Gabriela Barragan, from Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 3, confirmed she is dating Deckhand and Captain Wes O’Dell.
Wes made his debut on the Bravo reality TV franchise on Below Deck season 9 in 2021.
Since the news broke that Gabriela quit BDSY midway through season 3 on episode 10 she went on Below Deck OG Chief Stew Adrienne Gang‘s podcast Gangplank Report. There she finally confirmed the rumors that she and Wes are dating.
Gabriela & Wes Have Been A Couple For Two Months Now
On the podcast, Gabi said she has been dating Wes for a couple of months. The two got to know each other quite well when Wes hired Gabi to work on his sailboat, Nightwind II at the start of 2022.
Since then, Gabriela’s Instagram has shown tiny glimpses of the couple working and hanging out together, alongside other crew and friends in Saint Kitts in the Caribbean.
Gabi also told Adrienne and her co-host how Wes made it official. He gave Gabriela a popular bangle bracelet from St. Thomas where if the hook is facing outwards you are single, but if it’s facing inward you are dating someone. Wes put the bracelet on Gabi’s wrist facing outwards to let her know he wanted to be exclusive. Gabi responded by saying “Oh!”, and Wes said, “Yeah.”
It looks like Wes really picked up his game. Fans will recall Third Stew Jessica Albert, who thought Wes was very attractive while on Below Deck together, that he had no game and failed to make a move on her.
The news of Gabi and Wes’ relationship first broke on Monster & Critics, which received exclusive photos of Wes and Gabriela as a couple.
From what Wes and Gabriela have shared on Instagram, the pair like to go out drinking and dancing together. They also both love to work on the open sea on Wes’ sailboat, where he is captain.
Gabi Talks About Her Positive Relationship With Wes
While on the Gangplank Report, Gabriela also talked about how great her relationship with Wes is compared to previous ones.
“I don’t think I’ve had a boyfriend quite as kind and patient and loving as Wes. It’s new for me because, obviously, you guys see how chaotic I am and how intense I am. So being in a normal, healthy relationship, I’m like uncomfortable in normalcy, I guess,” Gabi explained.
“So, he’s working with me, and I couldn’t appreciate it more. Not just about the stuff about the show but advancing my career.”
Gabriela also explained how she had a very toxic and abusive relationship in the past where she was “brainwashed” and “gaslit”. She said the had to have therapy afterwards and felt like a broken person afterwards.
So far Wes O’Dell has been pretty quiet on his relationship with his girlfriend. He’s only shared some stories on Instagram of the news the two are dating.
What Happened Behind The Scenes On Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3 Before Gabriela Quit
On the podcast, Gabriela also talked about how she and Chef Marcos Spaziani never got along from the get-go. Apparently Marcos was reminded of an emotionally abusive ex by Gabi, and from the beginning was very dismissive of her.
This helps explain why Gabriela drunkenly exploded on Marcos a few times in the latter few episodes she was on the show. However, after the show ended, the two talked in DMs and apparently Marcos became very flirtatious. Gabi explained on the podcast though that he repeatedly ghosted her and deleted her from his social media, only to readd her.
Gabriela, age 33 on the show, also explained why she confided in Third Stew Ashley Marti, despite her insubordination and how much she talked behind her back. According to Gabi, Ashley. age 23 on the show, was always nice to her face, except when being given orders. Gabriela figured Ashley was just young and didn’t like taking orders. Furthermore, Ashley and Gabi would talk late into the night and got along well generally! Gabriela says she had now idea Ashley was being two-faced and poisoning the well behind her back while pretending to be her friend.
When the crew started talking a lot behind her back, Gabriela realized they were talking a lot of trash. She said she would purposely interrupt them when she knew they were talking about her behind her back.
Gabi also disclosed that she spoke to Captain Glenn Shephard one time before quitting about the struggles she was having on the boat with other crew members. She also explained how she didn’t go to Daisy because she didn’t know who she could trust at that point.
The Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 3 reunion episode will be one to watch when Gabi confronts Marcos and Ashley’s shadiness.
To get a complete summary of the podcast episode with Gabriela check out this Reddit post.
What Happened to Gabriella After Quitting Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 3
After Gabriela quit the show she stayed in Spain for another five months and met a lot of amazing and positive people. She also appears to have found a motor superyacht to work on in another part of Spain during that time in 2021.
After leaving Spain she returned to the US before heading to the Caribbean to work with Wes and his crew. In the past month she left the Caribbean and appears to be working on a large sailing yacht again.
Adrienne, who now works as a yacht chef, also posted pictures of the two on a yacht. Fans are speculating that Gabriela and Adrienne may be working on the same yacht together now. The two have been friends for a long time because Gabriela has been a super fan of Below Deck for a long time.
