During Season 9, Episode 14 of Below Deck Mediterranean, which aired September 1, Elena "Ellie" Dubaich expressed her distaste with Aesha Scott's decision to bring another stew, Carrie O'Neill, on board.
"I don't know why we need a new person. I don't agree with it, but I have to respect it," Ellie said. "It feels like I'm about to get demoted. If I'm reading this situation correctly, it would make me start resenting Aesha for that decision."
On the subsequent episode of the Below Deck Mediterranean After Show, Aesha theorized that had become the case after all.
"I think she could see as soon as Carrie came on that she was more equipped and better than her, and was immediately threatened," Aesha told Kate Chastain while commenting on how Ellie had asked her advice on becoming a chief stew right after Carrie's arrival. "But I was like, 'Babe, I can read you like a f-cking book. I know what you're doing.' But she's like standing there staring at me, so I'd give her these really short, unenthused answers. And then I'm like, 'Anyway, let's just talk about it later.'"
Regardless, Aesha did note that Ellie is "a very good worker."
"I'm like, if you just shut up and put your head down and played the game and just went along with it and you were a good stew, [you] actually would rise up the ranks so much quicker," Aesha said. "But she's so preoccupied with, 'How am I going to look?'"
Why Ellie Dubaich asked Aesha Scott for advice on becoming chief stew
Ellie noted on the episode that after the charter season ended, she wanted to "go home and find a small boat" and try her hand at being a chief stew. So, that's why she turned to Aesha for advice — but as for her timing (aka upon Carrie's arrival), Ellie explained on the After Show, "I kind of felt really good about the season. We were finally in a good place. I felt comfortable with my job. I felt comfortable with Aesha."
"Bri [Muller] and I had made up, we finally had a good charter together. So I felt like, 'Okay, this is my time to kind of ask Aesha to teach me anything else I could possibly learn,'" she continued. "Maybe about provisioning? Or anything else that she does in her job that maybe I don't see?' It was my chance to kind of gain enough knowledge to be able to then go onto another boat and be confident to do the job on my own."
"It had nothing to do with Carrie," Ellie concluded. "This was fully for me, because it felt that's where I was on my journey on the boat. You know, I was kind of comfortable with the cocktails and the service and the set-up and the housekeeping and laundry, so this was like the only thing that was left for me to still learn before I left. I think that gaining service experience was something I was really looking forward to coming into the season, and Aesha has given me a chance to achieve that as well. So I'm grateful to her for that."
