How Gael and Nathan’s Love Story Began?
Gael and Nathan first connected as crewmates on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, working together on charter and growing closer as they navigated the intense, high-pressure world of yachting. Their chemistry was evident on screen: long workdays, tight quarters, and shared off‑duty moments helped transform a professional connection into a romantic one.
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By the time Season 9 wrapped filming, they were no longer just colleagues; they had developed a relationship that continued once cameras stopped rolling, showing that their bond was strong enough to extend beyond the show’s structured environment.
After the season ended, the pair decided to test their relationship in the real world by traveling together. They spent around six to seven weeks on the road, which is a significant amount of time for any couple, especially one still relatively new.
This period of travel solidified that there were genuine feelings on both sides, and they tried to maintain the relationship afterward, signaling that neither of them initially saw it as just a casual “boatmance.”
Why Gael and Nathan Broke Up after Season 9?
Once their traveling ended, reality set in: Gael returned to Australia, while Nathan went back to Ireland, leaving them in a serious long‑distance relationship. The physical separation, combined with busy work schedules, became the main strain, and both of them now openly acknowledge that distance played a crucial role in their breakup.
Gael later revealed that, during this period, Nathan “ghosted” her for about five days, leaving her anxious and hurt.
She described how she reached out just to make sure he was safe, telling him that if he did not want to continue the relationship, he only needed to be honest, because she was sitting there worrying that something might have happened to him.
According to Gael, that was when Nathan finally admitted that he did not know if he could “do this right now,” effectively ending the relationship.
For Gael, this was not a minor disagreement; she emphasized that he was someone she loved, and the way things ended caused her a lot of emotional pain, which would later shape how guarded she appeared in Season 10.
Nathan’s version of events lines up with Gael’s in many important ways. He shared on Season 10 that they had dated for about six months after Season 9, traveled together for six to seven weeks, and then tried to keep things going long distance.
However, Nathan explained that he was working around 13 hours a day and juggling the demands of his job, and he felt the relationship simply was not sustainable under those conditions, pushing him toward the decision to end it around Christmas 2023. He admitted that he “f–ked things up” with Gael and “kind of just cut it off,” but they agreed to remain friends despite the breakup.
This mix of regret on his side and hurt on her side sets the emotional tone audiences see when they later come face to face again on Below Deck Med Season 10.
The Emotional Tension of their Season 10 Reunion.
By the time Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10 rolls around, Nathan returns to the yacht as bosun, and Gael is not part of the regular crew.
Even before she physically appears, Nathan is clearly still thinking about her, telling others that there is “a slight hole” in his heart and trying not to show how affected he is by their past.
Gael eventually comes back to the series in Season 10 as a temporary deckhand, stepping in for Victoria SanJuan for a one‑off charter.
At that point, she and Nathan have not seen each other in roughly 10 months, a long stretch of time considering the intensity of their previous relationship and painful breakup.
Their reunion is emotionally charged from the start. Nathan is visibly excited and nervous, while Gael repeatedly stresses that she wants to approach the situation in a purely professional and strictly platonic way.
She insists that she is there to work, not to reopen old wounds, making it very clear that she does not want to blur lines during her brief return to the Bravado.
When Nathan tells Gael that he still thinks he loves her, she shuts it down quickly, telling him, “You can’t say that.”
In her confessional, Gael explains that she has spent much of the last year pretending she is fine and that she does not want any more trouble, especially since she is only there for a couple of days and will be gone again right after the charter.
Later, Nathan goes to lie in Gael’s bunk and “cuddle,” again making it obvious that he does not want her to leave and that his feelings remain strong.
Gael stays consistent in her response, telling him once more that he cannot say those things, because for her, stepping back into the relationship would be emotionally risky after such a tough year.
In her private interviews, Gael describes the past year as emotionally exhausting and says that returning to something with Nathan could mean that “s–t might just repeat.”
This shows how much the previous breakup and the way it unfolded still influence her decisions and why she is so reluctant to trust that things would actually be different this time.
Nathan, in contrast, admits that it is a “hard pill to swallow” but says he just wants to get her to believe that he is serious about her now.
He even tells Aesha Scott that he would “100 percent” commit to Gael if she gave him another chance, emphasizing how much he wants to rewrite their story and prove that he would not walk away again.
Are Gael and Nathan Still Together Now?
On the show itself, during the timeline of Season 10, Gael and Nathan are not together; they are exes trying to coexist professionally while navigating unresolved feelings.
Gael’s guarded behavior and Nathan’s lingering love make it clear that, in that moment, they are on different pages emotionally, even though the connection between them has not disappeared entirely.
However, the key detail comes from the broader context revealed outside of the immediate episodes. The article explains that, before the events of the current charter and everything viewers see play out, Gael and Nathan eventually reconciled.
Despite the hurt, the ghosting, and the emotional distance, they worked through their issues off camera and decided to give their relationship another chance.
Most significantly, it is confirmed that they went on to start a family together, which signals a serious long‑term commitment well beyond a casual reunion.
The piece even notes that “the rest is history” and teases a further update on their life as parents today, indicating that their journey continued positively after the show’s high‑drama moments.
In other words, while Below Deck Med Season 10 presents them as broken up and stuck in a complicated, painful dynamic, their real‑life timeline extends past that and leads to reconciliation and parenthood.
For fans wondering whether their connection was strong enough to survive the realities of distance, work stress, and miscommunication, the answer is yes: Gael and Nathan do ultimately find their way back to each other.
Disclaimer:
This article is based on episodes, cast interviews, confessional footage, and publicly shared information related to Below Deck Mediterranean. Relationship timelines shown on the series may differ from real-life events due to filming schedules and editing. Statements attributed to Gael Cameron and Nathan Gallagher reflect what has been shared on the show or in interviews and are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only.
