Tzarina Mace-Ralph Reveals If She’s Still Friends with Aesha Scott: “Actually…” (EXCLUSIVE)

Tzarina explained what it was like returning to Below Deck Down Under without her bestie Aesha.

Although they’re no longer crewmates, Tzarina Mace-Ralph and Aesha Scott have maintained their BFF status. The former spoke about the friendship during a recent interview with The Daily Dish, saying she and Aesha were still in contact and remained quite tight.

“Yeah, I actually might try to see her in L.A. soon,” the Below Deck Down Under chef said. “So yeah, I’m really — I just love her, she’s just such a good energy to have around.”

Tzarina reflects on returning to BDDU without Aesha

The yachties were introduced to each other in BDDU Season 2, with Tzarina joining the cast as the Northern Sun chef and Aesha returning as the chief stew. Needless to say, the pair immediately hit it off and developed a successful working relationship that evolved into a close friendship.

Tzarina returned to BDDU for Season 3, in which Lara Rigby replaced Aesha as the chief stew. The English-born chef shed more light on the change during her chat with The Daily Dish.

“I feel like from first season to second season it was like night and day,” she said. “You know, but I think it’s kind of my fault as well, because I really wanted Lara to come on thinking it would be like having Aesha there. And I thought I was gonna — I thought I was being really, really sneaky, being like yeah, we’re gonna smash this season, have an amazing chief stew and then the opposite happened.”

Tzarina gives an update on Aesha: “She’s thriving so much”

Tzarina teased the Katina drama back in January, shortly after the BDDU Season 3 trailer dropped. She told her followers the charter season was going to be different but definitely “worth the watch.”

“The cat is out of the bag… I think that everyone is going to be completely on the edge of their seats,” she said in an Instagram Live. “I’ve been having loads and loads of messages about Aesha and how she’s not going to be there, but she’s thriving so much on [Below Deck Mediterranean], and I’m just so incredibly, incredibly proud of that girl. And I promise you, this season without her was very, very difficult because she was one of my bestest friends in the world. But it’s still going to be an epic season, so don’t worry.”

Aesha explains why she pushed back her wedding date

Aesha is now preparing to tie the knot with Scott “Scotty” Dobson, a film producer/director she met in high school. The pair got engaged in 2024 and now live together in New Zealand. The Below Deck Med chief stew had initially planned to get married at the end of 2025 but has since rescheduled the ceremony to March 7, 2026.

“I had a very busy year last year,” she explained during her January 27 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “We pushed [the wedding], and we’ve got a lot of American guests, so I want to give people time to save.”

Click here for more details on Aesha and Scott’s wedding.

— Additional reporting by Shannon Raphael.