NBCUniversal Malia White and Captain Sandy Yawn
Malia White and Captain Sandy Yawn developed a good friendship while working together on “Below Deck Mediterranean” and White revealed that she was even supposed to have a major role in Yawn’s upcoming nuptials to Leah Shafer.
“I was supposed to officiate it until someone stole my spot,” White joked with Us Weekly on November 20, though she didn’t reveal who took her spot. Despite not officiating the wedding anymore, the “Below Deck” bosun said she would still be in attendance on Yawn’s special day. “[I’m] definitely going to the wedding,” she shared.
“Captain Sandy’s always been a mentor and she continues to be and Leah is amazing. We see them quite often, actually,” she added of her and “Below Deck” alum and “Winter House” co-star Katie Flood.
As for whether fans might see controversial stars White and Yawn together on another season of “Below Deck Mediterranean,” White said, “I’m always down for more Below Deck in the future. I’m an officer now though. And Katie and I work on the same boat and we work on rotation, so it’d have to be a pretty sweet deal. We love our actual job and we’re together for that too. But I think if they’re ready for the first female officer [on the show], then I’m ready.”
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Captain Sandy Yawn & Leah Shafer Began Dating in 2018 & Got Engaged in September 2023
Yawn revealed that she and Shafer got engaged in September 2023 after more than five years of dating. The “Below Deck” captain told E! News, “I have been thinking about marrying Leah for years. I knew from the minute I met her, but the timing had to be right. I wanted to make sure we could truly do life together first.”
Yawn described the special moment, which happened at a beautiful cove that they reached by boat. “I had it decorated with flowers with a path to a small table accompanied by three violinists where we could sit and have a small date,” she shared. However, she said she was so nervous she couldn’t wait and asked the question as soon as they arrived. “I shared my vision list of love I had written and wanted, then got on one knee,” she recalled. “Then, she said ‘yes!’ The look on her face was priceless, and my heart exploded!”
Yawn and Shafer, a gospel singer and aesthetician, met in Los Angeles in 2018 after Shafer reached out to the captain on Facebook.
Captain Sandy Yawn & Malia White Have Had Nothing But Praise for Each Other Since Working Together on ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’
Yawn and White have a good friendship even after White left “Below Deck” after season 6. The “Winter House” star shared on her podcast “Total Ship Show” back in February 2023 that she “loves” Captain Sandy. She said she has a lot of admiration for her and credited Yawn for inspiring her to join the yachting industry permanently after “Below Deck.”
As for Yawn, she told Heavy in 2023 that she’s “never really had ups and downs” with White. Yawn praised White’s perseverance and ambition in pursuing her yachting career and said she “will always support Malia 1000%.”
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