Joe Bradley is back for his third season of Below Deck Mediterranean. But this season, he is sailing into noticeably choppier waters with Nathan Gallagher.
In prior seasons, Joe toyed with several hearts. So, as Nathan explained in Episode 1, he chose to disengage from their friendship. But to his credit, Joe is showing growth this season. He is going to bed alone (for now), while making fun strides with only one female instead of his usual two.
And thankfully, he and Nathan seem to have found peace as well. But will that last? To answer that question, alongside many others, Reality Tea got Joe on the line. As Joe told us, we need to enjoy his and Nathan’s peace treaty while we can, because Nathan “just switches,” and when he does, “it’s alarming.”
Joe Bradley gives an update on his mom’s cancer diagnosis, and talks about his love for these Below Deck Med crew members
During Episode 2, Joe received a tough word from home. His mother, Karen, had breast cancer. But thankfully, “she’s doing absolutely amazing” these days. In fact, “right now, present day, she’s clear, all clear,” Joe said, grinning from ear to ear.
Karen has a “check-up on Monday (July 13),” so Joe is presently home. “I want to be there for her,” he explained. After all, “she’s the reason why I’m so happy.”
Likewise, his crew was there for him during Season 11, specifically Captain Sandy Yawn. “Captain Sandy, what a support, what a woman. I love that woman so much. I adore her,” Joe stressed.
Cooper Dawson and Kayley Smith also stood by his side throughout this scary ordeal. “Mark my word,” Joe said, looking more serious than we have ever seen him look, “I would not be able to do that season if it were not for those two.”
Regarding Cooper, these two men “made each other’s beds.” And they grew even closer after Season 11 wrapped. “We went traveling together,” Joe revealed, and “we just got closer and closer at the experiences that I cannot say much more about,” he teased, “because oh my gosh, did we get up to mischief.”
SAY MORE, JOE! (He wouldn’t, I tried.)
Is there any hope for Joe Bradley and Nathan Gallagher’s friendship?
Before Cooper, though, there was Nathan. Nathan and Joe are currently in a good spot. But will they stay this way as the season progresses?
“Well, you’re gonna have to wait and see,” Joe answered. “But no one knows who Nathan is, although you’ll get to know who Nathan is, I’m hoping. I know who he is, though, and it’s alarming. And that’s why today, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
So, no hopes of a reconciliation here, eh Joe? “No. I hope there isn’t,” Joe said, deadpanned. “I just know Nathan, I know what he’s capable of. And it’s, he’s just not a nice man. And hopefully he’ll get seen.”
When Joe learned about his mother’s diagnosis, Nathan “supported me in that moment,” he conceded. “But then he just switches. It’s alarming, and this is not the first time that he’s done this. If you look at my mannerisms, I’m looking at him, going, ‘You’ve done this too many times to me, this is not hurting me, I just know who you are.’”
Joe’s hot takes on the current Below Deck Med storylines
This season, Joe is NOT the number one male in the hot seat. We congratulated him on this. And then we asked him what he thought about the nasty sheets storyline involving Luke. “Bizarre,” Joe immediately said.
However, Joe does think Luke “is genuinely a really nice person, and he’ll do anything for anyone. But that was probably one of the worst decisions in his life. I mean, why would you leave it fermenting?” Preach, Joe.
So, will things get much worse for Luke? “Astronomically,” Joe said, keeping his answer to one word only, said with a he-knows-something-we-don’t kind of look in his eyes.
Thankfully, though, there is a far better storyline brewing in the background, and it involves Joe and Kayley. These two are on the same no-strings-attached page. “She said, nothing serious,” Joe explained, and “I got shivers. I was like, ‘Oh my god, are you saying this to me right now?’”
“I was like, ‘Kayley, you don’t know who you’re talking to, for one. And secondly, we can have a bit of fun, but we’re gonna work our hardest,’ and she’s a very hard worker,” Joe noted. “She’s also a beautiful person.”
But don’t get too excited. Joe remains “Single, comma, always.” Joe knows, “I need to find myself before I can give to my woman.”
Has Joe turned a corner, and what does his future hold?
In seasons past, fans understandably called Joe out. But this season, his antics are mostly dialed down. Has that changed the way people are showing up in his DMs?
It has, and as a result, Joe doesn’t “even know how to react. I’ve got so much support. I’ve never had this before, and I’m loving it.” That said, Joe also understands his past haters, “because last season, my decisions were very bad.”
As for his future, Joe finished his “engineering course and got my yacht master. So I’m legally allowed to sail a boat up to 25 meters with four crew under me.” He is also moving to Dubai to continue working on his resume in the yachting industry.
“I owe a lot to this industry,” Joe confessed. “It took me out of the pit. When I say the pit, I slept in my car, painted houses, did gardening, and worked in a 24-hour shop with old drunks. I’ve been a salesman, I’ve done everything under the sun, but now I work under the sun, and I’m enjoying it.”
Onward, Joe.
Below Deck Mediterranean continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo, and streams on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU ENJOYING JOE THIS SEASON? DID HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT NATHAN SHOCK YOU?
