Kate Chastain Reveals “Secret” to Her & Ben Robinson’s Friendship at BravoCon 2025
The former Below Deck castmates dished on their years-long relationship as co-workers, friends, and possibly sometimes more.
It’s no secret that Kate Chastain and Ben Robinson have become one of Bravo’s most prominent “will-they-or-won’t-they” couples. Their on-screen dynamic has tended to oscillate from friendly to flirty, leading some to believe they’ve had some kind of romance in the past. And while the Below Deck alums have been fairly vague about their rumoured hookups, they’ve made it quite clear that their friendship is going strong to this day.
What Kate Chastain “learned” from her & Ben Robinson’s friendship
Kate spoke about their bond during an interview with The Daily Dish at BravoCon 2025, explaining how she and the chef have remained so close after all these years.
“I would say that I’ve learned over the years, the secret to Ben and I’s friendship is distance,” she said. “We just both have big personalities, and we do better when there’s enough space that both of our personalities have enough room. But I always love seeing him, and we actually talk quite often… from a distance.”
Kate Chastain and Ben Robinson address *those* dating rumors
Kate Chastain and Ben Robinson at the Unexpected Duos panel during at BravoCon on November 15, 2025 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, NV.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/Bravo
The former castmates shed more light on their relationship during the BravoCon Unexpected Duos panel, where moderator Michelle Collins questioned the pair about the dating rumors they’ve faced throughout the years.
“You also had an interesting relationship with each other,” Michelle told Kate and Ben. “There was a lot of speculation that you were a romantic item. Did that ever happen? And, if not, was that ever annoying when people assumed you were, like, together in that way?”
Kate immediately directed the question to her former co-worker.
“Would you like to answer that?” she asked Ben, who bluntly replied, “Not really. Thank you.”
Kate played coy, pointing out that she and Ben have been colleagues for quite some time. They worked side by side on multiple Below Deck charters and even appeared together on the series’ spinoff Below Deck Galley Talk.
“Ben and I worked together. I think we work well together,” she explained. “And we’re great friends. Sometimes we’re not… friends.”
“We do disgraceful things to each other,” Ben added, causing the crowd to laugh and cheer.
Kate Chastain fuels speculation about her relationship with Ben Robinson
The comments were yet another example of Kate and Ben fueling the aforementioned hookup rumors. During a July 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Kate agreed to play “Would You Screw That Crew?” — a game in which she revealed the current and former Below Deck yachties she would hook up with. One of the names presented was, of course, Chef Ben.
“Not again,” she said about the Oxford native.
Kate name-dropped Ben again during the WWHL After Show, when she was asked to reveal her favorite Below Deck cast member of all time.
“My favorite is probably Ben,” she said. “And that might be because we had sex.”
It’s unclear if Kate was spilling the tea, trolling the audience, or, perhaps both. But what was clear was that Kate was having fun with all the speculation.
Kate Chastain reveals if she would date Ben Robinson after he ended his engagement
In 2024, Ben confirmed he and his former fiancée, Kiara Cabral, had called it quits. Kate addressed the breakup during Bravo Fan Fest, where she was asked if she had any interest in dating the newly single chef, who was also her neighbor at the time.
“I mean, I wish,” Kate said. “It would be convenient, but we’re just friends.”
In related news, Ashley Darby mentioned Ben’s name when asked about a potential BravoCon love connection. Find out what The Real Housewives of Potomac mom had to say about the “very charming” chef.
— Additional reporting by Stephanie Gomulka.
