Below Deck alum Ashton Pienaar reveals Season 7 van fight with Kate Chastain ‘changed’ his life
Below Deck alum Ashton Pienaar reveals Season 7 van fight with Kate Chastain ‘changed’ his life
Below Deck, fans will never forget the explosive van ride on Below Deck Season 7, where Ashton Pienaar nearly punched Chief Stew, Kate Chastain.
It was one of the hit-yachting franchise’s most awful, horrible, and toxic moments.
Ashton punched the van window while Chef Kevin Dobson and Deckhand Brian de Saint Pern tried to calm him down.
That moment was a defining one for Ashton, who opened up about it as he watched the scene back after “6 years of therapy.”
Taking to Instagram, Ashton shared the clip from the van ride with a photo of himself watching it.
Ashton spoke out in the video of the experience that gave him the life he has now and wrote a lengthy caption.
Below Deck alum Ashton Pienaar reveals Season 7 van fight with Kate Chastain ‘changed’ his life
After letting the clip play out for a second, Ashton paused to reveal he watched the moment air, just like the rest of Below Deck fans.
“It was painful, and it’s still difficult to watch now, but it changed my life forever,” he shared.
The former yachtie admitted he thought he had achieved so much at that point in his life, but he was wrong.
“This moment was holding up a mirror to some of the darkest parts of my life,” Ashton explained before adding those moments were holding him back. “This footage helped me realize the impact my past had on me and the massive journey that laid ahead.”
In the caption of his IG post, Ashton said many of the same things as he did in the video. Then he got real about watching the footage back.
“Seeing that footage was like a hard slap in the face. It was painful, embarrassing, and honestly, it felt like a betrayal of the person I thought I was,” he wrote as part of his message.
The Below Deck alum used the lesson he learned from that video and what he did to Kate to promote growth, learning, and healing, which included how he can help others grow from their mistakes.
Season 7 was the last time fans saw Ashton or Kate on Below Deck, and it sure was one for the books.
What has Ashton Pienaar been up to since Below Deck?
Ashton has been sober for over four years. The former yachtie admitted that his actions on Below Deck Season 7 prompted him to get sober.
In September 2023, Ashton married the love of his life, Sarah, after proposing in an airport a few months earlier. They married at the courthouse with a very intimate and small reception following the ceremony.
Last year, Ashton released his memoir Knots, Lines, and Life: A Journey That Tore Me Apart and Put Me Back Together.
These days, Ashton is happily living his life with Sarah while helping others on their health and wellness journey.
Ashton has put Below Deck in the past. but hasn’t forgotten the lessons he earned from the show.
Below Deck is currently on hiatus on Bravo. Seasons 1-11 are streaming on Peacock.
