commenters are on her side. As one penned, “Ben is great, chaotic, entertaining TV, but even us fans of Below Deck can see that the same energy would make for a horrible partner in a relationship.”
Chef Ben has his eyes on two BDDU co-stars
Ben has yet to respond to Kiara’s clapback. But as BDDU progresses, Ben’s tears are drying. Two ladies onboard have already caught his eye, courtesy of Elena “Ellie” Dubaich and Jenna Woudberg.
At the start of Season 4, Alesia Harris worked underneath Ben as his sous chef. Her skills were lacking. As was her backbone. So, Alesia moved into the interior department, and in came Ellie, taking Alesia’s spot in the galley.
But as Ben explained, he already knew who Ellie was. “I wrote to her two weeks ago, because I saw her on Instagram, and I really liked her page,” he said in his talking head. So, Ben asked Ellie to join him for a drink, which she turned down, but “now, she’s my f*cking sous chef. Sh*t, the powers of manifestation!”
So far, Ben and Ellie are really clicking in the galley. Jenna isn’t shipping them, though, because she’s had her eyes on Ben since day one. Jenna thinks that Ben’s “a good person.” He makes her laugh, and, luckily for her, Ben reciprocates her feelings, but nothing romantic has passed between them just yet.
However, in the BDDU Season 4 trailer, we saw Ben and Jenna dancing closely together. As Jenna admitted, “It was nice getting to know Ben.” And then, we watched Ben finally confess to Jenna, “I like you, OK?”
So, Ben’s moving forward from his broken engagement to Kiara. But whether either of his BDDU crushes will last, only time will tell.
Below Deck Down Under is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU BELIEVE ONE PARTY MORE THAN ANOTHER? WILL BEN REFUTE KIARA’S CLAIMS?
