Tumi Mhlongo finally made her debut on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8, after briefly being held up due to visa issues. Natalya Scudder, who had been serving as the Chief Stew in Tumi’s absence, instantly gave her a warm welcome and showed her around the Mustique. However, it took mere minutes for the two women to start clashing. It doesn’t seem like their relationship will improve anytime soon.
Tumi Walked Onboard With a Negative Opinion Of Natalya
Before even meeting Natalya, Tumi had a tainted opinion of her thanks to their fellow Stew, Kyle Viljoen. Like Tumi, Kyle’s arrival was also delayed to issues with immigration. The two ended up meeting one another at the consulate. Kyle filled Tumi in on his issues with Natalya during Season 7, where the two had a rocky relationship. Many viewers felt that Kyle was the issue in their dynamic, however, as he was never willing to work as hard as Natalya.
Nonetheless, Tumi took Kyle’s words at face value and did not question his judgment. After Tumi arrived at the end of Episode 2, Natalya greeted her with smiles and hugs as the rest of the crew did. Natalya then gave Tumi a tour of the Mustique’s interior. However, it became evident that Tumi was not happy with what she was seeing.
The two women sat down for a conversation, that quickly became heated. Natalya asked Tumi her thoughts on the yacht, to which Tumi replied “the organization is a s**t show.” Understandably, Natalya was taken aback by this and asked Tumi to clarify. Tumi emphasized that she was not criticizing Natalya’s work, but instead was unhappy with the structure of the boat.
When Natalya tried to respond with her own opinions, Tumi snapped and told her not to get defensive. Tumi then waved her hands toward Natalya in an aggressive manner, which prompted Natalya to firmly say, “don’t do this with me.” The episode then left off on a cliffhanger, teasing that the rest of the women’s altercation would be shown next week.
The Season Trailer Teases More Conflict
The Below Deck Med Season 8 trailer shows a lot more of the feud between Natalya and Tumi, and things get heated. At the beginning of the trailer, a voiceover of Tumi presumably tells Natalya that she has been attacking her “since day one.” Natalya responds by telling Tumi that she “stepped on board with the worst attitude.” Yikes.
Later on, the two women are shown in another intense argument where Natalya shouts “don’t wave your little f*****g pen at me, you’re not a wizard.” Tumi responds by telling Natalya that she was not talking to her, and is visibly annoyed. Toward the end of the trailer, Natalya calls out Tumi for taking advantage of her authority. Tumi sharply replies that she is the Chief Stew, leaving Natalya on the verge of tears.
It Doesn’t Seem Like Tumi and Natalya Ever Resolved Their Differences
Natalya recently left some cryptic comments on an Instagram post discussing Tumi’s first time as a Chief Stew. In the first comment, Natalya seemingly called Tumi out for being so quick to rely on Kyle’s opinion of her. She wrote, “My biggest pet peeve is when someone lets a certain person influence their opinion on someone before even meeting them.”
Natalya did not stop there, however, as she made sure to acknowledge Tumi’s poor attitude after stepping onboard for the first time. She added, “My other pet peeve would be ungrateful people who can’t even say thank you for holding down the fort for 4 days, while being crew down, while setting up a boat, while running on no sleep.” Tumi never thanked Natalya for working so hard as interim Chief Stew, so Natalya’s comments seem perfectly justified.
The feud between Natalya and Tumi will certainly be a big plot line on Below Deck Med Season 8, and many viewers are already taking sides. While it is understandable that Tumi wants to be respected as Chief Stew, it seems that she is already letting the power get to her head. Natalya, on the other hand, simply wants to be respected by Tumi since she has already put so much work into this season.
TELL US – ARE YOU TEAM TUMI OR TEAM NATALYA?
