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Behind every man there is a good woman. On Peacock and USA’s The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys, that woman is Galyna Saltkovska. Smart and savvy, the Russian-born self-taught business maven and single mother is at the right hand of McBee Farm and Cattle owner Steve McBee, both professionally and personally. Her passion project is the McBee’s latest business endeavor, McBee’s Coffee N Carwash. Over the course of Season 1, we see Saltkovska spearhead a $105M dollar deal with a hedge fund group to finance the fast-growing coffee/carwash chain. Fans who have seen the series in its entirety know that the deal falls through, but while the consequences seemed dire in the heightened stakes of reality TV, the business is actually doing quite well.
“When it comes to any kind of financial deal, it’s always a very long process,” explained Saltkovska. “You cannot always guarantee that you will get the end result you want.” Since they finished filming, Saltkovska reveals they are about to open a few more locations. “I’m not going to stop with the expansion because I got one ‘no,’” said Saltkovska. “I’m going to continue to push until somebody says ‘yes.’” It’s that determination and drive which makes Saltkovska such a great partner, in both business and otherwise.
However, one of the juiciest aspects of the show is Saltkovska’s romantic relationship with McBee. While McBee has been vocal about keeping things between them casual, Saltkovska is still with him 24/7. One of the most dramatic moments of the show occurred when McBee’s other paramour, Brooke, crashed Saltkovska’s vehicle after McBee unwisely lent it to her. In Episode 9, Saltkovska and Brooke came face to face for an explosive conversation after an accidental encounter on the farm. “It caught me by surprise,” remembered Saltkovska. “I do believe in karma, [and] I was going to find out that Steve was being secretive one way or another.”
We spoke to Saltkovska over Zoom to talk about the season, the somewhat apt comparison between The McBee Dynasty and Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, and whether she and McBee are still cohabitating.
DECIDER: How did you first come to work at McBee Farm & Cattle Company all those years ago?
GALYNA SALTKOVSKA: Before coming to McBee, I was just working normal jobs. I had my daughter just a couple of years after college. I put my career on hold for a long time because I was stay-at-home mom. When my daughter got older, I finally started having free time. I knew I wanted to start building back my career because I never wanted to depend on anybody again. So, I started actively asking myself, “What do I need to do?”
I love the operations side of business and worked my way up with a couple corporations. I was able to apply what I learned with smaller businesses on the side. That’s how I started with Steve and Steven [McBee Jr.]. I started helping them with one of their companies, just doing the analysis of their profit and loss statements. I was able to build up cost structures to help them become more profitable and efficient. So, through that, I earned their trust and respect. As their business grew, they needed more people. I was the first one that they offered a full-time job, and that’s how I started working at the farm.
And you worked your way up to CFO.
I know [laughs]. I’m mostly operations now, but I’m willing to learn everything. It’s been quite the journey. In 2020, we lost most of our team, so then the three of us had to figure out who did what. The guys didn’t have the patience to crunch the numbers, create the Excel spreadsheets, and study the accounting software. Out of three of us, I was the most suitable for that role. I went straight to YouTube. Everything was shut down, so I’m like, “Okay, the internet is still out there, so I’m going to read, I’m going to learn, I’m going to just figure it out.”
Steven Jr. was responsible for bringing the cameras to the farm during his stint on Joe Millionaire: For Richer Or Poorer. What was your reaction when reality TV producers later approached Steve and Steven about doing a show on the farm itself?
Honestly, I was incredibly supportive and saw it as such a cool opportunity. I told them to go for it. It was not only a great opportunity for him, but for our businesses. Even before Joe Millionaire, I always told Steven: “We have such a unique setup here, and I want the world to see everything that we do, how we do it, and our interactions with each other.” I would always joke that they’re going to make movie about us and Charlize Theron was going to play me.
People just can’t help but compare The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys with the Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone saga—minus all the murders, of course. What do you think about that?
I don’t mind at all. I am very proud that people are comparing our show to one of the most successful series on American television. I’m not complaining about that one bit.
What does your daughter, Erena, think of the fact that her mom is a reality TV star?
Oh my goodness, she’s just so cute [laughs]. She might not be a fan of everything she sees, but ultimately, she’s very supportive and extremely proud of me. She’s sharing the show with her friends. She’s on a cheerleading team at college, and they had a party and watched the show. It’s definitely awesome to see that we have a lot of support.
Have you been watching the show? I know some reality TV personalities choose not to…
I have. I haven’t watched it in full. I watch a little bit, take a pause, and then watch some more. I like most of the show, but there were a couple of really uncomfortable moments that I had to make peace with. I ended up really loving it, outside of those few things, of course.
Yes, there are some tough moments between you and Steve, but there was so much fun stuff too. I loved that the camera captured when the girls went out for ladies’ night.
