Below Deck’s Kate Jokes She Should ‘Screen’ Ben’s Next Girlfriend Post-Split

Below Deck’s Kate Chastain made a joke about choosing Ben Robinson‘s next girlfriend — for the sake of her son.

Ben, 43, took to Instagram on Monday, September 16, to confirm his split from Kiara Cabral. In the comments section, Kate, 41, quipped, “Maybe I should screen your next partner for you. Being a stepmom isn’t easy.”

Kate, who is a single mom to 16-month-old son Sullivan, previously poked fun at fan speculation that Ben was her child’s father after Us Weekly broke the news of his engagement to Kiara, 30.

“Congratulations! She’s going to be the best stepmom ever,” Kate, who dated Ben from 2014 and 2015, wrote in response.

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Ben and Kiara got engaged in 2023 after more than three years of dating. They were planning to get married this summer before the chef announced their split.

“Hey guys, I hope everyone’s had a wonderful summer. I have missed being in touch with you, but I’m finally able to share my adventures. You will understand, it’s been difficult,” Ben wrote in an Instagram statement on Monday. “I am no longer getting married.”

Ben noted that it was a mutual choice, adding, “We have decided to go our separate ways, and I think that this is the best decision for both of us. I would rather not discuss the reasons behind these decisions, but I feel it’s important for me to express my circumstances. With any luck my grievances will be overshadowed by the support of my loyal followers, friends and family.”

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Kate, meanwhile, has remained friends with Ben after they worked on several seasons of Below Deck together. After she announced her pregnancy in 2022, Bravo fans were quick to question the identity of the father — specifically if Ben was the dad of her baby.

Ben didn’t address the speculation, but he did gush over Kate’s milestone moment, writing via Instagram in April 2023, “Who knew that Kate Chastain and I would be the same weight one day… But to be fair I have been hitting the gym! Please wish my great friend @kate_chastain an easy delivery and a healthy beautiful baby! I am so proud of who you have become and the mother you will soon be.”

As for Kate, she has enjoyed poking fun at the rumors surrounding her child’s paternity.

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“It would be great if people would stop commenting and messaging me ‘baby Ben!’…….every single day,” she wrote via X in July 2023, alongside photos of Ben and her son as infants. “For reference this is Ben as a baby on the left next to Sullivan. Clearly not related.”

The reality star went on to say in a separate post that she thinks her son “is a way cuter baby” than Ben. Two months prior, Kate slammed questions about her son and his unidentified father, writing via X, “For the record, the only thing this handsome guy has in common with any chef is the tendency to get emotional around meal times.”