Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Joe Bradley asked Nathan Gallagher if he was going to “hit” him in a chilling argument ahead of the bosun’s offscreen arrest for domestic violence.

During the Monday, October 5, finale, Joe and Nathan attempted to end the season on a high but a night out led to more tension. Joe, who had been drinking throughout the evening, was joking around with Nathan on the boat about being a dad when he said, “It would be so much easier if you weren’t.”

Nathan wasn’t thrilled with the comment.

“Do not disrespect my family. Do not disrespect my girlfriend,” he told Joe in a charged conversation as several crew members watched on. “And that is all I have to say to you. I will leave it on that note.”

After Nathan made numerous attempts to cut Joe off from speaking, the lead deckhand asked, “Or what? Are you going to f***ing hit me?”

“Do not tempt me. So keep your mouth shut,” Nathan fired back as Joe noted that he didn’t think “Gael [Cameron] would be really happy” if her then-boyfriend got into a physical fight.

Nathan, however, kept trying to confront Joe.

“I won’t give a s***. That’s real talk. Don’t give a f*** about all this,” he added before pretending to throw an empty water bottle at Joe. “If you want me to be real, you will listen to me. Keep her name out of your mouth. That’s a good decision.”

Aesha Scott tried to step in by telling Joe he was in the wrong for how he spoke about Gael. This caused Joe to break down on board while Nathan headed to the home where Gael and their son were staying during charter.

Joe and Nathan ultimately said their goodbyes the next day while acknowledging they didn’t expect to cross paths again. Months after season 11 of Below Deck Med was filmed, Nathan was arrested on domestic violence charges in Australia in December 2025 for an alleged incident with an unidentified 29-year-old woman.

Us acquired a police report in August that confirmed Nathan was charged with “assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentionally chok[ing] a person without consent and common assault.” Nathan was granted conditional bail but was later convicted on three counts of domestic violence after he failed to appear in court.

“I’m not claiming I was perfect. I wasn’t. I made mistakes, and I will take responsibility for my own actions,” Nathan told Rolling Stone in an August statement. “I will not accept being portrayed solely through one account of a relationship when there is another side and evidence relating to it. I have contemporaneous video footage from the night in question, as well as messages and other records, which I believe provide important context.”

Nathan is also the subject of an Apprehended Violence Application that was filed on Gael’s behalf in New South Wales. Bravo ultimately fired Nathan in light of his domestic violence arrest. Joe, meanwhile, showed support for Gael by sharing a statement from Aesha.

“Can people please give Gael some GRACE!?” Aesha wrote via her Instagram Story in September. “That poor woman has been through hell and back the last two years, a hell most of you attacking her from your high horse at home have no real idea about. During this time she was being fed so many lies day after day, she didn’t really understand what was going on in so many different areas.”

She added: “I will always stand by her side, because she is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever come across in my lifetime. And yes, I know she went to Croatia and agreed to go onto a public forum where people watch and have opinions, but again, you all have no clue what steps led to that and followed that. Please be kind.”

Below Deck airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.