BELOW DECK MED Chef Dave sent Natasha “unforgivable” texts and blackmailed her after she told him they weren’t in a relationship

For a while is seemed like Below Deck: Meditterean roommates Chef Dave White and Cheif Stew Natasha Webb had a secret boatmance going, but it turns out it may have been more of a one-sided thing. During tonight’s episode, the almost-relationship ends in disrespectful texts and threats.

Natasha and Dave first hooked up on their last job together. Natasha actually cheated on her boyfriend of five years at the time, and then broke up with him after the charter ended. She said that her ex-boyfriend had cheated on her in the past, but she recognizes that it isn’t right to cheat back.

Natasha and Dave decided to room together for their next job together on the Below Deck Med yacht “Home,” but Natasha asked that they keep their connection a secret.

Even though they had hooked up before and were rooming together, their relationship didn’t appear to flourish, even when they were alone together in their room. Cameras caught them kissing, and Dave tucking Natasha in, but nothing much seemed to be going on.
Dave wanted to be out with their relationship and to publicly date Natasha, but she kept avoiding things.

Of course, the rest of the crew wondered if there was something going on between them. Not only were they rooming together, but they would also share little gestures, like the fact that Dave would bring Natasha coffee in the morning.

Eventually, it became obvious that only one person had the desire to have a real romance. The more Natasha pulled away, the more Dave craved to be near her and interact with her. Dave also broke his promise to Natasha of silence by telling the rest of the crew that he wanted something more with her.

Towards the beginning of tonight’s episode, Natasha accidentally hurts her eye in the kitchen and Dave annoys her when he runs to give her ice and console her. He also sends Natasha a ton of text messages throughout the day that she doesn’t reply to.

“When I first met Dave we had fun together, we laughed together, whereas now he’s always suffocating me,” Natasha said in interview. “Just leave me alone! Go away!”

Later that night when the crew went out, Dave confronted Natasha about her not wanting to be around him. “I just feel like I deserve more,” he tells her.

“No!” Natasha replies in frustration. “We’re not in a f***ing relationship Dave!”

After this drunken rejection, Dave drinks even more and spirals out of control. Natasha returned to the boat early and moved out of the room into a guest cabin for the night.

Meanwhile, Dave starts sending Natasha text messages that escalate in intensity. “Not cool,” he says at first.

Then, Dave blackmails Natasha by threatening to tell everyone that they’ve been together and she cheated on her ex-boyfriend with him if she doesn’t talk to him that night.

He then texts, “Good luck, ***k you, s**t.”

Natasha is really upset and asks stew Kyle to come stay with her in the guest room.

“To hook up with someone,” Natasha says in interview. “you kind of have a level of trust. And for him to send messages calling me every name under the sun, you wouldn’t even treat your worst enemy like this.

“Goobye rotten secret,” Dave texts. “You deserve this.”

Kyle wasn’t surprised by Dave’s behavior because he witnessed Dave try to pick a fight with deckhand Jason earlier in the season. After that interaction, Jason told Kyle that Dave was trying to exhibit “alpha” behavior to make up for the fact that Natasha was ignoring his advances.

“He’s caused so much damage with his behavior,” Kyle says. “and now you can’t take that back.”

Kyle then goes to Storm, who had just been promoted to bosun that day after Raygan got fired, and asked him to speak with Dave about his behavior. Storm was in the middle of trying to hook up with stew Natalya, but interrupted his fun time to speak to Dave.

When Dave woke up the next morning, he claimed he didn’t remember what happened the night before and didn’t remember sending those text messages. In interview, Dave admits that the texts he sent were “unforgivable.”

Still, everyone had to get back to work to prepare for the charter guests to arrive the next day. Dave tried to start a menu but couldn’t complete the task and ended up breaking down with a panic attack in the bathroom.

Kyle heard him crying, so he asked Captain Sandy to check on Dave. Sandy helped him work through his anxiety and walked out with him to the dock to get some fresh air. While they were out there, Dave admitted that he had sent some very regrettable texts to Natasha.

At first, Sandy was worried about Dave, but now she knew she had to worry about Natasha’s well-being as well. Sandy goes to talk to Natasha about the text messages, but Natasha doesn’t reveal exactly what Dave said to her last night and immediately starts putting some of the blame on herself.

“The situation was I had just come out of a five-year relationship,” Natasha tells Sandy. “And then Dave and I had a thing. Then, I basically didn’t want anything else to happen. And, there’s been some upsetting things that he’s said to me.”

Sandy asked Natasha if she felt safe, and she said she did, and she didn’t want either one of them to leave the boat. She said she had not told Sandy about the extent of the texts to protect Dave.

Sandy said she trusted Natasha’s judgment, but told her they needed to no longer share a cabin. In an interview, Sandy explains that she’s concerned about Dave and Natasha’s mental health and well-being. She wants to support them but also expects them to do their jobs.

She finishes by speaking with Dave and letting him know that it’s not okay for him to send texts like that to Natasha and that he will have to leave if he does it again. Dave agrees that he was “out of line” and says he thinks he can get through the season with Natasha on the boat.

Even though Natasha and Dave are moving cabins, they still have to work together very closely to create the best experience for the guests. The working relationship between chief stew and chef is often full of tension, and this very uncomfortable situation will no doubt add an extra layer of difficulty.

Natasha later came to Dave and apologized to him for making him “feel like you’ve gotta hide stuff, because it’s not right.” She asks him if he feels like he can continue to work with her. He hugs her and apologizes.

In interview, Natasha says she doesn’t recognize the Dave who sent her those text messages and doesn’t believe that behavior truly represents who he is.

It looks like Natasha may already be moving on romantically, though. She’s seen in the previews for the next episode messaging her ex-boyfriend.

Photos via Bravo