‘Below Deck Med’: Why Bugsy Changed Her Mind About Working With Hannah, Being a Second Stew, And Having a Boatmance

Bugsy is back! Below Deck Mediterranean viewers learned last week that Christine “Bugsy” Drake would be returning to the Bravo series for the first time since her Season 2 debut. And while the viewers seem excited, bosun Malia White and Captain Sandy are definitely excited, chief stew Hannah Ferrier is…neutral?

Decider jumped on the phone with Bugsy last week, where she’s currently working on a charter boat in the Bahamas to hear all about her return to the show. Here, she tells us why she never thought she’d work as a second stew again, and the only reason she agreed to it this time — including why she had hope for working with Hannah again. Plus, she teases a potential boatmance on the way and explains the weirdest item she’s ever used as table decor.

DECIDER: How does it feel to be back?

It feels surreal but really exciting. I can’t believe it’s been three seasons. But yeah, it feels really good to be back. I’m really excited about it.

Tell me a little bit about your first reaction when you got the call from Captain Sandy. What were you thinking and what were your first questions for her about joining the boat?

I was caught off guard completely, hearing from Captain Sandy. I’d just finished [another] stint and was just taking a little bit of a break before I got on another boat. The call came at pretty much the perfect time. When I first got the call from her, I was a little bit apprehensive. I wasn’t really sure what position she was calling me in for. My questions for her were: “What position am I coming to fulfill?” She mentioned it was a second stew position, and my first thoughts were: am I going to be working under Hannah again? Which was kind of a thing for me, because I’d always said after last season, I’m done with Hannah. I would never take another second stew position. It was something I’d tried and tested and obviously didn’t work for me in that case. It was definitely a big no-no. But Sandy is somebody I really respect, and I kind of felt, well you know what, why not? I’ve got the time to do it. Might as well help her out, she’s in a bind. Maybe it’s a shot at redemption for my relationship with Hannah. Maybe we can turn things around. I tried to look at it in a positive light.

How long were you on the boat before that positive light started to dim, would you say?

I mean, I try to keep it at least for a charter, I don’t turn too negative. This time around, I took the whole idea of it in a more humble approach, let me put it that way. I tried to put my ego aside. I had to keep reaffirming, in my mind, that I wasn’t coming there for Hannah. I think that helped with keeping it positive and light.

How does working with Captain Sandy compare to some of the other captains that you’ve worked with? And what do you like about working with her?

Sandy’s the first and only woman captain I’ve ever worked with. There’s a sense of comfort, in terms of working for a woman. We are the same sort of species. [Laughs] I don’t know what better way to put it. Because they can understand you a lot better than a male captain can. I just know what Sandy expects. It takes a really good leader to voice exactly what you expect, what your standard is. I think it makes the job a lot easier. There’s no guessing.

Was there anything you were determined to do differently this time around?

Definitely. It’s been three years, I’ve matured and grown myself a lot. I’ve gotten to know myself a lot better. Coming back onto the show, I was a lot more open to just being who I am. Just enjoying it, instead of trying to guard myself and guard any of my flaws. This time, I was just like, “Take me as I am.”

 

I’m guessing you watched this past episode when Sandy lets everybody know you’re going to be coming on the boat. What was your reaction to seeing Hannah’s non-reaction to the news?

I mean, I wasn’t surprised at all. Definitely wasn’t surprised. It was actually pretty humorous for me, I’m not going to lie.

Was there anything that gave you hope that maybe your working relationship this time would be different?

Yeah. The time that’s passed, I was hoping that we could let bygones be bygones. As I said, coming in with a more humble approach. In my mind, I was like, “I’m not even coming for the second stew position. I’m just coming to support and to help this team, whatever they need.” I think that was the mental approach I had with it. It wasn’t to do with any position, it was just more where I could come in and help out.

