Kate Chastain has learned a thing or two about love.
The Below Deck star opened up to PEOPLE about entering the dating world again following her domestic violence arrest in 2016. Chastain said the situation helped her learn the value of privacy.
“Definitely to not be as open about who I’m dating,” she told PEOPLE Now of what she learned from living out the incident in the spotlight. “Fortunately that’s all gone away, but I’m a little more cautious about who I date because people can appear one way and then be totally different.”
Chastain was arrested and charged with battery by strangulation-domestic violence in 2016 following a fight with her then-girlfriend in Melbourne Beach, Florida. (The charges were reportedly eventually dropped.)
The reality star said she no longer speaks with her ex.
“Not at all. No,” she said.
According to the arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE at the time, Chastain allegedly bit her girlfriend Ricio Hernandez on the forearm, inner bicep and leg after returning to their shared home from a bar intoxicated.
Later, she allegedly tried to kick Hernandez out of the home and threatened to change the locks. After Hernandez refused to comply, she alleged that Chastain sat on top of her, put a knee to her head and pulled her hair. Hernandez also told officers that Chastain covered her mouth and nose so that she couldn’t breathe.
After news of her arrest broke, Chastain tweeted, “Thank you for your support during this difficult & humiliating time. The truth will come out & I look forward to regaining peace in my life.”
