Below Deck fans are again reminded why expecting commitment from a fellow yachtie is an exercise in futility. Bosun Ross McHarg seemed like the MVP in the game. But deckhand Ben Willoughby surpassed all expectations.
After a two-week romance, Ben claimed to be head-over-heels smitten with deck/stew Camille Lamb. She was fired mid-season. Poor Ben was left sobbing in his bunk and sending her sappy text messages. They even planned to vacation together post-season.
So what a shocker when Bravo executives just happened to cast another of Ben’s love interests. Leigh-Ann Smith claimed to have been sexting with him for over a year before joining the crew on the motor yacht St. David.
Ben spent the remainder of the season trying to convince anyone but himself that he wasn’t going to hook up with Leigh-Ann. He downplayed his romance with Camille. And ultimately he kissed the second stew.
Naturally, Below Deck fans were curious as to how the love triangle played out. Ben answered the speculations on social media recently, to coincide with the season finale. It’s worth noting that the Season 10 reunion has been scrapped.
Bravo’s The Daily Dish reported that Ben shared two posts on Instagram regarding Camille. As it turns out, those crazy kids did vacation as planned. The first post showed the couple on the beach together in paradise.
“[F]ollowing my heart always has [led] me to where I am now,” Ben wrote. “Camille and I spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic and honestly, I fell in love with this wild spark.”
The post contained a montage of the trip, a time that Ben labeled “something we both needed.” He claimed they “genuinely had a spark.” Yet, the longevity of the relationship was in question. The deckhand called it “comparable to that of a primary school crush.”
Finally, Ben revealed that the romance ended. He wrote in a second Instagram post, “Sadly soon after we decided that this wasn’t meant to be. [A]nd being honest[,] that was a very tough pill to swallow. We are not together anymore [but] in a perfect world it would have been something of a fairytale. We both organically fell in love with one another and had many, many memories to share throughout this whole [Below Deck] journey.”
He offered some “advice” for his followers. “[F]ollow your heart in any direction [it] may lead[,] even if you know it may hurt.”
Luckily for Ben, Leigh-Ann was waiting in the wings to fix his achy-breaky heart. One of his followers asked if he got “back in touch.” He answered, “[Y]es! But didn’t work either.”
Leigh-Ann took to social media as well to share her side of the story. She explained that Ben downplayed his feelings for Camille. “Some of the crew found us to be more compatible and that they were not very serious,” Leigh-Ann posted. “I spoke to Ben about their relationship too and he brushed it off easily and continued to flirt with me and lead me on.”
She continued, “Ben decided that he wanted to see Camille and explore their connection further after the show wrapped. Obviously, I felt hurt and messed around as I was being dragged into this love triangle. However, I fully supported him and wished him the best in his decision.”
The second stew went so far as to apologize to Camille. Meanwhile, Ben decided to pursue “his connection” with Camille. Yet three weeks later, Leigh-Ann said Ben, “reached out to me to say things ended between them.”
And the duo lived together for a month in a rented apartment. Leigh-Ann explained, “I was there for him as he was getting through his breakup and was a shoulder to lean on. I did everything in my will to put a smile on his face every day even though it was killing my own mental health. We also spoke about working and traveling together and Ben possibly coming to [South Africa] with me.”
Unsurprisingly, Ben moved on again. And apparently, he left without giving Leigh-Ann any closure. Ben found work elsewhere and hasn’t contacted her in months. Presumably, the sexting stopped as well.
Leigh-Ann concluded that she has “come to peace with not getting an answer.”
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO HOW BEN HANDLED CAMILLE AND LEIGH-ANN? ARE YOU SURPRISED THINGS DIDN’T WORK OUT WITH CAMILLE?
[Photo by: Laurent Bassett/Bravo]