That is a very mature way of framing it. We see in the preview that Hannah is showing you where the stuff to make all the table decorations is. We know she doesn’t like doing that, but it seems like you actually really like it. Were you thinking, let me at it, leave me alone and let me decorate the tables? 

For sure. I’m just like, why not use your strengths where you can, you know? I know she doesn’t like to set up tables. I thought, this is a good way for us to manage our working relationship. We just have clear lines of who does what. If this is something I’m super passionate about, it’s going to make me happier within the team and it’s going to help me uplift and strengthen the team on that front. Just by showing me that, and giving me the cupboard full of decorations gives me the hope that maybe things will work better between us.

What’s a task on the boat that you actually do not like doing?

Probably making beds. I don’t mind it, but it’s probably my worst task on the boat.

What is the strangest item you’ve ever used to decorate a table?

Probably a propeller off of a smaller tender.

Oh, that’s interesting! Was it appreciated, did the guests like it?

Super appreciated. It was really fun. It was like, “Where on earth did you find this?” It was an old propeller found in a dumpyard. It had been bent and broken, so they weren’t able to use it on the tender anymore. So I just snatched it out of the trash and used it. Recycled table decor!

One man’s trash is another woman’s table decorations.

Exactly, exactly. I love that, actually.

How about third stew Jess, did you guys get along? Did you work well together?

Meeting Jess for the first time, she’s a sweet girl. I feel like Hannah’s really got her in her pocket. Again, I have my reservations about what’s being said about me to her. I kind of feel that her mind might be warped in the sense of not really knowing who I am. We got along fine. And like I said, I wasn’t there to make friends. I was just there to come and help.

It was nice to hear that you and Malia had stayed close friends, maybe even gotten closer since the last time you guys worked together. What is your friendship like? 

It’s been an incredible friendship that we’ve kept going since we first worked together. It’s a funny story, my sister ended up working with Malia shortly after Malia and I worked together. My sister and I are very close, and it made all of us pretty close. We had a lot of Skype chats and Whatsapp chats when we were on the boat. We’ve always kept in contact. Malia knows my family, I know most of her family. We just had a very strong friendship, ever since we first worked together. It’s just continued.

We only got a quick glimpse of you last week, but how’s the reception been from viewers so far? 

I’m honestly so surprised by the positive feedback I’ve had. The show has become a lot bigger since I first did it. There are people who are still catching up on the series itself, but I’ve been really surprised at the good feedback I’ve had from viewers. I’m very excited to see the rest of the season.

Is there’s anything you can tease, something to look forward to, or that you’re excited for people to see this season?

There’s a lot to see this season. I think it’s probably going to be one of the craziest seasons in the whole franchise history. There’s just so many exciting things — you never know what’s around the corner. Things that even blew my mind. I’d say, for me, there’s a lot of growth in my character this season. I think also, an interesting thing for me is I’m a lot more open to romance on a boat. Open to that, if anything’s going to come from that. Trying to balance work and romance, which is something I’ve always been against. But I’m being kind of open to it this season.

What changed your mind to being open to it?

I’ve come on as a second stew, a lot less responsibility. I thought, why not have a little bit of fun with it?

I know you’re currently on a boat in the Bahamas. How is the yachting industry right now? Is it back to normal? Is it weird? Are there new procedures? 

The yachting industry has definitely taken quite a big hit. I’m fortunate enough to still be employed because a lot of boats have laid off crew. There’s no use in having them when everything was going down with COVID. But I think we’re very hyper-aware at the moment. Just in the Bahamas here, we’re getting tested regularly because we’re a charter boat. Having guests come and go, we’ve got to get tested every now and then just to make sure the crew are still good. Being on a yacht, you’ve got a heightened sense of hygiene and protocol, but it’s taken to the next level right now. Everything’s being wiped down constantly. We’re just trying to keep on top of everything. It’s definitely a weird time for the industry, in terms of reopening ports and where the boats can travel. It’s interesting, we’ll have to see what happens.

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Monday at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo. 

Where to stream Below Deck Mediterranean