The Untold Truth Of Kate Chastain From Below Deck
Fans of Below Deck are likely familiar with Captain Lee's right-hand person, chief stew Kate Chastain. After joining Bravo's reality show in Season 2 following original chief stew Adrienne Gang's departure, Chastain made her mark by being incredibly organized and not afraid to share a joke or two with the guests. Indeed, she quickly become known for her sometimes brutal summations of crew members and yacht guests alike. As Chastain told Vanity Fair in 2019, "I'm not judging someone — I'm just categorizing them. It'd be like bird-watching. Like, that's a parrot because it has green feathers. That's a flamingo, because it has pink feathers. That guy's not a yachtie, because he's got a Rastafarian beanie on."
Understandably, Chastain's February 2020 announcement that she was retiring after six seasons on the hit series left viewers feeling bereft — as well as wondering what the hilarious reality star would do next. So, join us as we deep dive into what Chastain's life is like when the cameras aren't rolling, and explore what the Below Deck icon plans to do now that she's left her reality TV yachting days behind.
Kate Chastain wrote a book about her life
If you ever wondered what Kate Chastain was up to when she wasn't appearing on Below Deck, one of the answers is that she's been busy writing a book. 2016 saw the release of Lucky Charming. "Long before #BelowDeck even existed I started writing a book about life on yachts," she explained on Twitter at the time. "And now I've finally finished it."
In the autobiography, Chastain muses about what led her to start her career in the yachting industry, and everything she learned along the way. While speaking with The Daily Dish, she teased, "I think it's a really interesting glimpse into a world that not a lot of people get to experience. There's travel, there's celebrities, there's just the story of a girl who gets into adventure."
In her book's acknowledgements (p. 285 for those who have a copy!), Chastain joked, "I'm not sure which was more difficult — becoming a yachtie or writing a book about becoming a yachtie." However, the reality TV star also admitted that working on yachts wasn't all plain sailing. It might be hard to believe but she wrote on p. 273, "I might have been the worst chief stew in the history of all chief stews on my first try ... and my second. But eventually, after another year of trial and error, I got the hang of being Head B**ch In Charge." Now it's hard to imagine anyone else doing quite as good a job as Chastain.
This Below Deck chief stew was once on laundry duty
Below Deck Season 7 viewers will be well aware that Simone Mashile was upset with her chief stew for relegating her to the laundry room on so many occasions. However, Kate Chastain revealed that all interior staff spend copious amounts of time in the laundry room throughout their careers. In fact, even this reality star had to pay her dues. Sharing a throwback photo on Instagram in September 2015, Chastain wrote, "I wasn't always a Chief Stew.....for 6 straight months in 2008 I was on laundry duty #BelowDeck. It's not punishment, it's earning your rank." In the picture, the future chief stew could be seen brandishing an iron and tackling the yacht's laundry.
And that's not all. Chastain doubled down on why laundry duty wasn't so bad during a Below Deck: After Show episode. "I love the laundry room," she explained, adding, "Let me tell you all the reasons I love the laundry room. First of all, you're away from the guests and the crew." The reality star even made the less-than-glamorous role sound pretty delightful as she continued with, "It's like your own private clubhouse. You get to play music. On a yacht, everywhere else, no music. You're in your own zone. You're in your own clubhouse."
Basically, if you ever find yourself working on a yacht and desperately need some alone time, it sounds like the laundry room is the place to be.
Kate Chastain opened up about her sexuality
Having previously dated men throughout her time on Below Deck, Kate Chastain revealed that she had a girlfriend, Ro Hernandez, in January 2016. The chief stew told The Daily Dish, "I think every single human that knows me is going to be surprised by the news because this is out of character for me. If I break up with this girl, I don't think I would really be interested in dating girls after this. I don't really think about labeling it too much." Hernandez even visited Chastain on the yacht during Season 4, and was introduced to the stew's fellow crew mates, proving just how serious their relationship was at the time.
Meeting Hernandez appeared to surprise Chastain herself, as she added to The Daily Dish, "She's amazing. I never, ever imagined myself dating a girl. I never was attracted to girls. So I'm a little caught off guard, but she's just a really special person." As for how the couple first connected, the Bravo star continued, "We met just met in our hometown at a bar one night and started chatting."
The chief stew's openness about who she was dating was extremely refreshing, and proved that love really can blossom when you least expect it.
