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Why Are Lara and Tzarina Feuding on ‘Below Deck Down Under’ Season 3? Their Drama Explained
Below Deck Down Under season 3 chief stew Lara Rigby and chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph‘s former friendship has devolved into one of the nastiest feuds in the show’s history. Life & Style breaks down the department heads’ drama.
Why Are Lara Rigby and Tzarina Mace-Ralph Feuding?
Tzarina hoped the women would form a tight bond after working together on a previous boat and not becoming close. The ladies ended up as bunkmates and started off the Below Deck season on good terms. Tzarina appeared on Below Deck Down Under season 2, while Lara was new to the show, replacing former chief stew Aesha Scott.
The chef had a slight chip on her shoulder about Lara coming across as the “popular” one, thanks to her close relationship with stew Brianna Duffield and friendship with Tzarina’s sous chef, Alesia Harris.
Tzarina got particularly upset when Alesia was unable to find her pink lipstick one day and Lara ordered a replacement tube from the ship’s provisioners as a surprise for the crew member, who was overjoyed to receive the makeup.
“I don’t know if Lara is trying to mess with me right now, but she seems like she’s grooming my sous chef to be against me. And that’s not a friend. She should be supporting me,” Tzarina said during a confessional in episode 12, which aired on April 21, 2025.
Alesia Harris Leaned on Lara Rigby When Fighting With Tzarina Mace-Ralph
When Tzarina wasn’t being a very helpful mentor to Alesia after she joined the show mid-season, the chef trainee complained about it to Lara.
“I don’t get told anything that’s going on about the guest food or crew food. I’m like, ‘So what have you done?’ ‘I’m doing it.’ And I’m like, ‘Just tell me what the f–k is going on.’ It makes me feel really useless … I just want to cry and cry and cry,” Alesia told Lara and Bri during episode 12, as Tzarina walked in on the conversation and became upset that they were privately talking behind her back.
Tzarina apologized to Alesia later that evening during a crew night out, saying, “I’m really sorry if sometimes it seems passive aggressive or overly sarcastic. I just cannot hide any of my emotions,” and admitting sometimes she let Lara get the better of her.
Tzarina Mace-Ralph Thought Lara Rigby Was Too Controlling
When the chief stew said that Tzarina’s choice of blue plates were unacceptable for an elegant dinner plating, the chef became infuriated, saying that she’d never been told such a thing in her entire career aboard yachts.
Tzarina also got upset when Lara told Alesia she needed to clean the crew pantry after the deck and interior members had their breakfasts each day. The chef said she needed Alesia’s help in the kitchen and to find another crew member to handle the cleaning tasks.
Tzarina Mace-Ralph Purposely Lied to Lara Rigby About Her Work Habits
The chef scolded Lara one morning that some breakfast chaos wouldn’t have happened if she had been on time for her shift. It sent the chief stew over the edge and the two got into a shouting match, which was overheard by Captain Jason Chambers.
Tzarina later admitted to Alesia she made up the late for work allegation just to get under Lara’s skin, which she succeeded in spectacularly.
Lara Rigby Begged Fans to Stop Bullying Her
After Lara and Tzarina’s multiple confrontations during episode 14 on May 5, 2025, show, the Cornwall, England, native took to her Instagram Stories to say it was “not nice” to watch back and was “sad” how things got to that point.
“I haven’t had panic attacks for years until I went on that show,” Lara revealed. “I just want to remind people we’re all human. We’re just trying to do our best.” She added how there was a “bigger story” to what was shown on TV and that “trolls” had been out for her “blood” the morning after the episode aired.
“The drama continues. I guess it wouldn’t be a TV show without drama,” Lara told fans in an Instagram Story on May 11, 2025, ahead of the night’s new episode, saying there was plenty of it still ahead.
“I hope you understand the reasoning and you can definitely see my exhaustion in this one,” she added.
Tzarina Mace-Ralph Asked Fans to Stop Bullying Lara Rigby
“I really don’t want to get in trouble for this video at all because I’ve been told to keep someone’s name out of this. But it’s come to my attention that the cyberbullying towards Lara’s got really bad and there’s been some really disgusting and horrible comments,” Tzarina said in a May 6, 2025, Instagram Story video.
“I would just like to remind people that you don’t do that. We don’t do death threats. We don’t do horrible comments,” she told fans.
“This is a fun TV show. What happened between her and I is personal,” Tzarina added about Lara. “I am so grateful for all your support, but you have no right to be that mean to someone online and zero tolerance for bullying like that. So please, no more of this.”
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