Kayley Smith only had one year of yachting experience before joining the cast of Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11. Yet, Aesha Scott has already promoted her all the way to the top. Now, Kayley is the acting chief stew. She is just that good.
Unless you ask Gen Lillie, that is. Unlike Gen, Joe Bradley is actually quite smitten with Kayley. These two have become an “accidental power couple,” now that Joe is the acting bosun.
This season has been a wild ride, and we’re only halfway through. Will things get easier from here, or can fans expect even more drama ahead? Given this season’s track record, betting on “easier” would probably be financially irresponsible … Not shockingly, when Reality Tea got her on the line, Kayley agreed, teasing that following Max Salvador’s arrival, everything “explodes” and fans can “absolute carnage” and a “sh*tshow” in turn.
Kayley has one Below Deck Med Season 11 regret, and it’s likely not what you’d expect
Since this is her first rodeo on Bravo, we asked Kayley if she had any regrets this season. Yes, she regrets “not standing up for not only myself,” Kayley admitted, or even “just the team in general.” But her main regret lies with her late-blossoming “relationship with Kat [Johnston].”
It was “a little bit later in the season when we started to get really close. And looking back on all those nights out, I really missed an opportunity to be there for her [while she was dealing with the Cooper Dawson drama].” But Kayley “called Kat today, actually, and apologized” for that.
“Protect Kat at all costs,” Kayley added, which, YES. Also, “On the second night out, I think you guys could see Aesha dancing with the DJ, and we were all going a little bit crazy,” Kayley explained. But in the other corner, “I’m doing a headstand and a head spin,” because I’d “had one too many, maybe five too many, cocktails at that point. And you know, I’m going to regret saying that now,” too, Kayley laughed, because “I think there’s a video on someone’s phone” of this.
Kayley gets real about Gen Lillie and the remaining Season 11 storylines
In her Bravo bio, Kayley talked about working on yachts, saying, “You will likely butt heads with each person at some point, but you will also love these people quicker and more deeply than you could ever imagine!” Who on the Season 11 crew tested this theory the most? The “obvious” answer is Gen, Kayley admitted. But also Joe, “in the best way,” because “we definitely tested each other.”
Speaking of Gen, when Aesha promoted Kayley to acting chief stew, Gen predicted it’d be “a disaster.” On that, Kayley thinks “it was a little unwarranted. I mean, even Captain Sandy [Yawn] said it herself, ‘This is a disaster.’ She’s never experienced this in 25 years of yachting, so to discount me before I’ve even gotten the chance to prove myself was wrong.”
We agreed. But Gen never will. Because “I’ll just say, it doesn’t get any better” from here, Kayley hinted. And no, these two have not spoken since leaving the yacht.
Regarding what does happen in the second act of Season 11, Kayley understandably kept things coy. “But just absolute carnage” still lies ahead, she teased. The arrival of “Max is our first step, and then it explodes. I think you guys are going to be in awe, and you’re probably going to need someone to help you get your jaw off the ground by the end of the season,” she joked, because it’s giving, “Energy, shitshow, and fun.”
An update on Kayley and Joe, with a sidebar on Joe and Victoria San Juan
Last week on Watch What Happens Live, Joe said Kayley was the only boatmance partner he was no longer in touch with. Then, Kayley went online and corrected his statement. What is the real truth here?
“I messaged [Joe] because I was like, ‘I’m getting so many messages. Did you mean to do that?’” In response, Joe “was like, ‘Girl, you weren’t on my screen.’” But yes, Kayley and Joe ARE still in touch, and no, they are not an item.
On the same episode of WWHL, however, Joe answered several questions about his past flings, and his positive answers all landed on Victoria SanJuan, one of his two crushes from last season. Kayley and V are Instagram friends. So, knowing what she knows, does Kayley think Joe still has a chance with V? “This is no shade to Joe,” Kayley began, “but I think, for her sake, I hope she never does. I think she deserves better.”
Below Deck Mediterranean continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo, and streams on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU ENJOYING KAYLEY? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HER AGAIN ON BELOW DECK MED? WERE YOU SURPRISED BY ANY OF HER ANSWERS?
