Below Deck Med's Lexi Wilson Opens Up About the Hot Tub and Crew Mess Drama
The stew reflects on that night and explains how she would have handled things differently.
Lexi Wilson is opening up about the latest Below Deck Mediterranean drama.
During an exclusive interview with The Daily Dish in advance of the July 26 episode, Lexi reflected on the events of the crew's second night out, from the restaurant to the hot tub to the crew mess.
Heading into that night, Lexi told The Daily Dish that she was eager to have some time off with her crewmates. "I think I was really excited to just get off the boat and have a day off or night off and not have to think about the guests," she recalled. "I was looking forward to it."
She also said that she "liked everyone" in the crew, with the exception of chef Mathew Shea, with whom she hasn't really clicked while working in the galley, as we've seen this season. "Like, he was always the one that I didn't really care to hang out with because I knew he was gonna say something off the wall," Lexi said.
The Below Deck Med crew would end up calling Mat out for some of his comments at dinner that night, and Lexi said that she remembered the chef saying some "messed up stuff." "I just, like, looked at him; I didn't even answer, because I could tell he was off in some weird Mat world," she said.
Mat ended up leaving dinner early and heading back to the yacht, where he packed up his things and walked off the boat. While all of that was taking place, the Lady Michelle yachties still at the restaurant got into a disagreement over the bill.
Lexi said that it was all "definitely a misunderstanding." Everyone owed 300 kuna (the currency of Croatia) for their share of the bill, but Lexi said that she only had euros with her, so she was trying to ask Malia White how much she needed to pay in that denomination. "She just could have said, 'Oh, I don't know what the conversion rate is and just figure it out tomorrow and give me the cash.' I feel like [Mzi "Zee" Dempers] from the restaurant was already like, '300 kuna,' when I wasn't talking to him or Lloyd [Spencer]. I was literally calling Malia's name to ask her what I owe her, not Zee or Lloyd," Lexi said. "So from the restaurant, I was already pissed off a little bit."
"That's why I was frustrated," Lexi continued, adding that she probably "looked really more frustrated" because she had been drinking with everyone else at dinner. "I was just like, I want to know the euro version. I know I owe 300 kuna, but how much is that in euros? I just didn't understand. If [Malia] had given me time to convert that, I would have gladly given her that right there and then. I felt like I was getting an attitude back."
Tensions continued to rise between Lexi and Malia in their cabin after the crew returned to the yacht and got ready to go in the hot tub. "I just got into an argument with Malia. So I was looking forward to the hot tub, but I was also, like, kind of annoyed at our little argument while I'm going to the hot tub," Lexi said.
Though Lexi said that she had been "excited" to continue to hang out with the crew on the yacht that night, the moment with Malia in their cabin impacted how she was feeling as she joined everyone in the hot tub. "Yeah, and the other crew didn't know. Like, no one knew we had anything in the room," Lexi said. "So it was like, I still wanted to go to the hot tub and, like, chill with crew. But I also was, like, kind of annoyed that me and Malia weren't really on good terms."
As conflict arose with the deck crew in the hot tub, Lexi said that she felt like her fellow stew, Courtney Veale, had her back. "I also felt like she was trying to stay out of it," she added. "Yeah, there was just so much going on."
Lexi said that she also had some complicated feelings on how Katie Flood handled the situation, sharing that she felt like the chief stew "did a good job" and "tried to de-escalate." However, Lexi noted that "there were also parts where she was really screaming at me." "So I'm torn on that answer," she said.
After the crew exited the hot tub and things seemed to settle down on deck, the night took another turn for the worse as the yachties reconvened in the crew mess. Lexi shared with The Daily Dish what was going through her mind at that point. "I think I was just so angry, and I had so much stuff going on. And I came out of the room, and I felt just like, I don't know, it was just a continuation of the hot tub for me. And I guess when you're already in that headspace, you just continue going on instead of relaxing and going in your room and trying to de-escalate," she shared. "I think I said something to Zee, but that's only because I felt like he was inserting himself into something he knew nothing about. And yeah, I think it just continued on from the hot tub."
All in all, during that night, Lexi said that she "was responding to things that [were] said to me" and that she "wasn’t just arguing for the sake of arguing."
Lexi also shared that she was going through a lot at the time, including the passing of her father just a few months prior to the start of the charter season. "I definitely wasn't in the right headspace. And I had a s--t ton of stuff going on in my head, like a lot of stuff, but I didn't tell anyone, which is my fault. And I guess I wasn't dealing with it properly, which is also my fault," she said. "In that short space, you know, 15-hour working days, a lot going on, and just, like, alcohol doesn't make it better. I had a lot going on with my dad. I'm still reeling with emotions there. Any little thing triggered me, like out of control, actually."
Now looking back on everything that happened, Lexi said that she would have first and foremost taken a different approach to figuring out the dinner bill. "I think I would've just maybe worked out the conversion rate myself if I had the brain power to do it right there and then," she said.
She also shared that after everything that happened at the restaurant, she should have just gone to her cabin and not continued to spend time with the crew that night. "I would've just went into my room, wouldn't even go up to the hot tub, wouldn't even have gone outside. I think that would have cooled me off because right there and then, I was so upset, that if anything triggered me and pissed me off," she said, adding that "anything would've upset me." "Had I just dealt with Malia separately and just stayed in my room and not continued those activities, I think everything could've been avoided."
Want more Below Deck Med? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.