Below Deck‘s Ben Willoughby does not seem thrilled with how the rest of season 11 will play out.
Ben took to Instagram on Tuesday, April 16, to discuss the latest episode, hinting at his frustration with the show.
“I once used to love Below Deck. There’s too much that isn’t seen. I’m at a crossroads as [to] whether the truth needs to be told or I don’t let this consume me anymore,” he wrote to one fan who asked about his future with the franchise.
When Ben asked about his highs and lows from season 11, he added: “Low – not enjoying this season due to a number of factors. I never wanted to step foot on St. David again under those circumstances.”
On season 11, Ben went from a lead deckhand to bosun after Jared Woodin was fired by Captain Kerry Titheradge. After Dylan Pierre De Villiers was brought on to help the deck team, Ben was asked to choose his replacement for lead deckhand. He chose Sunny Marquis — with whom he is currently hooking up with on the show — and not everyone on the exterior was thrilled.
Ben has since alluded to the rest of the season taking an unexpected turn for him.
“I had my reasons for what I stood for. It’s a shame none of it will be aired,” he wrote via Instagram Story about how he “can’t control” the final version of the show. “I know what I stood for in these episodes to come.”
While reflecting on the lessons he learned from his time on the show, Ben elaborated on his potential regrets, adding, “You play into a character and that character has a harder or better time than others. I’d say I wish I stopped to smell the roses more often.”
The bosun later thanked fans who offered him support, writing, “Reality TV isn’t easy by any means. I just hope that the audience can see that people are edited in a way that suits the story line. It fits an agenda to gain attention/viewing. In saying this, I wouldn’t change my experience as I’ve met so many great people along the way. It’s simply unfortunate how much is kept off air.”
Despite the upcoming drama that affected Ben, he said he would appear on spinoff shows Below Deck Sailing and Below Deck Mediterranean “in a heartbeat.” Ben recently teased to Us Weekly that his working relationship with Kerry is what changed the most throughout the season.
“Captain Kerry [has] very much of a military stance. [It is] more authority based. So that was a bit of a learning curve for me,” he admitted in March. “It doesn’t really work with the style that I like with my leadership. So we did have a little bit of friction there and you might see a little bit of that coming up.”
