WWHL: ‘Below Deck Med’s Chef Johnathan Shillingford Says Capt. Sandy Yawn’s Decision To Have A Backup Chef Was “Shocking”

Chef Johnathan Shillingford was thrown off by Capt. Sandy Yawn ‘s decision to have a backup chef locked and loaded in the wakes should she have to replace him.

The Below Deck Mediterranean star video-called into the Bravo Clubhouse for Monday night’s (July 15) episode of Watch What Happens Live , where a virtual fan asked how he felt about Yawn being prepared with his potential replacement.

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“Honestly, a little shocking,” he admitted. “Because I had no idea that was happening. But, to be fair, she’s a yacht captain and she has to look after the boat. And if that’s what she has to do, then I respect her decision.”

Yawn likely didn’t want to repeat her Season 4 fate when she fired Chef Mila Kolomeitseva (the first female chef in Below Deck history) for her subpar meals, leaving third stew Anastasia Surmava in charge of the galley until Chef Ben Robinson was able to step in.

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Shillingford also opened up about the controversy surrounding his refusal to wake up and make some late-night snacks — even though they were on the charter guest’s preference sheet.

“I think I was so exhausted from the day before. I just thought if I wake up now, I don’t know how I’ll get up in a few hours to make breakfast,” he said. “It was a tough call. It really was. Probably one of the hardest calls of my career. But usually you do wake up and make the late-night snacks. This time it was just, yeah, a really tough call.”

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The chef also admitted that he felt “a lot more sympathetic” toward second stew Ellie Dubaich, who was left to take care of the guests when he refused to leave his bed, while watching the show back.

“I had no idea that that situation was happening and it was so demanding,” he said. “I think, you know, it wasn’t personal at all. Unfortunately, it kind of unfolded that way.”

Watch What Happens Live airs Sunday through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock .

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