Ben Willoughby has been the center of some of the romantic drama on Below Deck, and now he is considering “exposing the truth” about the Below Deck season 11 crew. He began this season as a deckhand under former Bosun Jared Woodin, but Ben was later promoted to Bosun himself when Jared left the boat for personal reasons. While he was a deckhand, Ben began a “boatmance” with another exterior crew member, Mary “Sunny” Marquis, who has admitted she has the tendency to get jealous. Ben was concerned but confident when he agreed to take on the new role in Below Deck season 11.
Now Ben is considering getting honest and giving viewers all the behind the scenes details on what really went down with the cast of Below Deck. During a Q&A on his Instagram Stories, which was captured by Teanailpolish on Reddit, Ben was asked if he would consider returning to Below Deck, to which Ben cryptically responded, “I once used to love Below Deck.”
Then another questioner asked Ben, “Wait, why are you saying you used to love BD?! What happened?” He answered by saying, “There’s too much that isn’t seen. I’m at a crossroads as to whether the truth needs to be told.”
Ben Willoughby Wants To Join Below Deck Med & Sailing Yacht
Why Ben Feels Like He Got The “Villain Edit”
Ben is coming clean about how he feels regarding future episodes of himself in Below Deck season 11, including whether or not there are any episodes he is nervous about seeing air. “Not really,” Ben answered, “I can’t control the edit. I know what I stood for in these episodes to come. The entire production team knows the crap I had to deal with this season.” While he did not go into specifics, Ben said that he believes former Below Deck Bosun Eddie Lucas and former chef Rachel Hargrove did not return for the same reason he is considering not returning.
Ben was asked if Below Deck season 11 accurately portrayed the cast, to which Ben answered, “Some for worse than they are, some for better than they are.” Even though there seems to be some conflict and frustration surrounding being a cast member on Below Deck, the original television series in the franchise, Ben was enthusiastic about possibly appearing and working on Below Deck Sailing Yacht or Below Deck Mediterranean. He said if he were offered the opportunity to be on either of the two shows, he would do it “in a heartbeat.”
Ben was also asked if sleeping with a subordinate has had a negative effect on the way he is portrayed on Below Deck. Ben said no, he did not think that was the problem with why he was portrayed in a bad light. He explained that what really hurt him was all of the supposedly cut audio that would have provided context for each situation. Ben said he was being pulled in every direction in order to try and run a smooth department. However, when asked how it felt to be promoted to Bosun, he said that it was awesome.
When Ben suggests there may be a lot more going on behind the scenes, it can be frustrating for those who have invested their time into watching Below Deck. It is not surprising that cast members on a reality television show may feel that they were denied an accurate representation of themselves due to the way episodes are edited. Ben is not the first castmate to state that they were given the “villain” edit for no reason other than the show needed a villain. However, with the entertainment that Below Deck always brings, there are many reasons to keep watching.
