Thanks, I Hate It

‘Below Deck’ Yachties Who Will (Most Likely) Never Return to the Series

'Below Deck' often has returning crew members, but which yachties won't ever return to the show and why?

by Gina Ragusa

Published on September 8, 2023

3 min read

These ‘Below Deck’ yachties will never return to the series

Some crew members behaved so badly, Below Deck producers won’t ever hire them again. Most recently, Below Deck Down Under bosun Luke Jones, who was fired for almost sexually assaulting another crew member, makes the short list of banned yachties.

Another crew member who won’t return is deckhand Pete Hunziker from Below Deck Med Season 5. During his season, Hunziker shared a racist and sexist meme on Instagram. When fans called him out, he doubled down. Production fired him and edited him out of the remainder of the season. He was also not invited to attend the reunion.

Dane Jackson is another Below Deck yachtie that viewers won’t ever see again on the show. Jackson was hired as a season 3 deckhand and was swiftly fired after he got belligerently drunk during a crew outing.

Another crew member who won’t be back is stew Lexi Wilson from Below Deck Med Season 6. While her actions were not completely captured on camera, producers said they had to intervene during the season to prevent aggressive behavior. She was not named, but the cast singled her out.

Crew members who are very unlikely to return to ‘Below Deck’

Some crew members who were fired probably won’t be seen again on Below Deck (but never say never). They include chef Ryan McKeown from Below Deck Down Under Season 1, Laura Bileskaline from Below Deck Down Under Season 2, Trevor Walker from Below Deck Season 4, and Leon Walker from Below Deck Season 3.

The majority of the crew members were fired for their attitude and in McKeown and Leon Walker’s case, performance too.

Another yachtie who is not likely to return to Below Deck is bosun Ashton Pienaar for his attitude toward some of the women on the boat. Pienaar wasn’t fired but did not seem to regret lashing out at chief stew Kate Chastain and deckhand Rhylee Gerber.

Other “one and done” crew members are probably chef Mathew Shea from Below Deck Med Season 6, chef Tom Checketts from Below Deck Med Season 5, and chef Mila Kolomeitseva from Below Deck Med Season 4. A crew member who quit, but isn’t likely to return is stew Lara Flumiani from Below Deck Med Season 5.

Additionally, second engineer C.J. LeBeau from Below Deck Season 1 likely won’t make a return. He quit with only one charter left.

‘Below Deck’ yachties who don’t want to return to the show

Many Below Deck yachties have expressed an interest in returning to the show at some point. But there are a few crew members who walked away from the series and no longer want to be associated with it.

Most recently chef Rachel Hargrove from Below Deck Seasons 8, 9, and 10 announced that she will no longer be associated with the show or Bravo. Also, chef Adam Glick from Below Deck Med Seasons 2 and 3 and Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 1 said he was done with yachting.

Another crew member who has probably left the series forever is Eddie Lucas. Lucas launched the franchise as a deckhand on Below Deck Season 1. He moved up the ranks to bosun but left the show after a secret love affair he tried to conceal during season 3 was exposed.

Lucas returned for Below Deck Season 8 but crew drama during Season 9 may have been the last straw.