Below Deck Mediterranean star Malia White has responded after Captain Sandy Yawn recently suggested she’s secretly gay.
Yawn, who is an openly gay woman, claimed on Cameo that White’s sexuality is the reason she split from Tom Checketts and that the crew suspected White was gay.
In a selfie video shared to her Instagram on Wednesday, White, 30, first confirmed her split from Checketts and then expressed her shock that Yawn would talk about such a personal issue.
‘Shocked’: Below Deck Mediterranean’s Malia White has addressed Captain Sandy’s comments about her being secretly gay
‘Hey guys, it’s Malia. My personal life seems to be quite the topic at the moment. I am not on Twitter, I don’t do a lot of Instagram Lives, so I thought that I would send out a message in my own words.
‘So, first off, yes, Tom and I have split. The details surrounding all of it, I am trying to keep a little private, just out of respect to him and I. But yes, I am single,
‘Second, Captain Sandy’s Cameo – I was just as shocked as everyone else. I’m not sure why my sexual orientation is being discussed in Cameos.
‘First off, if I was gay, I would just like to say it should be my decision when and if to out it to the entire internet,’ she continued.
‘I’m not, but if I was, I would be openly proud to be gay. I’m a huge supporter of the community and, yeah, I’ll just leave it at that.’ White, 30, explained in an Instagram video on Wednesday
‘But no, I’m not, but if I was, I would be openly proud to be gay. I’m a huge supporter of the community and, yeah, I’ll just leave it at that.’
In Yawn’s video, she said, ‘Malia…I think she’s secretly gay, to be honest. That’s my opinion. Everybody in production thinks that.’
She immediately then appeared to regret her words as she covered her mouth and said, ‘Oh! That’s gonna be public isn’t it! Okay so maybe…who knows!’
She later apologized for the comment and attempted to blame editing, saying on Instagram on Wednesday, ‘I was wrong for making that comment.
In a cameo video this week Captain Sandy Yawn said, ‘Malia…I think she’s secretly gay, to be honest. That’s my opinion. Everybody in production thinks that.’
Not her place: She immediately then appeared to regret her words as she covered her mouth and said, ‘Oh! That’s gonna be public isn’t it! Okay so maybe…who knows!’
‘That clip was taken out of context, it was sliced to make it into something it was not. My apologies to Malia!’ she insisted.
It’s a strange turn for the duo’s friendship as they have always been close, with Malia looking to Captain Sandy, 55, as a mentor.
The post came just a day after Malia hinted at her new single status.
She shared a glowing selfie where she held up a glass of white wine and toasted to good times, writing: ‘Cheers to all the ladies out there in their 30’s, single, focused on their careers & that give zero f**ks!’
Cheers to that! White has confirmed she’s now single after splitting from Tom Checketts
White followed with several empowering hashtags, adding: #stayfocused #dirtythirty #bossbabes and, the most telling, #thankyounext – the title of Ariana Grande’s ever-popular breakup song.
Making it very, very clear she was done with Checketts, Malia completely scrubbed her Instagram of any of his photos.
She had comments turned off for her entire account, however, not letting fans speculate about what exactly went down during the breakup.
Keeping up appearances? While White made it pretty clear she was flying solo, Tom muddied the waters by sharing some shots from a romantic vacation just one week ago
Confusing: ‘A very brief trip to London with this one X’ he wrote along with a fun set of pictures from a trip across the pond
While White made it pretty clear she was flying solo, a look at Tom’s page seemed to muddy the waters a bit.
Just one week ago, the chef shared a loved-up photo of the then-couple on a romantic vacation.
‘A very brief trip to London with this one X’ he wrote along with a fun set of pictures from a trip across the pond.
Making it work: One month ago during a stop by Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live Malia said she and Tom were still dating
But… There she did reveal that their relationship had gone ‘back to long distance’
Cooking up drama: Checketts came aboard the reality series to replace chef Hindrigo ‘Kiko’ Lorran on season five of the show
And one month ago during a stop by Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live Malia said she and Tom were still dating, but explained their relationship had gone ‘back to long distance.’
Checketts came aboard the reality series to replace chef Hindrigo ‘Kiko’ Lorran on season five of the show.
White’s love life has already been featured on Below Deck Mediterranean.
The dive master-turned-bosun was embroiled in a love triangle between chef Adam Glick and bosun Wesley Walton on season two of the show.
Close quarters! White’s love life has already been featured on Below Deck Mediterranean. She was embroiled in a love triangle between chef Adam Glick (above) and bosun Wesley Walton on season two of the show
