Below Deck Down Under‘s Ellie Dubaich didn’t have the warmest reception in the franchise, but she is eager to change that with her return.
“The main opinion [people have of me] is obviously the opinion of me being a bully. I’m not a bully,” Ellie exclusively told Us Weekly. “I understand how it came across that way but a lot of those situations were taken out of context and that’s why it seemed that way.”
She continued: “I am responsible for how I behave regardless. But I’m not a bully. I was responding to certain situations which — sadly — were not shown.”
Ellie initially appeared on season 9 of Below Deck Med, where she developed a connection with Joe Bradley, resulting in a love triangle with Bri Muller. Ellie responded to the backlash by publicly apologizing to Bri at that time.
“The main thing I learned is that I used to get really triggered by people’s opinions of me and then I would react if they saw me differently to how I thought they should be perceived,” she explained to Us earlier this month. “Then I would become this person that I didn’t like being just because I was triggered and just reacting.”
Ellie was thankful for the opportunity to reveal her true self.
“I really took some time to reflect about that and really realize that I’m responsible for how I behave,” she continued. “Some people might trigger me sometimes and it’s OK to experience those emotions. But I need to dial myself back in and really focus on just how I’m behaving rather than responding.”
Reflecting on her personal growth, Ellie expressed her hope for what viewers would take away from her return, saying, “I just wanted to be true to myself and just show who I have become — because it did evolve genuinely. It’s not like I was putting on an act to try and be a different person to please people. No, I just genuinely did learn some lessons and this is the person I’ve become.”
The Below Deck franchise has experienced its share of chaos over the years, with some moments standing out more than others. During season 7 of the Bravo show, a confrontation occurred between chief stew Kate Chastain and bosun Ashton Pienaar when the latter was intoxicated after a night out. Ashton ended up punching.
Despite previous challenges in the franchise, Ellie described Below Deck Down Under as “an immediate yes.”
“I don’t really shy away from discomfort. I welcome discomfort. I run towards discomfort because that’s the best way to grow,” she shared. “Although season 9 was a bit unpleasant in some ways, I did actually learn so much from it. It helped me grow a lot as a person and I appreciate it for just the way it unfolded.”
Ellie admitted her return felt “overwhelming” since the season had already started.
“I don’t know any one of these people and they’ve already established relationships. I’m starting a new job and I didn’t even know I was going to be doing this job,” she noted to Us. “I literally found out that the airport was gonna be doing this job. So it was just so many new things happening which were out of my control. I just didn’t even have the time to overthink anything. I was just like, ‘I have to put one foot in front of the other. That’s all I can do.’ I was just doing my best.”
Below Deck Down Under airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
