Below Deck star Eddie Lucas has revealed that Captain Lee Rosbach hated the crew during Season 1 of the hit Bravo show.
It’s hard to imagine Captain Lee and Eddie not having a close bond. They have a very special relationship, which is one reason Eddie returned to Below Deck after a five-year hiatus.
However, the captain was not a fan of the first-officer or anyone else on the show at one point. Eddie recently opened up about that time when Below Deck was just getting started.
Eddie Lucas reveals Captain Lee hated Below Deck Season 1 crew
Below Deck fans know that Captain Lee was never intended to be the face of the yachting show. The captain has admitted that he was initially supposed to take luxury yacht Honor down to St. Maarten more than once.
Once on the island, Captain Lee was asked to step in when the original captain, Aleks Taldykin, needed to be replaced.
Eddie opened up about that and why Captain Lee hated the Below Deck Season 1 crew during filming on the podcast Side Piece with Melissa Pfeister.
“Honestly, right off the bat, meeting Captain Lee, he never signed up for this,” Eddie expressed. “This was never something he wanted to do. He was supposed to deliver the yacht there, and then Aleks was supposed to get on. But the insurance company was like, no, no, no. And the owner of the yacht that Captain Lee worked for a season and many seasons beforehand was like, ‘Cap, you’re on. Like, you’re the captain now.”
The turn of events and suddenly being on a reality TV show put Captain Lee in not the most positive mindset. Eddie admits Captain Lee hated them all, but it only made the first-officer want to work harder.
“He didn’t want to be there, and he hated all of us at first,” Eddie spilled. “And so when I first met him, he was very cold, very standoffish. Just like, I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to deal with you. You’re not a sailor. You don’t know what you’re doing here. And I was like, OK. But like, I got it. So, I was like, OK, so I got to prove myself. And I did.”
Captain Lee remains close with Eddie and Kate Chastain from Below Deck
Captain Lee and Eddie are incredibly close despite not getting off to the best start during Season 1. When Eddie was given his promotion at the end of Season 8, it was clear the captain thought of him as a son.
Former Below Deck chief stew Kate Chastain also remains good friends even following her exit from the show. When Kate left, Eddie stepped up to give Captain Lee that strong bond he had with Kate during all the years of filming.
Boy, how the times have changed. Eddie Lucas says Captain Lee Rosbach hated all of the Season 1 crew while the show was filming. The first officer recently revealed the best crew members he’s ever worked with on Below Deck. It isn’t hard to figure out which list Captain Lee was on.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.