Below Deck Med Season 8 has largely focused on the drama surrounding Natalya Scudder and her open relationship with her boyfriend, AJ.
The tension with Tumi Mhlongo and Kyle Viljoen added to the stress Natalya was dealing with as she struggled to accept the type of relationship that she was in.
After dealing with flirting with Luka Brunton and a final fight with Kyle that pushed her to the edge, Natalya opted to leave the Mustique yacht.
Natalya used social media to speak out following her exit, but it wasn’t to talk about what Below Deck Med fans expected.
Instead of dishing all about her exit and season, Natalya opened up about her struggles with depression, anxiety, and dealing with online bullying.
That included revealing where she stands with AJ and what happened when she reunited with him.
Are Below Deck Med alum Natalya Scudder and her boyfriend AJ still together?
No, Natalya isn’t still with AJ or dealing with an open relationship she never wanted. In her Instagram video, Natalya got real about meeting her ex and what finally made her call it quits.
The Bravo personality met AJ between Below Deck Med Season 7 and 8. Natalya revealed she had gotten a lot of hateful comments about being in an open relationship with AJ and gave some backstory on how it happened.
“I kind of want you to know, like, what kind of got me into this. I didn’t see myself as someone who would ever be in an open relationship, but I felt in such a dark place from the last few years working that when I found someone that I actually loved, and they told me they loved me like I really needed someone to love me,” she explained.
“And they did,” she elaborated. “And I latched on to that, and I didn’t; I latched on before I knew that’s the sort of relationship they wanted.”
After speaking about the horrific things the trolls have been calling her, Natalya revealed the relationship got so much worse when she reunited with AJ. Natalya spilled that AJ hooked up with many people, sending her into a really dark place.
“I really didn’t understand how someone I love could do that to me,” Natalya shared.
Having to relive it all again while the show has been airing has also been hard for Natalya, who compared it to her worst nightmare.
Is Natalya Scudder from Below Deck Med single?
Now that Natalya has ditched AJ, the stew has been living her best life. At BraovoCon this year, she spoke with Us Weekly to dish about the Below Deck Med Season 8 drama, including her relationship status.
“Single AF,” she told the outlet after sharing where she stands with Luka.
The two remain very good friends and keep in touch through social media. However, Luka lives in Indonesia, and Natalya lives in Florida, so they don’t speak too often.
Natalya Scudder didn’t have the greatest time on her second season of Below Deck Med. The stew did, though, make a forever friend in Chef Jack Luby, which they both recently gushed over.
One person Natalya doesn’t mind losing after the season, aside from AJ, of course, is Kyle. As previously reported by Monsters and Critics, Natalya called him out at BravoCon, and Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Daisy Kelliher put her on blast.
Keep watching to see how Below Deck Med Season 8 unfolds without Natalya Scudder.
Below Deck Med airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo. Seasons 1-7 are streaming on Peacock.