Below Deck never fails to bring the drama to our screens. As the yachties live, work, fight, and date each other, all within their small confines, the storylines basically write themselves. Sometimes, the drama that airs makes this hit Bravo series hard to watch. Here’s looking at you, Season 7’s toxic battle of the sexes.
Luckily, snippets of humanity have also aired. These touching showings between the crew members have helped to bring levity to darker moments. At times, these emotional scenes have also transpired between the crew and their charter guests. Out of all of these instances, these are our favorite genuinely moving moments on Below Deck.
Jessika and Kyle’s Heart-to-Heart
Jessika Asai and Kyle Viljoen are currently giving us a love-hate relationship on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8. A known pot-stirrer, Kyle is getting mad at Jessika for repeating some of his antics, while Jessika is realizing that there might be multiple problematic characters on Tumi Mhlongo‘s interior team. After complaining to Tumi that he felt stressed and overworked, Kyle collapsed, and an anxiety attack ensued. In a beautiful showing of kindness, Jessika comforted her estranged co-worker the very next day.
In their talk, Jessika took the fall, telling Kyle that she never meant to say anything malicious. Personally, we feel like Kyle misinterprets everything, so his anxiety wasn’t Jessika’s fault. Therefore, Jessika’s willingness to call a ceasefire was endearing, as was the remainder of their peace-making conversation. In a season that’s pretty frustrating, this moving moment was much needed, though we suspect that this newfound peace won’t last, because, Kyle.
When The Women Of BDDU Came Together
*TRIGGER WARNING – sexual assault*
Below Deck Down Under Season 2 contained two instances of attempted sexual assault, leading to each of the accused crew members firings. One of the victims was Margot Sisson. When Margot learned of the sexual advances that production stepped in to stop, she understandably fell apart. Coming to her side was Aesha Scott and Tzarina Mace-Ralph.
As Tzarina and Aesha comforted Margot, our eyes filled with tears. When Tzarina told Margot that “women should be able to stand in a room naked and not have anyone do anything to us,” we cried all the more. Even though we were already moved, Aesha’s confessional shortly after sealed our fate. Here, she recalled her own experiences of being a rape survivor, causing our hearts to weep for our favorite Chief Stew, and cementing these women’s support of each other as one of our top most moving moments on Below Deck.
Captain Lee’s Promotion of Eddie Lucas
Captain Lee Rosbach and Eddie Lucas worked together for multiple seasons on Below Deck. Even though he’s no longer on the series, Eddie’s career continues to thrive, thanks in large part to the growth opportunities presented to him by Captain Lee. On-air, Captain Lee emotionally promoted Eddie to a First Officer position. A flashback then cued, showing the first time that Captain Lee had given Eddie his stripes, bringing him up to a Bosun position.
If this flashback didn’t tear at your heartstrings, Captain Lee’s teary statement likely did. “Eddie’s what I would have wanted my son to turn out like,” he said, recalling the passing of his son in 2019. More on that just below. We love both Captain Lee and Eddie, and this scene, which will forever be one of our sweetest moments aired on Below Deck.
The Club No One Wants to Be a Member Of
David Siegel and his wife Jackie Siegel were charter guests on Below Deck Season 8. Alongside Captain Lee, these three belonged “to a club that nobody else wants to belong to.” You see, Captain Lee shared that he had just lost his son, Joshua Lee Rosbach, to an opioid addiction. This was the first time that he spoke on-air about his son’s death, and when his voice cracked, the Siegels offered up their support.
The Siegels then shared that their daughter had also lost her life in the same fashion, just a few years prior. When Captain Lee stated that every day is a battle, David replied, “we’re going to help you through it.” In a rare sighting, an emotional Captain Lee told the cameras “it helps to talk to somebody that’s been there, and knows what I feel.”
This entire charter was humanity at its best, making it one of our top most genuinely moving Below Deck moments.
When We Were Reminded How Short Life Really Is
For another stirring moment between the crew and guests, look no further than Below Deck Sailing Yacht‘s Season 1 primary guest, Kerry McReynolds. Battling stage 4 cancer, Kerry chartered the yacht with her friends “to honor and celebrate her life and legacy.” When Captain Glenn Shephard read this off during the initial preference sheet meeting, we cried, while Chief Stew Jenna MacGillivray immediately felt a bond with Kerry, as her father had also battled cancer before his passing.
Cancer is a universal beast. Therefore, we can be certain that this charter was a moving one for many viewers. Really, Jenna spoke for everyone when she tearfully said, “I will bust my ass to make sure this is the best trip of her life.”
And bust her ass she did. Always showing gratitude and a zeal for life, Kerry had an amazing charter. When she departed, everyone from the crew to the producers cried. Sadly, Kerry passed away in 2021, but her genuinely moving lessons on Below Deck live on, reminding us all to live our lives as fully as we possibly can.
When Ashton Almost Died
Before you protest, we know, Aston Pienaar had a polarizing Season 7 showing, filled with toxic masculinity. This doesn’t take away from the fact that his first showing in Season 6 featured a near miss tragic event. When his ankle was caught in a line, Ashton was pulled overboard, and the rope threatened to rip his foot off in the process. Luckily, his crew and a member of production stepped in, freeing Ashton right before he succumbed to the ocean.
In watching back this event, the entire crew cried, including Captain Lee. And yes, us too. We are glad that this story had a happy ending. There’s no doubt in our minds that this event was one of the heaviest, most genuinely moving moments on Below Deck, as everyone came together to help save a life.
TELL US – WHICH MOMENT(S) ON BELOW DECK DID YOU FIND TO BE GENUINELY MOVING?
