Elizabeth Frankini has opened up about her laundry mistake and the tension with Francesca Rubi on Below Deck.
The second stew mixed bleach and soap, creating a toxic environment making the interior crew feel dizzy. Francesca, Elizabeth, and Ashling Lorger had to exit the My Seanna while the engineer tried to find the problem.
Social media has been buzzing ever since the episode aired. Elizabeth has taken a lot of heat, but now she is telling her side of the story.
After all, Below Deck is reality television, and there is always more to the story than what viewers see onscreen.
Elizabeth didn’t realize the mixture was toxic
The truth be told, Elizabeth was unaware that mixing bleach with soap would turn out to be so toxic. She has over four years’ experience in the yachting industry, and no, it was not the first time Elizabeth created the concoction.
Elizabeth has mixed bleach and soap numerous times during her career. She followed the same process as in the past during Below Deck filming.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t know that was so toxic, and I feel so bad about it. You know, I do feel really bad, especially because Francesca did say, ‘Take it outside,'” Elizabeth shared with E! News.
The drama with Francesca takes a toll
Viewers watch weekly as the tension between Francesca and Elizabeth builds. She admitted the drama added to her laundry mishap because her mind was not on the task at hand.
“I was honestly distracted by the way Francesca answered me,” Elizabeth shared. “I was really starting to feel a lot of condescending animosity from her.”
Francesca’s constant scrutiny added to Elizabeth not listening to the chief stew when it came to mixing the soap and bleach outside. Elizabeth did not intentionally ignore Francesca’s order.
“I don’t know what happened. There’s so much always that we have to do, and it can get a lot. So, that’s my mistake,” she said.
I own up to all of my mistakes, apologize genuinely, & continue to work hard to do my absolute best. Not one of you off that boat could truly comprehend my experience & I’m very aware of that. Your judgements are based only off of what you are *shown* but maybe there is more ?
— Elizabeth Frankini (@bettabird) December 20, 2020
Although Elizabeth knows she made a grave error, she didn’t feel it warranted Francesca asking Captain Lee Rosbach to fire the second stew. Francesca didn’t get her wish, though, because the crew was already down a deckhand thanks to Shane Coopersmith being fired.
The drama between Francesca Rubi and Elizabeth Frankini on Below Deck Season 8 doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. Elizabeth has expressed her thoughts on the chief stew on social media, making it clear they don’t ever really bond.
As for whether or not Elizabeth will become the third crew member to leave the Bravo show, fans will just have to keep watching.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.