Few things escape the watchful gaze of Captain Lee Rosbach on “Below Deck.” Which is no mean feat, given all the drama from the popular franchise. Still, Eddie Lucas and Raquel “Rocky” Dakota managed to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes during Season 3 of the hit show.
It’s hard to count everyone who’s dated on “Below Deck.” The crew members’ passions surge higher than the sea they sail on, resulting in more hookups than hands on deck. However, with cameras squirreled away throughout the luxury yacht, the dark secrets of the “Below Deck” cast can never remain secret for long. The Daily Star lists some of the salacious scandals that have occurred since the series made its UK debut in 2013. They include drug disgraces, love child dilemmas, homophobia, shock exits, and a whole load of cheating.
And it’s not just the crew who hit the headlines for flying the wrong side of the sails. The privileged, wealthy guests that the staffers wait on hand and foot can be just as guilty of causing a stir. Who can forget Season 8’s drunken Delores? Captain Rosbach certainly won’t be in a hurry. He was forced to eject her from the My Seanna for defying orders and partying hard in the ocean. “I definitely had an inkling that she was going to be more than a handful,” he admitted on “Below Deck After Show.” While Dolores proved to be problematic, it was the laundry room liaison between Lucas and Dakota that really rocked the boat.
Airing their dirty laundry
Eddie Lucas got up close and personal with Raquel “Rocky” Dakota during “Below Deck” Season 3. Very up close and personal. Despite having a longtime girlfriend back on shore, bosun Lucas couldn’t resist the third stew’s charms. The two embarked on a secret relationship that caused some serious waves and a change in the show’s filming policies. Per Bravo, Lucas and Dakota managed to keep their boatmance on the down-low from their fellow costars, thanks to discovering a camera-free zone. Even Captain Lee Rosbach didn’t know about the couple’s clandestine laundry room trysts.
Cast members finally learned of the heated affair after Season 3 filming ended — and they were as unimpressed by the steamy shenanigans as the show’s producers were. The hoodwinked crew was even less impressed by what occurred as a consequence of the two’s intimate interludes. “‘We now have cameras in the laundry room,” Captain Lee told Bravo’s The Daily Dish. “They ruined it for everyone,” Chief Stew Kate Chastain complained. “This is why we can’t have nice things, [Lucas] and [Dakota].”
“[The cast is here] to share every aspect of their lives. Those are the rules. The only place you have privacy on the boat is the bathroom,” Noah Samton, the senior vice president of current production, told the New York Times. “Not just because of sex,” he explained. “It could be they’re having a conversation — they hate so-and-so. We need to know that.”
All aboard the love boat
Eddie Lucas and Raquel “Rocky” Dakota were left red-faced after their “Below Deck” Season 3 laundry trips were revealed. Per the Daily Mail, Dakota disclosed her secret laundry room rendezvous to fellow “Below Deck” stew Amy Johnson — who admitted to being “shocked.” Lucas denied the whole thing — likely due to the fact that he had a girlfriend back onshore — until finally fessing up during the Season 3 finale. After the crew landed back on dry land, Lucas immediately went into full-on damage control mode. He tried to salvage the relationship with his scorned girlfriend, Emily, but ultimately, the couple called it quits.
“We worked on it for a while. It ended worse than ever,” Lucas admitted to Andy Cohen during an appearance on the “Watch What Happens Live 100th episode celebration for Below Deck.” And it wasn’t just Lucas’ love life that was transformed following the secret affair; his career also changed— for a while anyway. Lucas exited “Below Deck” at the end of Season 3 but was back on board the love boat for Season 9.
“[Lucas] returns to ‘Below Deck’ with a degree in adventure education from Green Mountain College and a background in paddling, skiing, and scuba diving,” his show bio reads. “Since we saw him last, [Lucas] has achieved his 1600-ton license and works as First Mate on a four-man tugboat crew where he has learned the importance of diligence and delegation in the commercial industry,” it continues. “Although Eddie’s version of paradise was not fulfilled following Season 3, he has a ‘never say never’ mantra when it comes to how things may develop onboard.”
