Just call it the love boat! Most of the yachties coupled up on Season 3 of Below Deck Down Under — including sous chef Alesia Harris and bosun Nate Salmon. This was Alesia’s second go-around at a boatmance this season, after deckhand Johnny Arvanitis was let go by Captain Jason Chambers for his “aggressive” behavior on board. Now, within only a few days of Johnny’s departure, she had eyes only for Nate.
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“We have a connection that’s like undeniable,” she confessed in Episode 15. “But, I obviously don’t want to get my emotions tangled up because I’ve just done that. However, he’s good-looking. Charming.”
But will it last? All seemed to be smooth sailing — until the word “smoochie” was uttered.
Nate and Alesia are caught "smooching" on CCTV by the crew
Although sparks had been flying between Nate and Alesia for a few days, they took the next step by kissing on the crew night out.
“That little bubbly smile looking up at me — melts me,” Nate swooned.
The two then made plans to meet up on the deck the next night for wine and cheese. Their sunset date was watched on CCTV inside the crew mess by most of the crew.
“They look like they’re cuddling!” lead deckhand Harry Van Vliet pointed out.
Alesia and Nate chatted as they wined and dined, and Alesia told him, “I appreciate you bringing your energy onto the boat. It’s really refreshing.”
But when they started kissing, it got reactions from the other yachties on the boat watching.
“Kissing after eating cheese?” head chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph commented in mock horror, as deckhand Nicolas Cattelan added, “What animals!”
But Nate and Alesia even covered serious topics in between locking lips, like children.
“I’m so stoked to have a daughter,” Nate told her. “She’ll have me wrapped around her little finger, I’m sure of it.”
Nate also admitted he wants a wife and children sooner rather than later, confessing, “I probably would have liked to have been married by now.”
But he pointed out sometimes he moves too fast.
“Sometimes I tend to get pretty intense pretty quickly. Years ago, I met a Texas girl on a plane, fell in love with her in a month, brought her back to Australia. Lived through the chaos,” he said in his confessional. “So, you know, just trying to play it cool.”
As Nate and Alesia went back below deck, they realized they were being watched by the others on CCTV.
“It’s all right. I got footage of you having a little smoochie on the camera. Smoochies all around,” Nate joked to Harry.
But Alesia, who overheard the exchange, was horrified.
“I can’t believe he called it ‘smoochie,’” she told Harry. “Oh no, I can’t. Please stop. Because I actually, I might throw up. The word ‘smoochies’ should never be said.”
She explained why in her confessional: “‘Smoochies’ is like baby talk isn’t it? Like just doesn’t do it for me … like your vagina just folds in with the thought of like just being cringed out.”
But when Alesia admitted she was conflicted over a possible boatmance with Nate, Tzarina suspected it was more than just his use of “smoochie.”
“I don’t know if for Alesia it’s actually about the ‘smoochie.’ Nate is a very dedicated man that wants to have a wifey and a family, and she’s realizing that in her young age, she has a lot more frogs to kiss,” Tzarina said.
What is the status of all the boatmances on Season 3 of Below Deck Down Under?
While Nate and Alesia’s future remains up in the air, so do several other couplings on the yacht.
Stewardess Brianna Duffield confessed to having “second thoughts” about deckhand Harry in Episode 15, due to her recent breakup with her fiancé. She also admitted she didn’t know if they were “completely compatible.”
Meanwhile, new deckhand Nicolas has been getting closer with stewardess Marina de Barros — sharing a few kisses and cuddles on crew nights out. Marina even left a love note on his door during Episode 15.
It comes after Marina went on a date with former bosun Wihan Du Toit. At one point, Wihan was in a love triangle with both Marina and Tzarina, before he decided he only had feelings for deckhand Adair Werley. He went so far as to declare his love for Adair in a letter. But his possible romantic endeavors all ended when he was fired in Episode 11.
Amid all the romantic chaos, don’t miss Tzarina admitting she’s feeling “pushed out” of the crew dynamic this season.
