Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Nathan Gallagher surprised Max Salvador by asking him to secretly side with him instead of Joe Bradley amid their feud.
During the Monday, August 17, episode of the hit Bravo series, Max joined the crew on Akira One while Nathan was healing from a back injury. Max ultimately started working under Joe, who was temporarily the new boson. Nathan’s absence paved the way for Joe to make moves as bosun — with Max supporting him potential move up.
At the end of the episode, Max received a text from Nathan, which read, “I’m sure Joe’s been in your ear. I’m gonna get back to the boat at some point, and I need you.”
He continued: “Have my back and I’ll for sure make you lead deckhand. Swear.”
Max was left conflicted since Nathan previously passed him over for a lead deckhand position. Joe, meanwhile, also promised Max that he would promote him in the event that Nathan didn’t take back his role as bosun this season.
Joe and Nathan originally became quick friends after joining Below Deck Med in season 9. They fell out, however, following Joe’s tumultuous love triangle in season 10, which resulted in Nathan having to choose where his loyalty lay.
Season 11 of the hit Bravo series captured numerous moments when Nathan was frustrated with Joe. For Joe, it was gratifying for viewers to see his experience with Nathan.
“Watching it back and seeing Nathan — who he truly is — is rather refreshing to me,” Joe exclusively told Us in July. “I know who Nathan is, I know what he’s like, how he can react and for him to get his two minutes of how he actually is is refreshing to me.”
Joe pointed to the instances when Nathan went off on him in public, adding, “The fact that he can just switch is so alarming to me because I’ve seen it before.”
He added: “It didn’t look good for him. We’re all professionals at the end of the day so [the rest of the crew] don’t know who Nathan really is yet. This is Nathan. This is who he is. He switches. He’s generally got anger issues and hopefully throughout the season, you will discover what Nathan has to offer in terms of who he is.”
Before Below Deck Med returned, Joe reflected on his growth between seasons.
“You will see a level of growth [this season] because I felt it. You will see that I’m comfortable in my own skin on board. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a bit boisterous at times,” he previously told Us. “That’s where Nathan [and I differ]. I can actually be social, but I have a good time as well and do my job well. You will see growth and you will see a level of change because I’m fed up with all these [love] triangles now.”
Joe clarified that he “learned” his lesson, revealing that he’s focused on his duties as lead deckhand.
“I really do hope that you see it on this season. My job is my main priority. I’m going to say my [biggest] regret right now was the situation with Victoria, I could have handled that very differently. I could have handled that in a mature manner,” he shared. “I was just boisterous. Obviously, we haven’t had any contact yet. But if I could sit down with her today, I would apologize. If she allows me one day to actually get all around and say I’m sorry for what I’ve done, I will do that.”
Looking ahead, Joe was determined to prove his critics wrong.
“I understand it’s not a comfortable position — even just being a viewer. Watching myself back, I have learned from the situation. I’m really focused [on] my job right now,” he concluded. “I am taming it down [in my romantic life on board] to just being one person. I don’t need to be greedy anymore. I’ve had my and I’m just ready to get the job done.”
Below Deck Med airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
