Is Ellie trying to be the most hated crew member ever?
Below Deck Mediterranean season 9’s Elena Dubaich has been working hard aboard Mustique, but with her consistently stringent hold over her fellow Stew Bri Muller, she’s proven to be the villain of the season. Elena, who goes by Ellie on Mustique, has been working in the yachting industry for years and is hoping that her time on the superyacht can help her move up to the next level of her career. Having appeared for a few episodes on Below Deck Mediterranean season 7, Ellie isn’t a stranger to the stress of working aboard the Bravo-sanctioned vessel.
Elena’s time aboard Mustique is the first long-term assignment she’s had as one of the Stews working beneath Captain Sandy Yawn. Doing her best to show up as a professional, Ellie has been taking her role as the Second Stew aboard Mustique seriously. She quickly realized that though she and Bri had similar levels of experience, she was much more advanced in how to properly navigate a superyacht. Taking Bri under her wing, she tried to ensure that she could advise the young Stew on how to approach her work and what to prioritize.
Ellie’s time aboard Mustique hasn’t been entirely professionally minded, however. During the first charter of the season, Ellie was assigned to tend to the guests during a late night when the rest of the crew aside from Deckhand Gael Cameron had gone to bed. The charter guests were looking for late night snacks, which they’d mentioned wanting on the preference sheet, but they wanted something more high-level than Ellie was able to handle. She chose to wake up Chef Johnathan Shillingford, from his bunk to ask for his help, but he refused.
While Ellie was simply looking for help from the Chef, she was shocked to find him not only refusing to help her out in the kitchen, but having spoken to Captain Sandy about it. Ellie was called out in front of the entire rest of the crew as the Captain shared her views about not waking up the Chef unless it was a complete emergency. Though Ellie wasn’t technically reprimanded, she felt uncomfortable with the fact that she’d been called out in front of everyone else, despite feeling she’d done the right thing in the moment.
Ellie’s personal life aboard Mustique has also been difficult. Coming into Below Deck Mediterranean season 8 single, Ellie was certain that she wouldn’t hook up with any of the crew members aboard the vessel. Knowing the dangers of boatmances, Ellie found herself attracted to Deckhand Joe Bradley, but Bri was also interested in the exterior team member. The pair have clashed over Bri’s choice to hookup with Joe, and have a difficult time coming back from their beef. As Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 progresses, Ellie’s become the show’s clear villain.