Heather Chase has reflected on her Below Deck stint while opening up about the Season 9 drama and backlash she endured on the show.
There’s no question Below Deck Season 9 was filled with craziness. Chief stew Heather came under fire mid-season for saying a racial slur in front of Rayna Lindsey. The deckhand blasted Bravo, Eddie Lucas, and producers for how Heather saying the N-word was handled.
After the Season 9 reunion show, Rayna called for Below Deck to be canceled. Below Deck fans sounded off on the reunion, labeling it another boring virtual chat.
Now as Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3 takes fans’ minds of Below Deck Season 9, Heather’s reflecting on her reality television stint.
Heather Chase reflects on Below Deck
Ahead of the Season 9 finale, Heather penned an open message to fans. The chief stew also apologized for the inappropriate word she said on air.
Heather recently stopped by Side Piece Podcast to chat with host Melissa Pfeister. It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to Heather’s drama with Rayna.
The chief stew expressed that she had reached out to Rayna several times after Season 9 wrapped up filming last March. Heather let Rayna know she was open to talking at any time, especially after Episode 9 featuring the N-word was said. The deckhand never responded, though.
“I never expected Rayna to forgive me,” Heather shared. “I just wish she would have told me how she truly felt because if she would have, then I would have been able to kind of act accordingly and not keep, like, pressuring her. But I was under, you know, the thought that, you know, we had a ground zero.”
“She was like, ‘I want to get to know you. I want to have fun.’ So here I was, just being who I am around her, and if I would have known it was still bothering her, I would have pulled back really far-right on like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ And I am in no sense proud of those moments. I didn’t know what depression was and anxiety until I just sat back waiting to see how the world was going to crucify me for this mistake.”
Heather made it clear she was not proud of her moments and kept apologizing to Rayna. Although they didn’t speak until the reunion show, Heather did admit Rayna reached out to her after to express her thanks for Heather taking responsibility for her actions.
They have not spoken since the reunion show.
What did Heather Chase say about the Season 9 drama and backlash?
Melissa wanted to know what Heather thought about Rayna’s words and accusations regarding Eddie. The chief stew has nothing but love for the first officer.
Heather thinks Eddie is an “incredible human being” and that he was put in a “sicky position.” However, she was shocked at his claims Heather should have been fired for the racial slur.
“I thought Eddie was a mentor, and there he went out slamming that I should have been fired the same week the episode aired, and I was like, ‘Eddie what? You never said that to me.’ You know,” the chief stew explained.
It’s never easy doing a reality television show. Heather opened up about how people can react to the stress, anxiety, and their character being attacked.
“I think reality TV makes different people do different things. I think when people feel their character being attacked, they do this game of like, ‘I need to try to save face whenever I can,'” the blonde beauty spilled.
Heather Chase from Below Deck can certainly understand why people have tried to save face with not great actions.
The chief stew admitted some of her Season 9 crew members have taken that route. No, she didn’t call out specific people.
Season 10 of Below Deck has begun filming. There’s no word yet on if Heather will be back as chief stew.
Below Deck is currently on hiatus on Bravo.
I still think Rayna is a jerk and a drama queen. She stirred the pot so much, no room to call anyone out. Just stop it already