All the ‘Below Deck’ Franchise Stars That Dramatically Left During Their Season

Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo (2)

All the 'Below Deck' Franchise Stars That Dramatically Left During Their Season

Not always the perfect fit. Over the years, the Below Deck franchise has shocked viewers with dramatic exits, including firings and resignations. Mathew Shea set a record for Below Deck Mediterranean when he made several departures during season 6. The chef initially left the boat when he suffered a knee injury that required medical attention. “In the moment, it was the best thing I could have done for my mental health,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2021. "I was in pain and having a full-blown panic attack, you know? And there were cameras in my face. It just [was] a lot. It was all a lot." Chief Stew Katie Flood offered a glimpse at the chaos that ensued because of Mathew's exit — which forced the rest of the crew to cook dinner for the guests. "Obviously I wasn't happy. I was annoyed. I was pissed off," she shared with Us in June 2021. "I was worried because, at the time, it was like survival mode. Like, we have guests on board, they want dinner. We need to just get through this. And then it was like, once we got through dinner, it's like, ok, now what? Like, are we getting a chef? Is he going to be a chef tomorrow? Someone else coming? Like, what the f--k is actually going on right now?" Although Mathew returned to the boat, he later walked off after a night out took a turn. "They can find some f--ker to do their s--t. Good luck. You'll have some f--king a--hole chef now," the Bravo personality said to the chief officer as he hit multiple production cameras on his way out during a July 2021 episode of Below Deck Med. [jwplayer 2gEHlfql-zhNYySv2] Earlier in the episode, Mathew developed some tension between him and his fellow cast members when he overshared at the dinner table. "I don't like people giving me s--t. I've worked too hard to get s--t for being myself. Give me crap for being myself, it's, like, f--k you," Mathew clapped back after being told to stop talking. Mathew returned to the boat the next morning and Captain Sandy Yawn temporarily allowed him to stay while they waited for the replacement chef to get out of quarantine. After winning over the charter guests, Mathew was able to finish the rest of the season out. At the time, Captain Sandy noted that her decision not to part ways professionally with Mathew was due to several factors, telling Us in September 2021, "Would I have let Mathew go? Yes. Could I have? I had no choice. We were [in] quarantine. We had a bubble to get a chef to go through tests. Testing is, like, two weeks then eight-day quarantine. It's impossible." For the captain, it was easier to stick with Mathew even though they had their ups and downs. "I'd rather say hang with the devil you know than the devil you don't know. Mathew did a great job. Setting aside personalities again, I was not at their dinners out. I heard he poked the bear a lot, and I watched it, but he did a great job in the galley," she added. "No guests ever complained. When the guests complain, that's when you see me in the galley. If the guests don't complain, I'm like, 'Great job. Keep it up.'" Scroll on to see every Below Deck star who left quite an impression when they chose to quit the show: [podcast_block]

Credit: Bravo

C.J. LeBeau ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 1 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: The second engineer struggled to work with Captain Lee throughout the season. After taking a swim and drinking alcohol with third stew Sam Orme during charter, C.J. was given the option to take a tip cut or leave with his full share. He decided to leave and joined another boat that was at the marina.

Credit: Bravo

Don Abenante ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 3 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Don butted heads with Eddie Lucas immediately after joining the boat because he wanted to assist more on the engineering side. Following an unauthorized swim with third stew Rocky Dakota, Don decided to part ways with Eros.

Credit: Bravo

Leon Walker ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 3 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Leon and chief stew Kate Chastain never got on the same page while working together. Things came to a head when a fire broke out on the boat and Leon tried to blame Kate. When Captain Lee didn't side with Leon and instead asked him to leave after the current charter, the chef dramatically announced that he would exit immediately.

Credit: Bravo

Raquel “Rocky” Dakota ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 3 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Rocky's exit may have been brief, but it was certainly memorable. The third stew had enough after Chef Leon announced his exit, so Rocky dove off the yacht while they were on charter. After a nearby boat brought the third stew back, Rocky offered to stay and later in the season shocked her coworkers when she revealed her past hookups with Eddie.

