On the latest episode of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht, the Season 3 crew catered to a familiar face from last year: Erica Rose. But instead of bring a bunch of girlfriends (who were being snarky toward one another), she was joined by her family this time. Fans have since accused her husband Charles Sanders – who made a fuss about the quality of the food on the charter – of embellishing drama for the cameras. As a result, Rose is on the defense and calling out the cast concerning what is and isn’t scripted.
Along with being a Below Deck guest alum, Erica Rose also just happens to be a Bachelor Nation alum. She appeared in Prince Lorenzo Borghese’s Bachelor season and on subsequent seasons of the Bachelor Pad spinoff. So, in essence, she knows the behind the scenes specifics and isn’t against pointing out the bigger picture to Bravo audiences, saying to Reality Blurb:
For the people on the boat this is their job. They are not just people who work on a yacht, but they are actual reality stars. Especially the ones like Daisy [Kelliher], Gary [King], Colin [MacRae] and the captain who came back for a second season. As a reality TV vet myself I know that, but I’m not sure if the viewers conceptualize it.
Yet, despite her background, the notorious primary continued that she doesn’t like TV spectators “being entertained” at their expense. She especially wants Below Deck: Sailing Yacht’s fanbase to “not take it so seriously.” She also hastened to note that she herself was never disrespectful or unkind to the crew.
Her husband is a horse of a different color, though. He would supposedly reveal on his private Instagram, per the outlet, that his behavior was in fact scripted (just as fans suspected) at the behest of producers. Erica Rose reiterated, too, that her spouse truly believed he was there to help put on the show, adding that it was Sailing Yacht’s “highest rated episode.” (That doesn’t seem quite the case when comparing the March 7 episode to, say, the best of Season 2, per Showbuzz Daily’s figures.) Additionally, Rose said:
I definitely can’t control my husband. But I think if people realize that he was acting and participating along with producers and what they wanted him to do, maybe that will help explain things.
This wouldn’t be the first time Bravo producers have been accused of influencing the drama, especially within the Below Deck franchise. Not only did Mediterranean spinoff star Lexi Wilson criticize the network, but Season 9 of the flagship show was rocked by scandal pertaining to the producers’ handling of a racial slur use. And, to Rose’s initial point in calling out the Sailing Yacht cast, Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent did get very candid about how Bravo castmates are incentivized to maintain drama.
Such is the nature of reality TV, as Erica Rose herself said. To be fair, though, she did voluntarily choose to return to Below Deck: Sailing Yacht for a second go-around… To see the remainder of their trip play out, and possibly another scripted hot tub romance or two, tune into Bravo on Monday at 9 p.m. EST!
