Below Deck’s Francesca Rubi and Ashling Lorger have revealed crew pranks that producers edited out of Season 8.
The interior drama, Rachel Hargrove’s drinking, and James and Elizabeth Frankini’s boatmance all took center stage on the hit Bravo show. However, Ash and Francesca insist there were also many good times, jokes, and laughter that fans never got to see play out onscreen.
Prank Patrol
Francesca and Ashling teamed up for an Instagram Live to express a different side of Below Deck, the lighter one. The two ladies enjoyed pulling pranks on their crew members, especially bosun Eddie Lucas.
“So Francesca, myself, and Captain Lee all kind of joined up as a team and decided to play tricks on a lot of people. And pranks,” Ashling shared before dubbing the three “Prank Patrol.”
One thing the two ladies did was sew part of Eddie’s uniform together. When he tried to get dressed in a hurry, the bosun got all tangled up.
“We worked it out that Eddie would put his left arm in so like to have the balance to then put it in his right arm. But we sewed every right side of his shirts and his pants,” Ashling laughed.
Eddie became the pranks’ subject when he was on the bow, and Francesca just blasted the horn at him. After that, they continued to play jokes on him, including spiking his tea with various spices like cayenne pepper.
Ash teams up with Eddie
After a few pranks pulled on him by Francesca and Ashling, Eddie decided to join in the fun. Eddie and Asling put shriveled up pieces of fig under the chief stew’s bed.
Deckhand Rob Phillips went to bed one night to discover figs in the shape of a heart under his pillow.
One of the best pranks, according to Ashling, was her exchanging her blonde hair shampoo for the guys’ body wash. Oh yes, Eddie and Rob got a real surprise when their body wash was suddenly a violet purple shade.
Ashling Lorger and Francesca Rubi enjoyed playing tricks on their colleagues while filming Below Deck Season 8. Their only regret was the funny antics never made it to the airwaves. They insist there was so much behind-the-scenes humor that was simply cut.
Fans have mixed feelings regarding Francesca and Ashling because of their actions towards Elizabeth. The reunion show did little to squash sway opinions of all three of the ladies.
It’s too bad viewers didn’t see the funnier side of the Bravo show. The pranks might have made the season a little more enjoyable.
Perhaps Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2 will have more laughter thrown in with all their hookups and drinking shenanigans.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2 premieres on Monday, March 1 at 9/8c on Bravo.