Weather 
To Aesha Scott, being a good leader means more than just keeping her crew happy.
The Below Deck Mediterranean chief stew, who is one of Us‘ Reality Stars of the Year, has learned over time that emotional intelligence is key to managing a yacht crew — especially when it comes to understanding how each person responds to direction.
“You’ve got to be able to read people well,” she shares. “If you don’t know how to talk to your staff and manage your staff, no one’s going to respect you.”
Scott, 34, has spent years honing her leadership skills and sunny personality on the Bravo reality series, on which she’s been tasked with keeping her interior team running smoothly while also pitching in wherever she’s needed, but she knows that approach doesn’t work for everyone.
“You really have to change your management style for every single member of your team, and it’s surprising how many people can’t read how someone receives information,” she says.
Aesha Scott Fred Jagueneau/Bravo
Over time, Scott has learned how to have difficult conversations with her crew without letting go of the positivity that has become her trademark.
“I feel like I’d clocked being a chief stew,” she tells Us of her growth in season 11, which she calls her “happiest” and “most fun” yet. “I had become an expert, and I’d mastered the craft.”
That said, Scott wouldn’t mind the chance to choose her own interior team.
“I would 100 percent do Kayley [Smith] and Kat [Johnston] again because they were like — oh my God, I can’t even explain how incredible they were! The energy that they showed up to work with every day was just phenomenal,” she tells Us. “Kayley is the best stew I have worked with, like, hands down out of every single person ever. She’s a f***ing machine. She was born to do it. I just cannot sing her praises enough. And then I would actually do Kizzi [Kitchener]. I know that people don’t like Kizzi that much … but she’s actually a very cool girl. She’s very hardworking. She’s really good at her job, and I loved bunking with her and working with her. And then Joy [Lefaucheur] would be my chef. She is just brilliant.”
Season 11 of Below Deck Med just wrapped up, but fans are already looking forward to the next installment after being teased with a Summer House crossover.
“We had the Summer House cast come on this year, and I would say, retrospectively, that was my dream because it’s all people who are around my same age who know what a hard day’s work is. They understood what we were going through and so they were just so respectful and fun,” Scott says. “It felt like we were hanging out with our friends, you know. I had the best time. You’re gonna love it!”
The newlywed — who said “I do” to her longtime love Scott Dobson in March — confesses she’s already reached her yachting peak and sees a future beyond the ocean.
“I’ve kind of achieved everything that I can really achieve in the yachting industry, which is fantastic,” Scott shares. “I really, really want to get into hosting. That’s been my dream for a long time. So that’s what I’m working towards.”
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t aspire to appear on more reality TV.
“I would really love to go on The Traitors, which I know every Bravo person says that. More because I think making me a traitor would be the funniest thing ever because I’d just be so f***ing terrible at it, but I kind of want to see how I do,” the TV star says.
The chief stew is also thinking about children, telling Us that she and her husband “should probably get started soonish.”
“We do want to have a baby eventually. We have talked about it for a long time, and I’m the one that keeps putting it off because I love yachting so much, and I don’t care what anyone says, you cannot be a stewardess and be pregnant. It’s just not safe or wise. But at some point, I am going to have to draw the line and choose having a family,” Scott admits.
And even as a mom, Scott says she won’t be able to stay off the water.
Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Captain Sandy Yawn reflected on the leadership skills she admired — but didn’t see in everyone she worked with over the years. During the Monday, June 10, episode of the hit Bravo series, Sandy overheard Aesha Scott‘s conversation with stew Bri Muller. “I’m really sorry that yesterday was such a stressful day […]
“When we have toddlers, we really want to do catamaran holidays because I just think that’s such a beautiful, fun way to see the area that you’re in. And it’s something that you can do with kids. So yeah, once we start having kids, we’d love to start doing boat trips for sure,” she explains.
But for now, Scott is right where she belongs — on our TV screens!
“I love being on reality TV,” she says. “It’s just such a freeing, liberating way to make money. I feel so grateful that that’s my job.”
Scott first appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean in 2019 and has completed 5 seasons alongside Captain Sandy Yawn. She was also Captain Jason Chambers’ chief stew for the first 2 seasons of Below Deck Down Under.
