Queue And A

Aesha Scott on Returning to ‘Below Deck Med’ And Her Secret For Staying Positive — Even in 2020

By Lea Palmieri @littleleap
Published Aug. 31, 2020, 10:00 p.m. ET

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Below Deck Mediterranean

It is impossible to see Aesha Scott’s face and not immediately burst into a smile. Maybe it’s just a mirror reaction to the large smile she’s wearing, or maybe it’s because her genuine positivity is truly infectious, and likely the element that will keep the rest of thie season of Below Deck Mediterranean afloat.

I could feel it through the screen when we spoke on a Zoom call today about the second stew’s return to the Bravo series for Season 5 after making a splash last season. “It feels like it’s taken so fuckin’ long!” she said about the reveal that she was finally back on our TV screens. We caught up about returning to the show sans Hannah, how she found herself in her current relationship, and how she stays so dang positive during a time like 2020.

DECIDER: It had to be hard to keep the secret that you were returning to the show. 

Aesha Scott: Oh, definitely. So hard. I feel like when you’re waiting for something, time just crawls. So I’m really happy. Because I was like, “Oh, we’re on Episode 13!” And it’s literally 20 seconds [of me in Episode 13]. Like, ah great! Another week.

Where are you right now? 

I’m in Breckenridge, Colorado. I’m actually just sitting on the patio. That’s my boyfriend sitting over there. I just like to harass him at work. [Laughs] My internet is really bad, so I’m just stealing their WiFi. But yeah, it’s a beautiful, sunny day. I’m just trying to make the most of the last of the summer days, because summer’s so short here.

How does it feel to be back on the show? It seems like people were pretty excited that you returned, are you feeling that love? 

Aw, definitely! Honestly, everyone has been so nice. I’m so fuckin’ lucky. Even just that first little teaser thing, I just got so many comments and messages of people being like, “Oh, yay! So happy you’re coming back!” It’s just really nice. I think that a lot of people that do reality TV experience a lot of negative stuff. For me, it’s shown me how much love people have. People don’t have to take the time out of their day to write such lovely things. So when they do, it really means a lot to me.

I have to believe that your positivity is just felt through the screen. People want to radiate it back, you know?

Aw. I hope so. I want to be a good influence on the world, I suppose.

You knew coming back that Hannah wouldn’t be there. Were you bummed to be there without her?

Oh, definitely. You saw how we were last season. We were just the absolute best, best friends, it was so nice. It was definitely a let-down. She had told me just before that she wasn’t going to be there, but she didn’t say why or anything. But it definitely was a bit of a bummer. At the same time, Bugsy was just so lovely. It was quite a nice replacement.

You said that no one really told you what happened with her. Did anyone eventually fill you in? Or did you have to wait and see the season to see what happened?

Yeah, not really. I kind of was going around to other people, trying to get little hints about what happened. No one wanted to say anything. But I was just like: you know what? I don’t really care. Hannah will tell me in her own time. Let’s just get on with the job. You know?

Was Hannah supportive of you coming back? 

Oh yeah, definitely. But you know what? [Laughs] She didn’t know for a very long time. She always laughs at me because I’m such a goody-good. Especially with the show. I follow the rules so seriously. [Note: cast members aren’t allowed to tell people they’re going to be on the show for spoiler reasons, a secret they must keep when they film in the fall until it airs in the summer.] She’s one of my best friends, but I was still like, “I can’t tell Hannah!” So it wasn’t actually until a while later that I ended up telling her. And she wasn’t mad. She was just like, “Oh, classic you. You’re such a fucking goody-goody.”

When you watched this season, were you surprised by everything that had unfolded by the time you got there?

Oh gosh, yeah. Hannah said to me briefly that it was quite a crazy season. But now that I’m actually watching it back, I was like, “Woah. So much has happened.” I can’t believe that they lost the second stew within, what, one charter? That’s insane! I’ve never, never seen a crew member disappear in the night before. That’s just absolutely nuts.

Was there anything you vowed to do differently this time, such as not have a romance on the boat as you did last year? Did you have any rules like that for yourself?

No, not really. I think it was always going to be a bit different because I feel like we had such an amazing season last season. I feel like it was just a special season. We had such a good connection. I kind of just knew that it wouldn’t be the same as that. But I didn’t have any rules or anything. I just was like, “I’ll just take everything as it comes and make the best of it. See how it goes.”

It seems like the three interior gals are gelling so far. How was it adjusting to Bugsy in the leadership role for you?

So easy. She is such a good Chief Stew. I think someone said in the episode tonight, she really does have a very clear leadership style. She’ll be like: “These are the exact things that I want you to do in this order. Here’s a list.” There’s no confusion, exactly what she’s wanting of you. And I think as well, because her and I both have so much experience, it was almost one of those things where we didn’t really need to communicate about it too much. We both just got on with our shit and knew what to do.

I like that she says to Jess: “I want the main compliment from Captain Sandy to go to you.” 

Yeah, which is so nice. I think Jess has just been quite consistently trucking along this season. It would be nice for her to get some praise. I think it is hard when you’re the third stew and you’re constantly in cabins and doing laundry. You’re not really the face of the interior. You often do get forgotten about, even though you’re doing the shittiest jobs.

