Kate Chastain and Captain Lee Share Piping-Hot Takes on Scandoval, ‘Project Runway’ and More (Exclusive)

During a moment when Bravo waters have felt choppier than ever, who better to navigate the network’s day-to-day drama than Below Deck fan favorites Kate Chastain and Captain Lee Rosbach?

Ahead of Monday night’s premiere of their new series Couch Talk with Captain Lee and Kate, the duo chatted with PEOPLE about the shows they’re excited to dig into in season 1, which Bravolebrities Chastain has heard from in the wake of a social media spree and how the veteran yacht captain felt to let his former chief stewardess take the helm to teach him the ways of reality TV superfans.

Surprisingly, the idea for Couch Talk wasn’t Chastain’s — despite the fact viewers have already seen Sullivan’s mom share her informed takes for years on Bravo’s Chat Room, Galley Talk and Watch with Kate Chastain.

“I give the credit to Captain Lee,” Chastain, 40, tells PEOPLE. “Obviously Captain Lee and I worked well together over the years on Below Deck, and then we developed a friendship. We were on the phone chatting all the time, and it was years ago, but it was very wise on his part — he said, ‘I would love a talk show with you and I.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, what a dream that would be. But I can’t imagine how that would ever happen.’ But here we are and it’s perfect timing for both of us, and it’s just so much fun.”

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That said, some parts of Couch Talk have been — and will continue to be — a steep learning curve for the captain, who is more famous for his hilarious aphorisms than for his takes on reality TV.

While Rosbach admits that “there were a couple of moments where I thought, ‘What in the hell am I doing this for?'” he had to also acknowledge, “It was surprising to me how seductive the shows can be once you start watching. And then they end, and you find yourself wanting more, which I thought that would never happen to me.”

Chastain chimes in, “He’s been a quick study. Wait until you see how much he loves Project Runway.”

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In fact, Rosbach’s affinity for the fashion competition series came in handy during his own recent appearance on Project Runway, when several Below Deck mainstays, including Captain Jason Chambers, served as the season 20 all-star designers’ clients in a nautical-themed challenge.

“You wouldn’t have got me in Jason’s outfit for all the money in the world,” said Rosbach, 73, of an Asian-inspired captain’s uniform with calf-length pants and a low V-neck.

“But,” qualifies Rosbach, “I give him credit for pulling it off.”

Kate adds, “I feel like there’s not a lot Captain Jason wouldn’t pull off. I’m just going to say.”

Laurent Basset/Peacock

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Elsewhere in the Bravoverse, as the promo for Monday’s episode of Couch Talk showed, Rosbach had his mind blown when he was introduced to the intricacies of this spring’s Scandoval, in which Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval ignited an reality firestorm by cheating on his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, with the couple’s close friend and costar Raquel Leviss.

As someone whose own show premiered just six months after VPR in 2013, Rosbach has a unique perspective on the matter.

Tammie/AFF-USA/Shutterstock; Cindy Ord/Bravo via Getty Images; Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

He explains, “Well, I’ve always thought, ‘I’m on TV and I’m always conscious of what I do and am I going to want my brothers or my sisters or any close family — Is this how I want them to see me?’ And that’s always first and foremost in my mind before I do something.”

He concludes, “I can’t imagine doing something like Tom did that’s that serious and then just wreaking devastation and havoc on other people’s lives for no other reason than self-gratification.”

Chastain, who still straddles the line between stardom and fandom, said to her friend: “I respect you for approaching reality TV that way, Captain Lee — and I’m so glad the cast of Vanderpump Rules does not. I love that they do not, and it is so fun to watch.”

Deadpanned Rosbach: “Train wreck.”

All About the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cheating Drama Involving Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss

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Because of Chastain’s unique position in the Bravosphere, though, she does admit she had her own near train wreck when she filmed Peacock’s The Traitors with a slew of fellow reality TV stars last year, including one Bravolebrity who called her out from previous comments she’d made publicly.

“I’m a Bravo fan first,” she affirms, “so I’m watching the shows and I’m just tweeting, forgetting that I’m going to see these people at BravoCon events. But [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum] Brandi Glanville, she was on The Traitors with me on Peacock, and I must have said something about her on Chat Room and when we got to Scotland, she was like, ‘I love you, and I loved you, but then I blocked you because you said something on Chat Room I didn’t like.’ And I felt bad — but we’re great friends now.”

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Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Of course, that doesn’t mean Chastain or Rosbach will be holding back on Couch Talk — it’s simply not their style.

Name-checking a few more shows they’re looking forward to discussing on the show, they mention Real Housewives of New York City alums Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps’ Midwestern spinoff Welcome to Crappie Lake for the hilarity resulting from the women’s “obvious cultural differences” with the folks of rural Benton, Illinois, as well as The Real Housewives of Atlanta breakout Kim Zolciak’s Don’t Be Tardy family spinoff with her on-again husband Kroy Biermann.

“It’s so fun to have Captain Lee here being a Bravo fish out of the water as I help him navigate and learn this massive Bravo universe of Housewives and other shows,” says Chastain.

Quips Rosbach, “I do need help.”

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Couch Talk with Captain Lee and Kate debuts Monday at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Source: HIS Education