39-year-old Below Deck alum Kate Chastain just announced the birth of her son Sullivan Cay on Instagram. She’s said that she’s raising her baby mostly alone and hasn’t revealed who the father is, but fans of the Below Deck franchise are speculating that her friend chef Ben Robinson might be the father.
One silly reason that’s fanning speculation is that in his debut photo, Kate’s newborn almost seems to be smirking, which is a signature expression for Ben. He even exaggerated his smirk to market his knives line.
Both Kate and Ben have mostly retired from filming Below Deck shows and live in the same apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale, FL. They do still work for the franchise by reacting to episodes on a show called Galley Talk.
On one episode of the show Kate tells Ben that he’s “giving very good dad energy,” and he replies “I think you’re rubbing off on me.” Of course, this isn’t proof of anything and could just be banter about Ben being a fatherly figure to Kate’s son because he’s such good friends with Kate.
Kate and Ben have been open about hooking up in the past, but have never officially dated.
About a month ago Ben made a post with Kate, joking that they were now the same weight now that she was pregnant. He followed the joke with a very supportive sentiment. “Please wish my great friend @kate_chastain an easy delivery and a healthy beautiful baby!” he wrote. “I am so proud of who you have become and the mother you will soon be❤️”
Kate has been very adamant that she’s single and will be raising her child alone, but suggested that she may get “some help.” She told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live “I’m doing it solo and perhaps with some help, but I’m happy to do it alone.”
In the past Kate has said that she would never hook up with Ben again, but has elaborated that they’ve become like family now that they live in the same apartment building. Ben does things for Kate like change her air filters, and he even regularly grocery shops and cooks for her. “Everybody thinks it’s weird, but it’s actually — we’re like family,” she told US. “Let me tell you, I’ve only gone grocery shopping twice in a month. He even made food for my dog once, and he’s cleaned my AC filter.”
UPDATE: Kate has responded to all the speculation that Ben is the dad of baby Sullivan Cay. “For the record, the only thing this handsome guy has in common with any chef is the tendency to get emotional around meal times,” Kate wrote on Twitter.
“For the record, the only thing this handsome guy has in common with any chef is the tendency to get emotional around meal times,” Chastain
