‘Below Deck Med’: Malia White Talks Being Hangry and Those Snippy Slide Comments

So, there’s been a lot happening on this season of Below Deck Mediterranean. Maybe you’ve noticed? Between Lexi’s hot tub drama, Lloyd’s sweet moment, and now those snippy slide comments, we had to get bosun Malia White’s take on everything that’s gone down so far.

We jumped on a Zoom with Malia from Florida where she was still recovering after a nasty scooter accident. Here, she explains her side of this season’s biggest moments so far, and while she’s never worked on a yacht where Leo was a charter guest (It’s just been “mostly businesspeople and C-list type celebrities” she said), she still teased the “explosive” moments still to come this season.

Decider: First things first, how are you doing? Are you okay after the accident and recovering nicely?

Malia White: Right now, just trying to keep the scars at bay, which is good. But yeah, I’m good.

And you’re getting ready to go back to work soon? 

Yeah, the accident happened in Palma, Spain so they flew me home to recover for a few weeks. But I should be back to work in like, two weeks.

I’m guessing this had to shake you a bit mentally, right? 

Yeah, it did. [But] I’m ready to be back on motorcycles and scooters. I think my childhood has prepared me for things like this.

How has this season of Below Deck Med been for you? 

This season has been fun. This has definitely been the most fun I’ve had filming. The crew just felt more carefree and fun and positive, so it’s been a much better experience.

Everyone that I’ve talked to so far has had nothing but lovely things to say about you and the other crew members, which we see on the show as well. What do you attribute that to? Was it anything you did in your leadership? Was it just these personalities? How do you think this all came together and worked as well as it has?

I definitely felt more comfortable this season. You know, not having some personalities around and kind of gelling with the personalities that were here. Everyone this season was just super supportive and positive, and Katie was a breath of fresh air. So I think because of who they are, I felt more comfortable just being me and having a good time with them.

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I don’t want to dwell on the past, but was there anything that you learned from previous seasons that you applied to this one or anything that you would have done differently in retrospect?

Yeah, definitely. In retrospect, there are things I wish I could have done differently or changed. It’s not even comparable because last season obviously dealt with a lot. But also I had a relationship going at the same time, and I think there’s so much more added stress last season than this season. I’m just able to focus on doing my job and focus on me and the task at hand rather than worrying about my relationship or worrying about other things. So this season I felt more focused.

It’s nice that you have a great relationship with Katie, and she said she doesn’t know how she would have survived the season without you. It had to be good to have that between department heads, but what else would you say about that? 

Yeah, I think that’s exactly it. Katie, from the beginning was like, it’s not deck and interior, we’re a team. And she didn’t lead it like, I’m the chief stew, everyone’s beneath me. She was more like, look, we’re a team, we gotta get through the season together. She relied on me just as much as I relied on her and we really worked together to support the whole team rather than trying to make it one department versus the other. That was super refreshing and that’s how the boats are supposed to run.

Tell me a little bit about Courtney. How was she as a roommate?

[laughs] Well, she dropped the radio on my head the very first night and she puked in my bed. But other than that, she was a blast. She was always that bit of craziness and fun that you need in a roommate. I could have done without the puking on my mattress, but that’s fine.

What was your take on the flirtation between Courtney and Zee?

Oh, they’re just two people having fun. I think Chloe and Maverick, their drunken alter egos, come out and they’re ready to have a little fun. I don’t think there’s taming Courtney anytime soon.

That’s great considering we’ve got half of a season left to go. Is there anything that you want to say in the aftermath of the Lexi stuff?

That was a rough night. Looking back, it’s ugly on all sides, not just Lexi. And I think moving past that, we expected more of an apology but I get where she’s coming from, too. We’ve all had those embarrassing drunken nights that we kind of just wish would go away. I think that’s what we’re trying to do, just start off on a new page and move past it. You’ll see it’s a strange season between Lexi and I because I think she came in with preconceived notions of who I am from watching past seasons, so that was difficult to overcome with her. When she said the comment about not being sincere about her dad, that really hurt. But I think that she and I are starting to move past that, which is good.

And kudos to you for making the call to drain the hot tub too, that seemed very wise.

It was a massive hot tub. I wanted people to understand that this hot tub was the biggest one we’ve ever had. And I wasn’t kidding, you could drown in there. So I was being serious, like, no, we actually have to drain it.

