Jill Zarin blamed “Below Deck” head steward Fraser Olender for her “disaster” megayacht outing, which was documented on an episode of the Bravo series last week.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum said she didn’t have any regrets about her behavior, which included taking issue with the food service, requesting a specific type of ice and even suggesting guests be given a bell to summon crew members.
“I went into it with the attitude that I want to make a good show. I was me, I literally was me. I was me the way I am in my real life,” Zarin, 60, told Heather McDonald on Tuesday’s episode of her “Juicy Scoop” podcast.
“If I like my Diet Coke then I want another. If I don’t like it then I will send it back. If I don’t like my food then I send it back. Most people do,” she continued.
“I think if the crew had a different attitude toward me and said ‘Jill, she’s a little pushy, she’s a Jewish mother, she’s a little bit of a know it all’ I think everybody would have leaned into it.”
The reality TV star went on to detail the two-day stay, which cost her pal an eye-watering $45,000 for “five meals” along with lodging.
“You get on the boat at 12 and right away you get lunch,” she said. “You get an explanation — which I actually taped on my phone that I am going to post — of Fraser [Olender] explaining the layout of the next two days.”
Zarin continued, “In fact, one of the things he emphasized which is ironic is that there would be snacks and food all the time everywhere. He actually emphasized and completely didn’t deliver. When I think about the trip, it was the head stew’s job to make sure things went seamlessly, and I kind of blame him for the trip being a total disaster.”
The Bravolebrity noted that she “felt terrible” for her friends who paid for the trip.
“They spent an enormous amount of money [and] I wanted them to have an amazing experience,” she said.
“I did this show because my friends wanted to go on TV. I don’t blame them, a lot of people do. [But] I didn’t mind doing it with them because as long as I am me, I am good.”
“Below Deck” cast member and stewardess, Barbara “Barbie” Pascual, later admitted Zarin “was right” about some of her seemingly outlandish requests on the show.
“You guys, I watched the show back, and I don’t think that Jill was as bad as it looked, and I just wanna also say that there were so many other moments where she was super fun and sweet and nice,” Pascual said on her Instagram Story last week.
She acknowledged that the former “Housewife” was “demanding,” but she was “not rude” and was making requests that were “actually normal yacht requirements” and “pretty logical.”
“She was right. She just wanted nugget ice in her Diet Coke, that’s not a big deal,” the stewardess added.
However, during the episode, Pascual said Zarin was “too much” to handle.
“I think she’s annoying. You’re a freeloading guest who’s extremely demanding. This is too much for me. I need another stew just for Jill,” she said in a confessional.
Meanwhile, Olender quipped, “Jill is crawling into my brain and eating away at my soul.”
Chef Anthony Iracane also took a swipe at the Jill & Ally founder in his confessional.
“I think the primary, she’s OK, but her friend taking over the boat, it’s like she’s a f–king captain. Like taking over the ship,” he said.
“Below Deck” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo
