Below Deck star Ben Willoughby has praised his deck team colleagues while putting the interior crew on blast as Season 10 tension mounts.
The most recent episode of Below Deck featured the deck crew being called to take out the trash and do other tasks for the interior team.
Captain Sandy Yawn noticed what was going on, and she didn’t hold back from criticizing chief stew Fraser Olender and his department.
This led to tension between Fraser and the captain, as well as with some crew members from the two departments.
Ben, for his part, was already frustrated with the interior, especially Alissa Humber, due to his boatmance Camille Lamb getting fired.
Now the deckhand has spoken out on the tension between the interior crew and the deck crew.
Ben Willoughby praises Below Deck Season 10 deck team and blasts the interior crew
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Ben set the record straight as he gave props to his fellow deck team coworkers bosun Ross McHarg, Katie Glaser, and Tony Duarte. Using a photo of the deck crew as they headed for a night out on the town, Ben sang their praises and admitted the interior deserved to be in the hot seat with Captain Sandy.
“The deck team credit is over due. Other departments needed to be called out,” he began his message.
Ben went on to admit that, yes, the St. David crew was a team. However, he believes the deck crew was responsible for the success of the season.
“Yes we are a team onboard, although I truly believe that the deck team are the reason for such a success thus far in our charter season. We held the core of the St. David together whilst other departments took a stumble,” Ben ended his IG Story.
This isn’t the first time that Ben has spoken out about the tension between the various departs aboard the St. David yacht either.
Below Deck’s Ben Willoughby says he was the ‘glue’ between departments
Ben recently appeared on the Above Deck Podcast, where he teased what’s still to come on Season 10 of the OG show. The mid-season trailer featured Ben getting busy with a new crewmember, alluding to someone else getting fired.
While speaking on the podcast, Ben admitted he played a pivotal role in keeping communication going between the galley, interior, and exterior for the rest of the season.
“There are a few more twists and turns in the story, to say the least,” Ben shared before adding, “There’s a lot of emotion in the next episode because I believe I’m very much the glue between the three departments.”
As for what that means, Below Deck viewers will have to keep watching as Season 10 nears the end of the season. There’s no question tensions are high as Fraser has taken aim at Captain Sandy offscreen over the way she treated him and his team.
Ben has nothing but love for his deck team colleagues. The boatamnce between Katie and Ross may have caused some drama, but Ben feels his crew members killed it this season.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo. Seasons 1-9 are streaming on Peacock.