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Have you noticed viewers also coming around on their perception of you or actually seeing you in action here and appreciating you and your work and your leadership this season too?

Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback. I think I’m thankful that people are seeing me without the burden of the relationship. I say burden because it was pretty intense, and then with everything that happened last season, there are ways that I wish I handled it differently. You see one side of how it went down, and trying to explain all that to people will never really understand the whole story. So I think it’s nice, it’s refreshing this season to have people see me for just me without any past drama people or relationship drama.

Okay, let’s talk about David. What was going through your head at that moment he asks you out again? 

Yeah, I think so many girls can relate to this, but I was just kind of like, oh, don’t do it. But he’s fantastic. He obviously was just giving it a shot and I knew it was coming. He’s sweet and he’s amazing, but like I told him, I just came out of a relationship. I was in no place to be looking for love.

Was it a timing thing? Do you think if you had met him on a random night out and you weren’t working together, things would have been different? And is that the end of it?

I think that’s the end of it. Because it’s really only drunken nights. He never gave me those vibes. Only watching it back did I know that he was talking to the boys and stuff about it, but he never really was doing that on deck.

You were asked about your butt last episode and you credit this to squats — any workout plan you’d like to share with the rest of us? 

Well, I think people see my Instagram, I’m huge on working out. It’s hard for me to not work out, it’s just my big stress relief. But yes, I do lots of squats, I do lots of lunges, and I run a lot as well. And I eat cheeseburgers.

Let’s talk about Lloyd opening up: what was it like for you at that moment? 

I think Lloyd had slowly been opening up, but to see him in tears and to hear him talking about the names that he was being called from past captains or the way that he’s been made to feel because of his sexuality. It’s just so heartbreaking because this industry can still be a bit old school. I think this next generation of captains and officers and leaders are going to change. And I think in that moment, it was so important for us to just embrace him and be like, here on this deck crew and this whole crew, you’re supported, and you’re loved for exactly who you are.

You also share a little bit of a revelation and say that you have swung both ways as well. Your sexuality has been discussed before, but was there anything else that you wanted to add to that? 

I think people have talked about my sexuality and I just think the bigger topic is who cares? Like, stop trying to put labels on who people are. Is Malia bi? Is she gay? Is she straight? Stop caring, people can be fluid. I went to college, girls have fun. Everyone has fun and no one should care. It shouldn’t be such a big topic. I think that’s an old-school mentality, too. People can change, they can want what they want, and you can be in love with someone for who they are.

I appreciated that you had the conversation with Zee at the table about race and the industry as well. Are you seeing a shift on these topics in the industry? 

I hope so, but I think just like Zee said: his brothers were in the industry, they’re white, and they warned him, on a stack of CV’s you’re probably going to be the last and that’s tough because it’s still a very old school industry. But I think for me, Lloyd and Zee to have this conversation, you know, I’m a female in a male-dominated industry, Lloyd with his sexuality, Zee with his race. These are topics that in the industry we’re trying to change. And I know for sure when I become an officer, I’m going to make sure they change.

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In Episode 8, what was happening with that police vessel situation?

I think some guests were going too close to the shore with jet skis. It doesn’t matter how much you brief them, you tell them what they can do and they just go and do exactly what you tell them not to do. So we got a little warning.

We also see that you and Captain Sandy got a little snippy, what was that moment like for you as well?

I was really hungry at this moment. I think you hear me say, I’m just so hangry right now. And it’s just one of those moments where you know exactly what needs to get done and you’re taking care of it, but the boss walks out and you’re just like, Ugh, go back to the bridge!

How was your relationship throughout the season as a whole, was it stronger? Was it the same? She’s always been in your corner, but how was it this time around?

It was good. I will say there’s probably a few ups and downs, you’ll see. This isn’t the first time I get yelled at this season. So I definitely was on a different side to Captain Sandy this season, which was a learning experience for me. But you know, I appreciate that Captain Sandy is always holding me to a higher standard and she’s always rooting for me.

Is there anything else that you want to say about the season so far or tease what we have coming up ahead?

I’ve just loved it. The seasons have always just been a breath of fresh air for me and I’m glad people are maybe changing their opinions from last season. Coming up, we still have quite a few explosive moments. So if you thought the fighting or anything was over, it’s definitely not.

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Monday at 9 pm ET/PT on Bravo with episodes streaming one week early on Peacock.

Stream Below Deck Mediterranean on Bravo Now and Peacock