Delaney Evans Reacts to Katie Flood Not Bringing Her Back to the Below Deck Med Crew

Delaney Evans' journey on Below Deck Mediterranean has come to an end. After Delaney's arrival on the Lady Michelle caused the need for a major cabin reconfiguration among the crew, chief stew Katie Flood decided it would be best for the fourth stew to leave after the conclusion of the charter in the September 13 episode.

So, after getting to enjoy some time off with the Below Deck Med crew, Delaney officially disembarked the Lady Michelle in the September 20 episode. Speaking to Bravo Insider in an exclusive interview prior to the episode airing, Delaney said that she was actually understanding of Katie's decision to let her go, knowing that the rest of the crew didn't want to move cabins or have the tip split with an additional person.

"I think she was overwhelmed with the situation, and I think that, you know, in her mind, the best solution to the situation was just to go back to what they had before," Delaney said of Katie. "I think she was just overwhelmed with everything that was going on and all the feedback she was getting."

However, that doesn't mean Delaney agreed with Katie's decision. "Yeah, I mean, I think I said it on-screen the best. Do I think it was the best decision for the yacht? No. Do I think ultimately it is Katie’s decision? Yes," Delaney recalled. "So good luck, Katie."

Delaney was even less supportive of the chief stew choosing to not bring her back when the Lady Michelle yachties were down another crew member that same day. "I don’t wanna take it personally, but I really have no idea. I really don’t know why a chief stew, any chief stew, wouldn’t want the free help," she said. "I mean, stick me in laundry, put an air mattress on the floor. Like, tell me to stay there and do work. Like, whatever. You know? Like, I really didn’t understand that decision."

It's even more puzzling to Delaney because she felt like she "did a good job" during the charter. "I didn’t know how to do everything ‘cause I didn’t know the situation I was gonna be walking into on the boat. But I think she could’ve stuck me perfectly fine on laundry and beds and, you know, had that extra hand," Delaney explained. "So in that sense, it seems like there was some other reason she wouldn’t keep me, and that’s what I don’t know. Or, like, does she not like me? Like, I don’t know, you know? I really just don’t know."

Delaney was full of enthusiasm back when she got the call to join the Below Deck Med crew this season. "So I think I had been in quarantine for a bit, and I was just really excited to get out of quarantine, for starters," she recalled. "I’m on boats almost every day of my life, so, you know, not being on a boat for 20 days is actually really hard for me. I was just ready to get out on the water again."

That glee was quickly interrupted when Captain Sandy Yawn informed Delaney that she would be working in the interior and not in her usual department on deck. "Yeah, so it was absolutely a surprise to me. I did not know that that was what was going down in that situation," Delaney said. "It came with that initial shock, and then once I got over that initial shock, I had the team player mentality and was like, well, you know, the boat needs help. This is what charter is. We do all ultimately help each other, and, you know, time to just put my best foot forward and go for it."

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As a self-proclaimed hard worker and someone who doesn't shy away from a challenge, Delaney decided to stay on the Lady Michelle, even if she had never worked as a stew on a mega yacht before. Plus, she was "stoked to learn a new skill."

That kind of motivation has been instilled in Delaney from an early age. "I think part of it is work ethic. I think my upbringing and the schools I went to [in] early childhood really pushed, like, you know, it’s cool to work hard. It’s cool to get your best grades and really, really put effort into what you’re doing. So I think part of it was a work ethic thing for me. I wasn’t gonna stray from my work ethic, and I was gonna definitely show up for what I know and what I can produce," she shared. "And then I think the second part was [a] positive attitude. It actually comes from my father. My dad is the biggest advocate for having a positive mentality, positive attitude, and never complaining. So [I] definitely take that from him. And I think I live a very blessed, super blessed life. I need to be grateful for what I have and my situation. So, I think, you know, there’s no answer besides positivity. That’s just how we should move forward."

Even though Delaney did her best to learn the ropes of the interior, it didn't stop her crewmates from questioning the experience listed on her CV, which said that she had previously worked as a deck/stew on a boat. In response to the crew's concerns about her yachting background, Delaney said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

"When looking at a CV, anyone can assign certain value to certain experience and not assign certain value to other experiences. So, I think, you know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person saw my CV, and they thought that meant X, Y, and Z. Another person saw my CV and thought that those experiences meant X, Y, and Z," Delaney continued. "I definitely didn’t lie on my resume. I definitely put the experiences which I’ve had on my resume, but I think that individuals can assign their own values to these experiences and take from that, those lines on my CV, what that means in their head to them."

Now looking back, Delaney said that highlighting her stew experience to Katie on prior vessels, even though she hadn't worked on mega yachts, would have set them on a better course from the beginning. "I still understand a lot of stew duties, but I still can do a good job, you know, given a little bit of, like, OK, this is how we do it here. So I think I could’ve maybe [chosen] better words in that moment," Delaney said. "I think I was just really in shock, and I was like, I really don’t wanna let you down, so I’m gonna, you know, set you up with the right mind frame for how I need support to make the situation work for everyone."

With the next charter about to begin, Delaney didn't exactly have time to get to know the rest of the crew during her first day on the Lady Michelle. "I definitely think I was just thrown into the fire a little bit. I stepped one foot on the boat and kinda went straight to the laundry room," she said. "So, it was hard for me to get a first impression, just because I literally, besides seeing their faces maybe once, I had not said more than, like, hi and bye. So first impression was just that everyone’s really busy. We’re in the middle of a charter."

