Below Deck’s Joe, Nathan Have No Regrets But Cop to ‘A Few Bad Choices’

Joe Bradley and Nathan Gallagher were big fans of Below Deck Mediterranean before joining the show — but it didn’t take long for them to get used to being in front of the cameras.

“Before the season started, what I knew personally about Below Deck was kind of everything. I love the show — we watch it,” Nathan exclusively told Us Weekly during a joint interview. “It’s good fun.”

Nathan’s knowledge of the hit Bravo series meant he had some concerns after going from fan to cast member.

“Before joining I was probably nervous about the crew that would’ve been there. But then I met Joe and that just made me feel comfortable straight away,” he recalled. “So it was like being at work — it didn’t even feel like we’re on camera. We were just doing our thing.”

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Joe agreed with Nathan, adding, “It’s just a natural reaction. Going on board, it is a nervous environment. Not only have you got the crew to meet but, obviously, everyone’s going around at an intense level.”

The lead deckhand continued: “But then when you meet someone that you’re comfortable with and you’re just like, ‘Alright, this is my guy that I can rely on. And if there [are] any issues coming forward then I can talk to this guy.’ You’ve got to have emotional support and we had that as cabin mates and being in the same department. It was an absolute riot.”

Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean started off with plenty of drama when Joe found himself in a love triangle with Ellie Dubaich and Bri Muller. Nathan, meanwhile, started to grow closer to Gael Cameron — who has a boyfriend. Earlier in the season, viewers were in for a surprise when Nathan and Gael nearly hooked up off screen before production stopped them.

“[The cameras] weren’t on my mind,” Nathan admitted to Us. “I was 10 tequilas deep. I didn’t even know what a camera was exactly.”

Nathan added that he had “no game plan” when it came to his attraction to not-so-single Gael.

“With Gael, it just happened insanely fast. We connected and we grew a very, very strong bond. As time went on, we were just going with the flow,” he explained. “I was going with the flow. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. I didn’t want to set us up to hook up in certain areas or certain times. It was more of what was happening in the moment.”

In fact, both Nathan and Joe stood by most of their decisions throughout the season. “I don’t live life with regret,” Nathan told Us before Joe added, “No regrets. Just a few bad choices.”

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Watching their ups and downs back reminded Nathan and Joe just how quickly they forgot they were being filmed. According to Joe, the concern went away “after a day or two” of being on board.

“If you’re true to yourself and you’re confident that you’re going to fulfill this position, It just becomes natural. And you forget about them,” Joe said before joking, “Which is quite worrying because we do very, very questionable stuff.”

Nathan added: “If you’re not putting on a front, you don’t have to maintain something for too long. If you’re totally yourself, you settle in.”

Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.