'Below Deck's' Abbi Murphy Marries Greek Fiancé Patrick After Getting Engaged Via Text
It was the first time her boyfriend said he loved her.
Instagram There's always lots of drama on Bravo's reality series Below Deck and the new season has not disappointed. On the most recent episode, one of the crew got engaged — to a man who had never even said he loved her before this.
Abbi Murphy, the deckhand who joined the cast this year, had what she considered a casual relationship with her boyfriend — and former boss — Patrick. But after leaving him behind to pursue the opportunity onboard the Valor, she realized that he was pretty great. He must have been feeling the same way because he dropped the "I Love You" bomb and a proposal in the same text exchange.
Now the seaworthy pair says they have tied the knot and they're living happily ever after on the oceans of Greece.
Who is Abbi Murphy? Read on for all the details.
1. Below Deck Season 7
Abbi Murphy joined the crew of Below Deck season 7 of the Bravo series. The Massachusetts native originally planned on a law career after she finished college in Boston. Before she started law school, however, she went to Greece for a celebratory trip and took a chartered sail while she as there. She was hooked. According to her show bio, "She quit her job and dedicated the next year to learning to sail. Since then, she has been living in Greece, and continues to work as a first mate on an Atlantic 61’ with the same company that opened her eyes to sailing."
2. Abbi's Greek Boyfriend
Sailing wasn't the only thing she opened her eyes to when she went to work as a deckhand. The captain of the boat she was crewing also struck her fancy. Patrick, a Greek sailboat captain, was her boss at the job she left to join the Below Deck cast, according to People. She stepped away from working with him to join the Bravo series, thinking that the relationship was still pretty casual. She even toyed with hooking up with crew's bosun, Ashton Pienaar, earlier in the season. But after a while, she realized that Patrick was more important to her than she thought.
“With Patrick, I’ve just been really naive and stupid thinking he was just my boyfriend, f— buddy thing when in reality we have something special,” Murphy said on the show. “Being around hot guys has made me actually realize, ‘Oh s—, I’m not interested in anybody else!'”
Patrick and Abbi.
3. Proposal by text
Patrick must have shared her epiphany because he upped the ante on their relationship by texting her that he loved her — it was the very first time he had used that magical phrase. She responded that she loved him too. Then the texts got even more romantic, OK Magazine reports. “Guess what guys! I got engaged tonight!” Abbi told her castmates Courtney Skippon and Simone Mashile. “This guy said he loved me for the first time via text message, and then I said, ‘I love you too.’ And then he said, ‘Do you want to marry me?’ and I said, ‘Yeah sure, why not?’"
Abbi realized that the engagement was unconventional and she told the cameras that it didn't bother her. "This whole engagement thing may be abrupt, but I get the gut feeling and go with that choice,” she said. “We’re just going to party, I don’t even want a ring!”
4. Reactions from the crew
Her fellow crewmates were less impressed by the proposal by text from a guy who had never even said he loved her before proposing. People says Skippon shared her skepticism with producers, saying "To get engaged via text? Someone you were with for two years all of a sudden tells you they love you via text? My eyes are rolling all the way off the boat,” she told viewers.
5. Their perfect wedding
The reactions from the crew of the boat don't seem to have dulled the shine on Abbi's love. Just after the engagement episode aired on TV, Abbi took to Instagram to confirm that not only was the engagement real, but she nad Patrick had said their vows after filming wrapped. "Yes... we actually got married. The wedding was at a town hall in Plymouth, MA," she wrote. "We are wearing home-made rope rings made by my dad’s gf’s elementary school student. My dad was there and it was a beautiful, meaningful and simple ceremony. We didn’t want or need a fancy wedding because we only needed each other in that moment. Now we are happy, sailing, living in Greece."
They got married in her hometown.
6. What comes next?
Abbi wasn't kidding when she said she and Patrick were sailing in Greece. Her most recent post on Instagram is a pitch to come join them on their new boat, Anastasia. "You don’t have to be a millionaire to experience your own private yacht charter For an UNBEATABLE PRICE you can island hop the beautiful Greek islands with me and the hubs," she writes.
She shares that Anastasia is their 61’ sailing yacht, which accommodates up to 8 people with 4 double bed cabins, each with its own private bathroom and shower. The yacht also has a fully equipped kitchen as well as indoor and outdoor living quarters. There is even a separate crew cabin and bathroom so passengers won't disturb the honeymoon lifestyle the lovebirds are leading.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.