I was laughing so hard watching this episode. I definitely did not expect a stripper to show up. We were just going to have a good time. I knew they had something planned, but I was truly shocked when that guy showed up and started undressing in the middle of a country bar. His dancing was aggressive in a fun way [laughs], but I’ve never had stripper experience before. Later that night, people tried to show us how to do the two-step. I probably rolled my ankle at least three times on the dance floor, but all together, it was such an amazing night.
It was nice to see you get to cut loose away from the farm because you’re always having to toe the line between the personal and professional sides of your life.
I’ve always was able to draw a really clear line between professional and personal relationships. On occasion, I’ve had a bad day when I’ve brought to work whatever happened at home, but for the most part, I’m really good about separating the two.
It was nice to see Steve include you in his Father’s Day celebration with his sons. You seemed a bit nervous, but you pulled off an amazing spread!
I’ve very respectful of Steve’s sons. I’m aware of their feelings towards me and their father. I’ve never asked for anything from them, but it really was a nice treat for me to be able to participate in the Father’s Day party. It was the first time I was ever included in something like that. I tried to respect their boundaries and be appreciative they made me part of the day. I gave it my best with presentation of the food. I mean, I watched so many TikToks to get ideas. I don’t know if my food looked quite as cute as the food on TikToks, but it wasn’t bad.
I thought you handled it beautifully. I don’t know if Steve anticipated that the show would reveal the impact that his relationships with women have on his sons and their feelings towards their own partners . Were you surprised to see how much of an effect his behavior has on them?
No, I mean it’s just a common sense. I knew Steve’s poor treatment of me at times left an impression on boys and affected how they treat the women in their life. However, they are smart guys.
They can break the cycle.
Exactly.
One relationship I didn’t expect to love as much as I did was your bond with Tessa. You two didn’t get off to the best start. How is your friendship today?
We’re great now. Tessa is, as you probably noticed, extremely protective. Those are her boys. She knows the entire family and has been with them for years. When I was new to the farm, she was obviously on guard. Can we trust her? Is she going to be good for my boys? I recognized that she was wary of me, so I gave her the time and space to see my good intentions and my hard work. I knew I had to earn her respect. We are in much better place now. We still make jokes about each other though [laughs]. That’ll never change.
I appreciated that she had your back in Episode 9 during the confrontation with Brooke at the farm on that Saturday morning.
Absolutely, yes. I was happy about that.
Now, I love Steve, so no disrespect to him, but I just wish he would have been honest with you about giving Brooke the keys to his Nashville home, especially after the ultimatum you gave him earlier in the season. How did you navigate around this betrayal?
I did not expect her there. It was very disappointing. I did not really know the full circumstances of why it was happening, and it caught me by surprise. Honestly, it was eye-opening and caused me to re-evaluate certain things. It was very disrespectful for her to show up there on Saturday. Everybody knows that I rarely take any days off. For him to assume that I was not going to be there… I do believe in karma. I was going to find out that he was being secretive one way or another, and the universe made sure I did.
I do have a theory about Brooke crashing your car. Do you think it’s possible she totaled your car on purpose to out their relationship to you?
With all due respect, I’m not going to give her that credit.
Very fair.
I think it was just her being reckless, if that’s the right word. I definitely don’t think she had this master plan. Accidents happen, you know?
For sure. Now, before I left you go, I do want to talk about the season finale. It was hard to watch the deal with the venture capitalist fall through for McBee’s Coffee N Carwash. How do you go on from that disappointment?
All financial deals involve a very long process. You cannot always guarantee that you will get the result you want. It’s not uncommon that those types of business deals fall through. We’re still a younger business, so we will always have to jump through a few more hoops before we get everything secured. Just because this deal didn’t go through at this time doesn’t mean it’s over. Maybe they needed a bit more time, or they want us to make the payments in smaller increments, or they want to repackage the entire deal. Since we finished filming the show, we have a few more locations for the business in the works. I’m not going to stop with the expansion because I got one “no.” I’m going to continue to push until somebody says “yes.”
I know the business is doing really well, so your perseverance has clearly paid off. However, the season does end in a cliffhanger as Steve takes some time off from the business and leaves his sons in charge. What can you tease about the aftermath of that decision?
The boys definitely do rise to the challenge. All of them have been extremely active on the farm and know so much about farming operations. It’s been really amazing. The boys do understand that this business is their future. I’m there to support them.
Lastly, I know you moved in with Steve while you were on the lookout for a new house. Are you still cohabitating?
We’re still working through those living arrangements just because we are so, so, so busy with work. Right now, our priority is building the businesses. That’s what I’m focusing on.
The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys airs weekly on Monday nights at 11/10c on USA Network or you can stream the series in its entirety on Peacock