And she was doing it with a busted finger, too!

Yeah! Exactly! Which you have to admire. You have to tuck bottom sheets in so bloody hard. I was like, “How the hell did she pull that off with a broken finger?”

You were the one that really spoke up at the end of last season to Captain Sandy, saying you wish the interior had gotten a little more respect and acknowledgement for their hard work. Was there anything you planned to do differently this time to really make sure that you nailed Captain Sandy’s respect?

Not really, because I always do my best when I’m working. So it’s kind of up to her, whether she wants to acknowledge it or not.

It was very on-brand for you to come in and give everybody a hug when you arrived. 

I just laughed as well. I was just watching the episode, and it’s like the whole episode is just me being like, “Ahh! Ahh!”

Did the rest of the crew seem like “Who the hell is this? What is going on?” Or did they seem to really appreciate that you were bringing this energy there?

Yeah. Everyone was so, so lovely. I think because it had been such a crazy season and everyone was exhausted, probably a bit overwhelmed, I think everyone did appreciate such a fresh energy come in. I’ve been in that situation before and it does make such a difference, having “fresh blood,” so to speak, who aren’t trampled down by everything that’s happened.

There’s been a lot of online chatter that Captain Sandy seems to favorite Bugsy and Malia a bit. Did you notice any of that? Did it seem like a different vibe at all from last season?

Um, not really. But I suppose I don’t really tune in to anything like that. I don’t really care about other people’s relationships and what’s going on. I’m just there to live my best life and do my job. Enjoy myself.

Speaking of that, it was great that the Damons were your first charter guests.

Yeah! How cool was that? I loved it. Especially because I’d just come over from Bali, and then I’d just done Watch What Happens Live as well. When I arrived, I was honestly exhausted. I haven’t felt that tired in forever. I just was so exhausted. After meeting everyone, it is a really tiring experience. So to see them, and knowing them, seeing familiar faces — it actually was really, really comforting for me.

How were they this time, compared with last time? Did they party harder?

Nah. They were exactly the same. They’ll always be them.

Tell me about the boyfriend, I know people are very excited that you’ve got a new man in your life.

[Squeals] His name is Scott. We actually went to school together, he was in the year above me. We had a little crush on each other in school, but my older brother was in his year. So no boy was allowed to touch me at school. But anyway, we hadn’t really spoken since then. We started speaking again at the end of last year. And then in March, it kind of got to the point where we had been talking so much, it was like: okay, something’s gotta happen. In March, I was like, “Well, why don’t I just come over and see you?” So I came over [to the US] for a two-week road trip with him. We just absolutely hit it off. The rest is history. Being in this foreign country, it’s just so nice when you’re with someone. We went to school together, we’re from the same town. We’ve got the same background. We can be like, “I remember this person and this person.” It’s just so nice having someone with the same culture and the same background.

And it seems like you guys like the same things, you’ve been on lots of adventures and stuff.

Exactly. And that’s the thing: the way that he lives his life, he’s always on the road. I think for a lot of girls, that wouldn’t suit them at all. Like, “If we’re on the road, you’ve got to poo in the poo bucket.” Going in the bush, having a bath in the river, that kind of thing. I think that not many people would like that lifestyle. I think the fact that we’ve found each other and we both really enjoy that is quite a special thing. We’re about to go on a three-month road trip.

What’s on your bucket list for the road trip?

So we’re going to go up to Montana, and then across to Washington. Then down the coast and maybe into Baja. But I think the two or three things: I really want to see Yellowstone, really want to see Yosemite, and then I really want to do some beautiful hikes in Washington. There’s just so many gorgeous places to see in this country. There’s so much to see. It’s hard to tick it all off.

Scott’s a really, really good paraglider. He’s teaching me to fly at the moment. I’m very, very excited to get up to the coast for some more consistent winds. Just do lots of flying out there.

Your positivity just really shines through when the world is not the brightest right now. How do you maintain that during a time like 2020? 

I think I’ve just been blessed with this brain that is a master of flipping everything into being a positive thing for me and work out for me. I had this really cool job lined up in New Zealand [that fell through] that was going to take me through until July. I wasn’t going to be able to see Scott until then. But now, with COVID and everything that’s happened, I’ve been able to be with him for most of the year. For me, I’m like, “Actually, this has actually turned out for the best for me.” I’ve seen so much more of America, I’ve done lots of trips. I think no matter what happens, there’s always something that you can gain from it. It’s just the way you look at it.

Is there anything that you’re excited for people to see on the rest of the season?

There definitely is a lot more drama coming up. I’m just really excited for all the episodes to come out, for everyone to see what’s going on. I think the only thing that I’m like, “Oh, god,” is because it has been kind of a shit show so far. So many people have been like, “At least with Aesha coming back, it will save everything. Rah rah!” I’m like, man! I’m feeling a lot of pressure to come on and be amazing. So I keep trying to wrack my brain, I almost forget everything that happened. I’m trying to wrack my brains, like, fuck — was I okay?

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

Where to stream Below Deck Mediterranean