Captain Lee Rosbach has weighed in on why Francesca Rubi didn’t return for Below Deck Season 9.
Francesca appeared on Below Deck Season 8, alongside chef Rachel Hargrove and now first-officer Eddie Lucas. While Rachel and Edde are back helping out Captain Lee on Season 9, Francesca was one and done with the Bravo show.
Heather Chase has taken over the chief stew role, but some Below Deck fans wondered what happened to Francesca. Thanks to Captain Lee, a little more light has been shed on why Francesca didn’t come back for another season.
Captain Lee weighs in on why Francesca Rubi didn’t return to Below Deck
Throughout Season 8, Captain Lee made it pretty clear he was a Francesca fan. However, it turns out even the captain couldn’t keep her on Below Deck.
According to The Daily Mail, Francesca was not asked back for a second season, and Captain Lee was disappointed she didn’t return.
“Chess had a really tough road to go down because it was the first season without Kate, and expectations were so high,” the captain expressed. “She really, really did a good job, I thought, and it wasn’t as well-received as I thought it might be. Were there some things I would’ve done differently? Absolutely, but that’s all hindsight that’s 20/20.”
Below Deck viewers had mixed reactions to Francesca stepping into the chief stew role. It was certainly hard for fans to see someone else as chief stew other than Kate.
The continuous drama between Francesca and stew Elizabeth Frankini ran its course long before the season was over. Their tension only added to some Below Deck fans’ dislike of Francesca.
Although Heather seems to have made a better impression on Below Deck viewers than Francesca, most fans still want to see Kate as the chief stew.
What has Francesca been up to since Below Deck?
Francesca has left reality TV and yachting behind for now. The Australian beauty has become a Pilates instructor.
Her Instagram feed is filled with posts of Francesca living her best life, especially now that it’s summer. Francesca loves to surf and hang at the beach.
As for her reality TV future, well, there’s a chance Francesca could pop up on Below Deck Down Under. Perhaps fans would like her more on any new spin-off rather than as Kate’s replacement.
Whether Francesca Rubi ever returns to the Below Deck franchise or not, one thing is for sure — she has a friend in Captain Lee Rosbach. The captain had hoped she would be back for Below Deck Season 9, but things didn’t work out his way.
Not that Captain Lee isn’t a fan of Heather’s – because he is – but he still would have liked to have Francesca do one more season.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
I am very sad to not see Francesca return. She was by far my favorite. She was calm and not full of herself like the other chief stews. I think it’s a shame that Elizabeth was more concerned with going to bed with James than doing her job and she didn’t do her job at all! Very disappointed that they kept her there as long as they did and that Francesca did not return
Francesca not likely picked for series 9 because producers would have noticed the saga of the Mahi order where
Francesca clearly tried to pass the blame on to Rachel by changing 4 to 5 orders on the slip.
Also good chef is more important than a scheming first stew which thankfully happened.Nobody likes a bully