Captain Lee Rosbach confirmed that leaving Below Deck was not his decision and that he was fired. Rosbach’s departure shocked many Below Deck fans, especially after being a figurehead of the series for a decade.
Rosbach did not point to specifics as to why he was fired from the series. But he admitted that some medical issues may have been a contributing factor.
Captain Lee was fired from ‘Below Deck’ but would have preferred to have made the decision himself
Rosbach was somewhat cryptic about his future on Below Deck, never coming out and saying he was fired. But, he recently shared that he was indeed asked to leave.
“That came right out of left field. I did not see that one coming at all,” he admitted to US Weekly. Rosbach recalled how he was told that he would no longer continue with the series. “We would like to move in a new direction,” he said.
“But I mean, that’s kind of a cliche that everybody uses when they find themselves in that situation where they’re going to let somebody go. ‘I’m going to move in a new direction. We want to freshen it up a little.’ [They are] tired cliches that get overused,” Rosbach added. “If they found that they needed me back on the show, I’d go back. I’ve done it for 10 years and I would kind of like to — if I’m going to make an exit — do it on different terms.”
‘Below Deck’ ended with questions if Captain Lee ‘retired’ or was fired
The Below Deck fandom started chattering during season 10 about Rosbach’s future. When Bravo planned a special look back on Rosbach’s Below Deck career, some fans assumed he had been fired. But Rosbach coyly shared he was simply not invited back.
“I did not quit. I did not retire, he told The Sun-Sentinel. Adding, “I was just not invited back. I guess I can see their point of view. They really couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone on how my health was,” Rosbach said. “We came to an agreement, and I’m going to be doing some things for them in the next year.”
Rosbach faced a serious nerve issue during Below Deck Season 10 that prompted him to leave mid-season to return home for medical care. Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean stepped in during his absence. And while he was able to finish the season, he was still clearly compromised.
Captain Lee faced a few injuries on ‘Below Deck’
Rosbach described his latest injury, which he said he’s since recovered. “You know how it feels when you hit your elbow, the funny bone, and you get that electrical shock up and down your arm? That’s how it felt in my leg. It felt like someone had plugged my a– into a 220-volt outlet and left it there,” he explained.
“I got down there, hobbled onboard,” he recounted. “Production was really great about it. They got me a physical therapist down there, a massage therapist, a medic came in to stretch my leg every day. I had to have somebody help dress me. We did everything we could to make it work.”
This wasn’t the first injury or medical setback for Rosbach. He started Below Deck Season 8 with broken ribs. And then he was delayed for season 9 when he had to have a medical procedure.
No specific word from production company 51 Minds on who will step in as captain for Below Deck Season 11.
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