Credit: Bravo

Caroline Bedol ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 6 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Caroline struggled with several health issues while onboard. Following Chandler Brooks' departure from the boat, Caroline gave her two days notice to Kate and Josiah Carter. The next morning the third stew refused to work so Kate and Josiah attempted to push Caroline to leave immediately. Caroline left the boat in tears after recounting the experience to Captain Lee. 

Credit: Bravo

Abbi Murphy ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 7 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Abbi, who originally came from a sailing yacht background, couldn't make her time on Below Deck work. After getting engaged over a text while on charter, Abbi surprised her crew by leaving and was replaced by alum Rhylee Gerber. 

Credit: Bravo

Avery Russell ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 8 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: The deckhand made history when he left the Below Deck franchise during the first episode of the season. Avery departed after his grandmother's health took a turn for the worst, right before the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread worldwide.

Credit: Laurent Bassett/Bravo

Jessica Albert ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 9 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: Jessica faced issues when it came to getting along with her chief stew Heather Chase and second stew Fraser Olender. The workload because too much for Jessica, who was also worried about her grandparents back home, so she left right before a charter was set to start.

Credit: Bravo

Lara Flumiani ('Below Deck Mediterranean')

Left During: Season 5 of Below Deck Med

Reason for Exit: Laura left quite an impression on viewers — and her boss Hannah Ferrier — when she refused to listen to instructions during the first charter of the season. Although Lara claimed she could get along with Hannah following a meeting with Captain Sandy, the next morning she left the boat and never returned.

Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo

Mathew Shea ('Below Deck Mediterranean')

Left During: Season 6 of Below Deck Med

Reason for Exit: Mathew left his crew scrambling when a knee injury forced him off the boat for the beginning of the first charter. He eventually returned — only to once again dramatically storm off after drinking too much during a night out. Captain Sandy ended up taking Mathew back, but she later voiced her concerns when it came to his unreliability.

Credit: Courtesy of Parker McCown/Instagram

Parker McCown ('Below Deck Sailing Yacht')

Left During: Season 1 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht

Reason for Exit: Parker's introduction to yachting came with its own set of pros and cons. After not seeing eye to eye with the other members of his team, the deckhand made the choice to leave Parsifal III and later got engaged to his girlfriend as the season continued.

Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo

Gabriela Barragan ('Below Deck Sailing Yacht')

Reason for Exit: After clashing with fellow stew Ashley Marti and Chef Marcos Spaziani, Gabriela told Captain Glenn that she was quitting the yacht for her mental health. She previously voiced concerns about not being able to stay for the whole charter season due to the tension on the boat.

Credit: Bravo TV

Jason Gaskell ('Below Deck Mediterranean')

Left During: Season 7 of Below Deck Med

Reason for Exit: The deckhand struggled to form a bond with his coworkers, which turned into several arguments between the exterior group. After bosun Storm Smith asked if Jason could change his attitude, the Below Deck Med star chose to leave his position instead.

Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo

Kyle Viljoen ('Below Deck Mediterranean')

Left During: Season 7 of Below Deck Med

Reason for Exit: Toward the end of the season, the second stew was forced to leave after he injured his foot with a fall down the stairs. He was replaced with another stew for the final charter.

Credit: Laurent Bassett/Bravo

Captain Lee ('Below Deck')

Left During: Season 10 of Below Deck

Reason for Exit: After suffering a health setback following back surgery, Captain Lee announced to his crew that he would be leaving the boat for the rest of the season. Off screen, the OG Below Deck star hinted at a future return.

“I think, personally, retirement [is] overrated. I think you always have to have a purpose. You have to be doing something productive," he told Us in November 2022. "And when yachting and the show itself stopped being fun is probably when I'll stop doing it.”