This Below Deck star was arrested after a fight with her ex-girlfriend
Sadly, Kate Chastain's relationship with Ro Hernandez was not meant to be. The couple split later on in 2016 after the Bravo star was arrested after a domestic altercation. Per TMZ, Chastain allegedly "tried to kick her drunk girlfriend out of their house and when she refused, Kate bit her in the forearm, bicep and leg. Cops say Kate also put a knee on her head, choked her, and tried to stop her breathing." Florida Today reported on police body cam footage of the arrest, in which Chastain discussed her relationship and the alleged abuse she experienced.
Chastain later revealed to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Lives (via The Daily Dish), "As much as I would love to speak about this, and I've wanted to for a while, I've been advised not to because it's still pending ... But I'll just say that I have dangerously bad taste in romantic partners, but luckily, I have impeccable taste in attorneys." She also explained to The Daily Dish itself, "I'm looking forward, very much so, to having my day in court."
In June 2017, Radar Online reported that Chastain's case was downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor, and in October of the same year, the chief stew told Entertainment Tonight that the charges had been dropped altogether.
Kate Chastain is cautious about dating
Since her very public split from her ex-girlfriend, Ro Hernandez, Kate Chastain has been much more careful when it comes to dating — and has become considerably more private. As she told People Now in October 2018, her new mantra was, "Definitely to not be as open about who I'm dating." She continued, "Fortunately that's all gone away, but I'm a little more cautious about who I date because people can appear one way and then be totally different." Basically, it seems that being the spotlight has made Chastain more wary of who she trusts or with whom she gets romantically involved.
In February 2019, it was revealed by The Daily Dish that Chastain had been dating a new man while filming Season 6 of Below Deck. However, it seems the reality star wasn't all that smitten with her new guy, as she told the publication, "You know, everybody's great when you first start dating them, and then you like get to know them and then you're like, 'Ugh, what a weird one.'" It sounds as though Chastain isn't in a rush to settle down. Perhaps she's just waiting for the right captain to come along, and who can blame her?
She's stayed close with Below Deck's Connie Arias
Anyone who watched the 2020 Below Deck reunion will be aware that not all of the cast members remain friends after a charter season has ended. However, Kate Chastain appears to have made several friends for life during her time on the Bravo show, and that includes former deckhand Connie Arias. In an interview with The Daily Dish, Chastain explained, "Connie arranged for all of us to go out to this ranch and have bonfires and ride swamp buggies. So I brought my girlfriend, and Connie was so funny. She called her 'the lesbian Justin Timberlake.'" In December 2018, Arias and Chastain teamed up for a charity endeavor. Alongside a video clip shared on Twitter, Chastain wrote, "Connie and I jumped behind the bar last night for a bit to help out at the @MainstreetPub Genesis House benefit last night. Thanks to everyone who came out!"
By December the following year, Chastain proved that their friendship was still going strong when she posted some Instagram snaps taken with Arias and wrote, "Some things never change." These celebrity pals even share a birthday, which they regularly celebrate with adorable social media posts to one another. In January 2020, Arias joked, "Happy birthday to us!!! #gladyourefaraway #tootiredforfun."
Kate Chastain's close friendship with Below Deck chef Ben Robinson
For everyone shipping Kate Chastain and Below Deck chef Ben Robinson, it seems that the pair has remained very close indeed. While they aren't dating, they still have a lot of fondness for one another. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live (via The Daily Dish), Chastain joked, "My favorite is probably Ben. And that might be because we had sex." In August 2019, Chastain shared a bed selfie on Twitter taken with Robinson to celebrate his return to the show. She captioned the sweet picture with, "Yay! Chef Ben is back on @BravoTV #BelowDeckMed @BenRobinsonChef."
In 2019, Robinson confirmed that he also had a lot of love for the chief stew and told People TV, "Kate is a really good friend, and sometimes really good friends get really drunk and do really inappropriate things to one another ... I think maybe we've closed that chapter." That December, Chastain celebrated Robinson's birthday with a throwback photo and wrote alongside a heart emoji on Instagram, "Happy Birthday to my dear friend @benstogram btw just realized we have like 2 photos together after all these years so next time let's take some selfies xo." Who knows what the future holds for these two?
Was this Below Deck alum ghosted by Hannah Ferrier?
If you thought that fellow chief stews, Hannah Ferrier and Kate Chastain, were best friends, then think again. In October 2019, Chastain confirmed, "A lot of people that work with Hannah also work with me, and people tell me things that are said." She continued, "And so, at this point, it's just like I don't really want to be friends with somebody that said bad things about me."
