It’s the end of Below Deck Mediterranean, and the crew just said their goodbyes. It was a difficult season for the interior crew, especially with Elena Dubaich solely focused on her standing in rank. But the Slovenian native is looking back at her performance this season with fresh eyes.
Perhaps watching herself on camera led to an epiphany. These days, Ellie can look at her actions with Bri Muller, Aesha Scott, and Carrie O’Neill with the proper amount of criticism.
Elena Dubaich now sees where some conflict “stemmed from”
“I genuinely don’t even recognize the person I was last year when this was filmed,” Ellie said during an exclusive interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish. “This has been such an intense experience of personal growth and character strengthening. Although there were many negatives on my part this season that I do regret, I still appreciate them for making me better.”
Ellie’s obsession with “rank and hierarchy” had her missing out on the big picture, namely to create an idyllic experience for the guests.
“Watching it back, I now understand where this issue stemmed from. Although hierarchy is an antiquated notion in the workforce, it is not at sea, it’s how boats operate,” she explained. “However, any boat smaller than 50 meters is known in the industry as more relaxed and having more of a family atmosphere amongst crew members as it’s a small team. My yachting experience, however, comes from boats ranging from 95 meters to 140 meters, plus cruise ships.”
Ellie explained that “the only way to establish order” is to “run with a large crew.” It’s an antiquated system in any other profession.
“There are specific rules and etiquette we follow,” she continued. “Bri [Muller]’s experience was on small vessels up to 30 meters, which had a handful of crew, so our experiences were just the complete opposite. This caused an issue where she’d think I’m power tripping while I would think she’s not respecting me.”
Interestingly enough, Ellie’s superior also felt that she was stepping on her toes. Looking back on the season though, the new Bravolebrity acknowledged the complete “delusion in terms of my work abilities.”
“[I was] genuinely not realizing I wasn’t pulling my weight,” she revealed. “We’d work 16-hour days and I would get praise the entire day and a small note on something I could improve every once in a while. So, it never seemed like that big of an issue from my perspective.”
All’s well that ends well though. Ellie and Aesha “have spoken” since filming wrapped. The newbie reality TV star revealed that her former boss “reached out and offered love and support amidst the midseason backlash.” For that, Ellie “will always appreciate her.”
She added, “I think she’s a wonderful person and a great friend.”
As for Ellie’s relationship with Bri, the latter is “open to catching up.” The second stew admitted to being “unnecessarily negative.”
“Getting emotional about things was something I needed to learn how to regulate better,” Ellie explained. “I’ve learned to always take ownership of how I feel and focus on my actions matching who I am rather than reacting.”
These days Ellie is back in Fort Lauderdale “freelancing,” including working as a solo stew. She’s beefed up her resume with “courses on bartending,” “a Chief Stew course, and a Yacht Purser course.”
“I feel much more confident in my skills and I’m looking forward to always learning and growing further in my career,” she shared.
Will she back for another season?
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ELLIE’S REFLECTIONS? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO ALL THE COURSES SHE TOOK SINCE FILMING? DO YOU THINK SHE WILL BE BACK ON REALITY TV?
