Izzy Wouters blasted deckhand Robert Phillips for missing the Below Deck Season 8 reunion, calling him a coward at one point.
The virtual chat also included Captain Lee Rosbach, chef Rachel Hargrove, chief stew Francesca Rubi, stew Ashling Lorger, bosun Eddie Lucas and deckhand James Hough. Fired crewmembers Shane Coopersmith and Elizabeth Frankini were part of the reunion too.
Host Andy Cohen got the reunion ball rolling by letting the My Seanna crew know Rob was unable to dial in because he was digging for gold in Fiji. The statement earned a remark from Izzy that quickly made it clear she still has issues with Rob.
Izzy was not surprised Rob didn’t show up
After Andy explained why Rob was MIA, Izzy declared she wasn’t surprised the deckhand didn’t show up. The comment, of course, prompted Andy to dig a little deeper into Izzy’s words.
The host immediately asked why Izzy wasn’t surprised Rob was absent.
“I mean, he didn’t really seem like he wanted to be on the show,” Izzy stated. “Like he was rude to production. He kind of hated being there. Every time a camera would come, he never talked. He would just be an a**hole. So, I was like, I am not surprised he doesn’t want to show up to any of this. I don’t know. He’s weak.”
The conversation was dropped for a little while. However, once Andy rehashed Izzy’s promotion with the crew, the topic of Rob was once again brought up.
James and Rob didn’t take Izzy’s role of lead deckhand to heart. They gave her a hard time, which the two guys declared in the Below Deck Season 8 After Show was all in good fun. Rob crossed a line with his comments though, and Izzy confronted him before leaving the My Seanna.
Last week Rob called Izzy’s promotion all for show and a storyline in a Redditt Q&A. The deckhand had some harsh things to say about Izzy and Below Deck producers.
Izzy thinks Rob’s a coward
As the topic of Izzy and Rob’s tension was discussed, Andy questioned Izzy if Rob was really working or was he merely “unwilling to confront the situation.”
‘No, he’s definitely digging for gold, but he did manage to do some of the after show and tune in, so I think he’s just not wanting to confront the situation. Not wanting to confront what he’s done. He’s a bit of a coward,” Izzy said.
According to Izzy and Elizabeth, Rob hasn’t watched the season at all.
Rachel stepped in to let Andy and the crew know Rob was genuinely working and having issues dialing into the reunion.
“I talk to Rob all the time. Where’s he’s at, he has got issues with the WIFI and the strength and stuff like that. But he really is actually working right now,” the chef expressed.
Rob did let fans know a couple of weeks ago that he was unable to attend the reunion. There was a cyclone happening in Fiji as he tried to call into the virtual chat.
Are you Team Rob or Team Izzy?
Below Deck Sailing Yacht premieres on Monday, March 1 at 9/8c on Bravo.