Joining a new crew mid-charter season also has its own challenges for a newcomer. "I definitely did feel like I was stepping into a pre-developed group, and that was definitely hard to kinda break the edge of that and not feel like the outsider," Delaney said. "I do think I tried my best to kind of engage where I could but not overstep the situation and the relationships that everyone had already developed. So, yeah, it was definitely tough, but, you know, just tried my best."

Delaney said that not being aware of the dynamics among the yachties prior to her arrival, including "some tension with the crew," a previous cabin swap, and "some issues on service," also may have negatively impacted her working relationships, especially with Katie. "What I feel with Katie, a lot of it felt very personal, and I think it felt very personal in terms of our interactions because I didn’t know the broader situation. So I think if I had known the broader situation that was going on, I would’ve seen Katie maybe in a different light, and I would’ve approached Katie in a different way and I would’ve spoke to Katie in a different way," she shared. "I think that Katie is a wonderful individual and a super hard-working chief stew. I think my understanding of her in that moment was that maybe she wasn’t the most assertive person. But, like I said, I just didn’t know the situation that was surrounding everything."

One of the factors that contributed to Katie ultimately letting Delaney go was the fact that her addition to the crew would have caused a major cabin reassignment due to the yacht's management company not permitting a man and a woman to room together (Katie had initially hoped to put Delaney and Mathew Shea in the same cabin).

"To each their own on that. I don’t get too fussed over moving cabins. Obviously, I haven’t had to do it multiple times in a charter season, so I haven’t been put in that position. Personally, again, like, I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal. You don’t own that much stuff," Delaney said of the cabin drama. "But I do understand that they’re mid-charter, that they’ve done it before, that there’s tension surrounding it, that certain people might not wanna room with other people moving forward. So, I think there was a lot that goes into it."

Several Lady Michelle crew members did express their frustration over the cabin situation, as well as the fact that there would be one more person to have to split tips with for the remainder of the charter season. "Honestly, it was kind of hurtful 'cause it did feel very personal in the moment," Delaney said of watching the crew's comments about her staying on the yacht. "I do understand not wanting to split a tip and et cetera, but I think it came out to, like, 20 dollars less per person per day. And, like, guys, I’ll buy you a cocktail at the bar, we’ll call it even. Like, I didn’t think it was gonna be that big of a deal. I mean, we’re obviously all making so much money in such a short amount of time. I look at it from, like, a gratitude perspective, and I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal. But like I said, to each their own."

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Delaney did her best to remain a part of the Below Deck Med crew up until the very end, always fighting for her job in those one-on-one meetings with Katie. "You only know your own worth, so sometimes, you definitely have to be your biggest advocate, and you have to stand up for yourself. While it’s not fun and while I did not wanna put Katie in a bad situation or make Katie feel like I was manipulating her or anything like that, I definitely did wanna stand up for myself," she shared. "So I tried my best to do that and frame that the right way, because at the end of the day, you are your own biggest advocate."

Her time on Below Deck Med may have been brief, but it was a good experience overall, according to Delaney. "I really did enjoy it. I like the fast-paced working environment, I like meeting new people, I like getting thrown into the fire. So I really enjoyed it. I think I would love to have done it differently in terms of done a full season or been with a crew that was maybe a bit more welcoming and warm when I arrived," she said. "It’s fun to be on a super yacht, it’s fun to make guests happy, it’s fun to create one of the best vacations they’ll ever have."

Delaney would even consider working in the interior again in the future. "So I originally was like, hell no, ‘cause, like, I love being on deck. I’m captain. I really enjoy being outside," she said. "But I actually, through my experience at Below Deck and being interior on the yacht, I didn’t mind it that much. I actually was like, wait, this is kinda fun. Like, I get to be with guests more. I actually do love setting tables and hosting a party. I love being a host and a party facilitator, and I do love the guest interaction… I do think I’m very much a people person, and I do think I could do a really good job. So I’m not opposed to it."

But Delaney has come to realize that working on mega yachts isn't for her as much. "I’m an absolute sailor at heart. So I want my butt on a sailing boat. I do think my strengths are on deck and, like, 99.9 percent of my experience has been on deck, and I really do enjoy the aspects of the job that come with being on deck," she said. "So I think my ultimate dream job would be being on deck on a large sail yacht. But I’m always open to opportunities in whatever form they come. So [I'm] open-minded, and we’ll see what comes my way."

Delaney never expected her career to go in the direction it took following this season of Below Deck Med. "I actually moved to Hawaii, which is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child. I’m living in Hawaii, and I’m running a 70-foot sport fisher, which is, like, totally [out of] left field for me. Like, never thought that would happen, working on a sport fishing boat," Delaney shared. "But we do day charters, and we also do party charters, and it’s a really good fit ‘cause, you know, I get to be outside, I get to be on deck, I get to have a lot of guest engagement. I’m learning a new skill, which is fishing, which is wild."

It's a job that's very different from what we watched Delaney do as a stew on Below Deck Med. "It’s definitely not super yachting. Definitely a little bit more casual than that," Delaney said. "But the guests have a ton of fun, and I have a ton of fun working there. And I work for the best owner I’ve ever worked for in my life. So it’s really a great situation."

Delaney's current gig may not be what she had previously envisioned for herself, but it has gotten her exactly where she wants to be in life. "Every day that I’m not working on a boat, I’m usually on a friend’s boat at the sand bar or sailing or going inner island to one of the other islands, so [I] definitely still find myself on a boat every single day, and I’m very blessed for that," she said. "If a cool opportunity comes in the future for another big boat, I’m not opposed. I’m just, you know, taking every opportunity as it comes and really, really happy to be where I am right now."

Want more Below Deck Med? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.