‘Below Deck’: Did Leigh Ann and Ben Already Hook Up?
Below Deck deckhand Ben Willoughby faces temptation when he revealed how he knew new stew, Leigh Ann Smith. He admits they have nude photos of one another on their phones, but did they date or hook up in the past?
Willoughby is dating Camille Lamb, who was fired, and waiting on land for the season to finish so they can travel together. So how complicated is Willoughby and Smith’s past? He told deckhand Katie Glaser they “almost” hooked up. And that “We’ve got so many nudes of each other on our phones.”
Ben and Leigh Ann hadn’t met before ‘Below Deck’
So what is Willoughby and Smith’s connection? “I met this girl on Tinder, about a year ago,” he explained. “I’ve never met her. And we both have nudes of each other on our phone. Yeah, we decided to sext a little bit and here she is.”
Willoughby seems both delighted and slightly freaked out that Smith joined the crew. “I’m like, shaking,” he tells the crew. Smith also seems surprised to see Willoughby and tells chief stew Fraser Olender “what a small world.”
Leigh Ann and Ben get flirty on ‘Below Deck’
Even though they never hooked up, Smith could mean trouble for Willoughby. Olender asks her how she knows Willougby. “Through Instagram,” she says.
In a confessional, she shows the camera her Instagram thread with Willougby. “This is only our Instagram!” she says scrolling through the messages. “And on and on… literally I could go on for ages.”
Smith then reads a message she shared with Willougby. “He’s like, I’ll warn you now, I think we both have similar passions in the bedroom,” she reads. But then laughs, adding, “No I can’t read this, it’s so bad.”
In a preview of the next episode, Willoughby laughs when Smith asks him who has already hooked up on the boat. He is later seen telling her, “You’re a good flirt.” Her response? “I wouldn’t be able to resist.”
In a confessional, she admits, “I’m the type of girl who will go for what I want.”
The ‘Below Deck’ season is about to get more complicated
So who is Smith? “My favorite part of yachting is the boys,” she shares in a confessional. “Joking, not joking. I’m from Cape Town. I’ve been in the industry, this is my fifth year. I worked myself up to chief stew with hard work and dedication. And proving anyone wrong that I can do this and I am going to do this to get to the top as quick as I can.”
“People describe me as definitely a bit of a tomboy,” she adds. “I like speed, I like motorsports. So love adrenaline, jumping out of airplanes. Doing stupid s*** like not what a normal female would do.”
Deckhand Katie Glaser told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the Below Deck season is about to get more complicated. “I think things are about to get a little more complicated. Less on my side, more on his side,” she said about Willoughby.
Glaser was somewhat in the middle because she was close with Lamb but also Willoughby. “It definitely puts you in an awkward position,” she said. “And honestly it was just my position to just stay out of it and let Ben deal with it how he wants to.”
Will Willoughby and Smith take their flirtation to something physical? Below Deck is on Monday at 8 pm ET on Bravo.
