‘Below Deck’ Katie Flood ‘Triggered’ By Boatmances, Here’s Why

Below Deck Mediterranean star Katie Flood opened up about her “toxic” relationship with an unnamed fellow crew member. At the time, she was just on the heels of her split with Below Deck Med alum Jack Stirrup. She recalled that she was “dying inside.” The chief stew made an appearance on Malia White’s Total Ship Show podcast.

Long before she appeared on the Bravo show, she dated a crew member who she didn’t name. On the same day her relationship with Jack ended, she joined a yacht as a stewardess. She then took interest in a “very attractive” crew member. Katie confided him, thinking she could trust him.

Katie Flood opens up about her “toxic relationship”

The Below Deck Med star opened up about her relationship with the crew member. The two started dating during the charter season. Things got dark when the man got “really really toxic” early in their relationship. Katie recalled receiving messages from him on board the yacht.

He would call her “really horrible names.” The man couldn’t stand seeing Katie talking to anyone else. He didn’t even want her to look at another man. He would end up using misogynistic terms.

“He was a very jealous person, and for so long I didn’t understand what happened,” she told Below Deck Med alum, Malia White, on the Tuesday, April 5th episode of the podcast. “He would call me, like, a toxic slut. Like, ‘You’re a bad b****.’ Like, all these terrible words all the time, and we’d go out on nights out and would be at the bar having a drink and he’d yell at me like, ‘Why are you looking at that guy?’ And I’m like, ‘Who? I’m sitting with the girls talking gossip.'”

The 29-year-old also revealed that he would get physical with her. His behavior was so bad that he “punched the laundry door in front” of her. Katie felt scared for her life. She didn’t know what to do since she couldn’t leave the boat.

Below Deck star shares her difficult story

The Below Deck Med Season 6 star was the newest member of the yacht. Since she “didn’t want to cause problems,” she didn’t want to tell anyone. One day, a stewardess noticed the “horrible crap” that the guy was messaging her. The stewardess encouraged Katie to speak to the captain about it, but she felt “so defeated” at that point. Eventually, the captain found out and the man was fired.

“I was so broken at the time. I didn’t know where to run, and I couldn’t get away from this person, because we’re stuck on this boat,” Katie explained. “Well, that’s the scary part is I could not get away from him.”

Sometimes that can be the downside of yachting. On the Below Deck franchise, it’s common for boatmances and hookups to occur. But you never really know what you’re getting into. These days, Katie shares her travels around the world.

The “abuse” she dealt with from that relationship became a “triggering thing” that has affected her future relationships. Katie refuses to date her fellow yachties. Below Deck Mediterranean is currently on hiatus. Catch up with previous episodes on Peacock.