Despite previously seeming close, and even posting social media selfies together, Chastain and Ferrier's friendship is no more. During an appearance on the Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald podcast, Chastain opened up about her feud with Ferrier, but suggested that she might have been open to reuniting with Below Deck Mediterranean's chief stew. However, Ferrier appears to have ghosted Chastain, who revealed (via Cheat Sheet), "She has not replied, that was in August ... She never replied to the message. It's like if you're really my friend I'd be like, 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I did say that.' Or just answer or deny it! She just never even answered."
Ouch! Chastain even tweeted about the situation and told a fan, "Unfortunately I don't consider people who talk poorly about me behind my back to be a friend." It seems unlikely that we're going to see Below Deck's famous chief stews on the same yacht anytime soon.
Below Deck's Captain Lee is Kate Chastain's ride or die
Kate Chastain's onscreen rapport with Captain Lee Rosbach isn't just for the cameras. And although they're best friends now, their friendship apparently got off to a rocky start when Chastain joined Below Deck for Season 2. Chastain revealed on an episode of the Below Deck: After Show (via The Daily Dish), "My first season working for Captain Lee, we didn't really get along." She continued, "There was so much going on with the TV show that there wasn't a lot of chance for us to interact. We were thrown into it."
Since then, they've quickly become family. In fact, the pair has become so close that they regularly post photos of one another on social media. In one Instagram photo, Rosbach posed with Chastain and his wife, Mary Anne, and wrote, "How lucky can one guy get."
While Below Deck Season 7 saw a lot of drama take place on the yacht, Captain Lee remained committed to his friendship with the inimitable chief stew. On another episode of the Below Deck: After Show (via People), Rosbach explained, "The thing with Kate and I is, she's one of my best friends." He continued, "She's a really, really caring person." At this point, Chastain is much more than one of the captain's crew members, as Rosbach revealed, "I don't look at Kate as an employee. We're co-workers. She runs her department, and I run mine. She's the best there is."
Kate Chastain's Below Deck retirement announcement mimicked Megxit
While it was purely a coincidence, Kate Chastain's retirement from Below Deck happened to follow Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior members of the royal family.
Having already hinted that she might step away from the Bravo series, Chastain took to Instagram in February 2020 and wrote, "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, I have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new land based role." She continued to quip, "I intend to step back as a senior member of the Below Deck Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support His Majesty Andy Cohen." Of course, Chastain's statement mimicked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement regarding the since-coined "Megxit." Part of Markle and Prince Harry's Instagram statement revealed, "We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."
As Chastain is Below Deck royalty at this point, it makes sense that she'd go the same route as the Sussexes in (hilariously) announcing her decision to leave from the successful reality TV show. And she will most definitely be missed!
This Below Deck chief stew's dog Halo is a future star
Another reason that Kate Chastain isn't desperate to find a romantic partner is because she has one of the most adorable pets on the planet. This Below Deck star owns a Havanese pup called Halo, who has fast become one of the most pampered pooches on the internet. In early 2020, Chastain shared an Instagram picture of Halo looking decidedly rugged and wrote, "Yes I know my dog needs a haircut but we're both still traumatized from the grooming gone wrong in 2016."
As for the dog mom's move to New York, Halo apparently had a big reaction to living in the Big Apple. Sharing a sweet snap in her new abode, Chastain wrote on Instagram in March 2020, "Halo is in absolute SHOCK over all the space in our new, amazing, much larger apartment. (But also the groomer cut his bangs off so that might just be what his eyes look like in real life)."
Chastain is such an attentive pet parent that she even took to Twitter to ask fellow dog owners for advice when Halo's fur changed color. She hilariously wrote, "I feel like Halo is going through that awkward teenage phase....he looks so different and I'm just wondering what color he's going to end up at." Petition for Bravo to greenlight a new show about Chastain and Halo's NYC adventures!
Kate Chastain's New York adventure
Having been previously based in Florida when she wasn't sailing the world with Captain Lee on Below Deck, Kate Chastain made a huge decision upon her retirement: the chief stew made the move to New York City. On the Season 7 finale of Below Deck (via The Daily Dish), Chastain explained, "Personally, this has been a very challenging season for me. I'm going to go spend a week alone in a resort and relax. Then, head back to Florida, pack up my life, and move to New York." She continued, "I'm scared to move to New York, but I was also scared to start yachting, and I think I'm ready for a new adventure."
It seems that Chastain has since settled into big city life, and posted a snap of the iconic Joe's Pizza in Greenwich Village while writing, "Living. The. Dream." In March 2020, she tweeted a video of her dog, Halo, and wrote, "Officially moved from a studio apartment into a place with an actual living room." Basically, Chastain has already become accustomed to life on land, and it's clear that there will be many adventures ahead for Below Deck's unforgettably candid chief stew.