James Hough opened up about his Below Deck expectations versus his reality of filming the hit Bravo show.
The deckhand has made it no secret that he loves to play hard and work as little as possible. James continues to complain that the crew doesn’t want to party enough.
Although, the lack of the crew drinking and hanging out late at night did result in James ending up in the hot tub with Elizabeth Frankini. In that case, the lack of partying was a good thing for the deckhand.
The hunky Brit doesn’t shy away from expressing his honest thoughts. James recently shared insight into his Below Deck experience and expectations with E! News.
What did James expect Below Deck to be?
It turns out there was an excellent reason James expected his experience to be full of drunken crew night outs. The only season of Below Deck he watched before filming was Season 7.
“I’ve never really watched Below Deck,” James shared. “So, the only thing I watched was the last season, so season seven. They’re all partying. All the lads were getting along. They were just living life. I was watching that, and that’s the expectation I had going into Antigua.”
Filming the Bravo show was different than James expected, but he got used to it and enjoyed his time on Below Deck.
The deckhand spilled there were many entertaining moments, like Captain Lee losing it on a drunken charter guest. It was a moment that James called “brilliant and unexpected.”
Bonding with crew members
James did find it challenging to bond with the crew, too, especially bosun Eddie Lucas. He did create a bond with bunkmate Izzy Wouters, who recently came out as gay. The deckhand expressed he knew already and was super happy for her.
Elizabeth, of course, was someone James talked to a lot on the yacht. Their smooch in the hot tub was a long time coming.
Whether or not a boatmance occurred, James hasn’t said, but fans can expect some drama between them. After all, a yacht hook-up rarely happens without some kind of dramatic fallout.
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One person James didn’t bond with was chief stew, Francesca Rubi. She made a laundry remark that rubbed James the wrong way and set the tone for his desire not to be friends with her.
The party expectations of filming Below Deck turned out to be a bust for James Hough. Season 8 of the Bravo show has been much calmer than previous seasons, and it very well could have to do with all the drunken behavior during Season 7.
James may not have partied as much as he thought he would on the yachting show, but it was still a good experience for him.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.