When Captain Sandy fired chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier in Season 5 of Below Deck Mediterranean for having “undeclared” drugs onboard the vessel (including Valium and a vape pen), it was just the first shot in a still-ongoing war. They eventually started trading insults back and forth outside of the reality series, and nearly two years after the fact, the feud continues to live on, with more BTS details about Ferrier’s side of what really happened having resurfaced. As a result of the direct back-and-forth bickering, the door was left wide open for some shady thoughts from much-beloved franchise alum Kate Chastain.
Hannah Ferrier Talks Being "Painted As A Drug Addict"
The last insight fans gleaned about the drug debacle was when Hannah Ferrier went on a podcast to explain how she and Captain Sandy never, ever got along while filming together. She claimed the edit just made it appear as though they were friendly in Below Deck Med’s earlier years, but in actuality, Ferrier feels the captain always sought to be the “fan favorite” by supposedly demoralizing her. In an interview with the Shine It Up with Jackie Gillies podcast, the dismissed reality star expanded things a bit further and talked about how her firing in 2020 played into their allegedly complicated power dynamic. She shared:
So obviously, when you’re fired in that way, in that forum, you have people to talk to after five seasons. Like, I had to call my agent. I had to call my lawyer. I was like, how do I navigate this? Because I don’t want to be painted as a drug addict for having anxiety medication, you know? And so, I was on the dock, and I said to her, I’m like, ‘Sandy, I’m on the phone with my lawyer.’ And she basically went like, ‘We need to film this.’ And then she started kind of going at me again. And I was like you know what, mate? You’ve just fired me with three cameras on me…
The host then suggested that Captain Sandy only “wanted her screen time” when she built the drama up after the original firing, and Hannah Ferrier agreed that was the case. She also said a lot more about her former boss, claiming that Captain Sandy had reached out to send a present after Ferrier had announced her pregnancy in June of 2021, which the former star apparently shut down completely.
Below Deck's Kate Chastain Reacts To Hannah Ferrier Insinuations
Out of everything, it was the “screen time” comment that apparently caught the attention of Kate Chastain. Having headlined Below Deck’s flagship show for six seasons, Chastain exited on her own terms in February of 2020, and now works as a party planner in Florida. She also moonlights as a commentator on all things Below Deck when she has the time, and many fans love it when she does. (Even if some just love it to pounce on her.) And she did indeed make time to chime in on Hannah Ferrier's claims, when she quipped in the comments section of a repost of the interview, saying:
‘She wanted her screen time’ is the new ‘she wanted her podcast time’
If there’s one thing Kate Chastain is known for, it’s her dry sarcasm. She’s leveled it previously at the spicy hookups that she saw happening in Season 2 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht and also at the concept of her returning to “real” yachting. Her latest remark seems to be a dig at Hannah Ferrier for doing exactly what Ferrier accused Captain Sandy of doing: trying to stay relevant. That’s how Bravo fans are interpreting it in the replies, at the very least.
A New Era For Hannah Ferrier And Below Deck Med
Regardless of shady intent or not, this is but another chapter in the seemingly never-ending story of Hannah Ferrier’s firing. However, the 35-year-old has been moving onwards and upwards in other ways, such as her own TV comeback – just not on Below Deck Med. (She has stipulated that there’s only one way she would return to her old reality TV stomping grounds, and that’s if a certain other famous captain would be her boss.) Her new gig is acting as the Julie McCoy-type character on the upcoming dating competition show: The Real Love Boat.
Meanwhile, Captain Sandy has continued to headline Below Deck Mediterranean following the controversial ouster. Season 7 officially premieres soon, and while there’s a ton of new faces (and potential new drama) onboard, the show has lost yet another fan favorite in Malia White for the season. White was in fact the one who reported Ferrier to the captain, thus sparking all the chaos. She maintains that she had to do it, but she still has some regrets about how she handled things.
More than likely, this won’t be the last time we hear about the Hannah Ferrier and Captain Sandy dispute. And hopefully, it’s not the last time Kate Chastain weighs in with her own take about the rest of the franchise’s various alums. Tune into Below Deck Med’s new season when it premieres on Bravo on Monday, July 11, with episodes streaming a week in advance with a Peacock Premium subscription.
