Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Ellie Dubaich is still caught up in a love triangle with Joe Bradley when she has more high-profile suitors in her DMs.
During the Monday, August 5, episode of the hit Bravo show, Ellie overheard Joe poking fun at their love triangle with Bri Muller. Joe sang a song about how he “already had” Bri and was going to have Ellie next.
“I heard about Joe playing on the piano,” Bri told Ellie after she caught wind of the drama. “I’m so sorry.”
Ellie made it clear she didn’t blame Bri, saying, “No, he was taking a piss out of both of us really. I didn’t want to say anything to you. I didn’t want to upset you.”
After Bri asked who Joe “thinks” they are that he can act like that, Ellie let an interesting detail slip about her personal life.
“Exactly. I was like, ‘Bitch, I get NFL players in my DMs!’” Ellie fired back about having options outside of Joe.
Ellie’s insight into her dating history comes as she has found herself in a love triangle with Bri over Joe. Season 9 started out with Joe and Ellie expressing interest in each other. The lead deckhand also found himself flirting — and later making out — with Bri.
“There was a bit of miscommunication in the very beginning because Bri was attracted to him — but she never really vocalized that to me,” Ellie exclusively told Us Weekly in June. “I felt like I made it a bit more obvious to her in some of our conversations we had.”
As the drama played out on screen, Ellie blamed Joe for most of the issues.
“Yes 100 percent [he is at fault],” she claimed. “After a while, I realized that it might’ve been Joe who was playing both parties. Because even watching just episode 2 where he was kind of going back and forth, I didn’t really realize the extent to which he was leading her on.”
The second stew added: “Because all the stories that came back to me was more like, ‘Oh, Bri is interested in Joe. He’s not really interested in her. He wants you.’ It was more like, ‘Oh, she was throwing herself at him.’ But then I realized actually it might’ve been him who was instigating it as well.”
Joe, however, wasn’t going to take all the blame, telling Us one month later, “I could have played it a bit differently. But, obviously, my intention wasn’t to be disrespectful in any way, shape or form. And I don’t believe that I was disrespectful.”
According to Joe, he communicated as best as he could.
“I’m just exploring. We’re [in the] very early days,” he pointed out. “I’ve got to know who you are. I’m only having a conversation. It’s flirting. And where I’m from [in] Liverpool, the flirting game is up here. Maybe [Ellie] is not used to an intense environment, but I disagree.”
Joe did apologize during Monday’s episode for making fun of the love triangle through song. He told Ellie that his behavior made him “a prick” before she accepted his apology.
“I’m able to forgive Joe because he seems remorseful. He’s a little bit immature and maybe his ego got a little bit carried away,” she said in a confessional. “But I don’t think he was coming from a malicious place so I’m happy to forget this entire situation.”
The episode ended with the midseason trailer — which Us exclusively debuted earlier on Monday — that promised even more tension with the arrival of new stew Carrie O’Neill. Based on the first look at the rest of the season, Joe will make a move on Carrie, which doesn’t sit well with Bri.
“I’ve already had two [stews]. I’m not having anymore,” Joe told his fellow deckhand and friend Nathan Gallager. Meanwhile, Bri expressed her frustration with Joe, adding, “I was the starter, Ellie was the main and now she is the dessert.”
Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
