Captain Lee on Kate Chastain's Below Deck Departure: "I Did Not See That Coming"
The Below Deck boss says the longtime chief stew's exit is "bittersweet."


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Kate Chastain and Captain Lee Open up About Their Relationship's Very Rocky Start
And Kate reveals exactly how she ended up on Below Deck.
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3:20S7 - E9 | Part 1Brian de Saint Pern Almost Lost His Leg on Valor
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1:49S7 - E9 | Part 2This Is the Real Reason Valor Had Major Laundry Issues
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3:02S7 - E9 | Part 3Kate Chastain: Simone Mashile "Doesn't Know the Basics..."
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3:38S7 - E9 | Part 4Rhylee Gerber Returns With a Big Splash and Immediately Clashes With the Crew
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3:10S7 - E9 | Part 5Here's Everything That Went "Down" Between Tanner Sterback and Simone Mashile
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3:19S7 - E10 | Part 1The Below Deck Crew Shares a Very Surreal Experience at an Elephant Sanctuary
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2:16S7 - E10 | Part 2Kate Chastain and Kevin Dobson Break Down Their Fight Over The Galley Fridge
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3:09S7 - E10 | Part 3Here Are All the Ways Tanner Sterback Screwed Things Up With Simone Mashile
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2:44S7 - E10 | Part 4Why Did Rhylee Gerber Spread the Word About Tanner Sterback and Simone Mashile's Hookup?!
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3:40S7 - E10 | Part 5Was Kate Chastain Purposely Trying to Offend Brian de Saint Pern By Calling Him a "Yachtie"?
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2:03S7 - E10 | Part 6Rhylee Gerber's Thirst For Brian de Saint Pern Is Real
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1:46S7 - E10 | Part 7Even Captain Lee Says Brian de Saint Pern Is Below Deck's Hottest Deckhand!
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1:46S7 - E11 | Part 1When You Break Captain Lee's Rules You Have to Pay...Literally
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2:22S7 - E11 | Part 2Rhylee Gerber Doesn't Understand How Rank Works on Valor
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2:12S7 - E11 | Part 3Tanner Sterback Tells All About His Booty Call With Simone Mashile
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2:28S7 - E11 | Part 4Kevin Dobson's "Biggest Fan" Kate Chastain Comes to His Rescue
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4:42S7 - E11 | Part 5Captain Lee Lists the Very Emotional Reasons He'll Always Have Kate Chastain's Back
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3:47S7 - E11 | Part 6Does Kate Chastain Have a "Hall Pass" With Captain Lee?
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3:51S7 - E12 | Part 1Master Pierson Returns, But the Crew Breaks Down Everything That Went Wrong on the "Redemption Charter"
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2:21S7 - E12 | Part 2Wait, Did Simone Mashile and Rhylee Gerber Make Out?!
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2:58S7 - E12 | Part 3Captain Lee Says Rhylee Gerber Doesn't Think Anyone Is Above Her
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2:08S7 - E12 | Part 4Courtney Skippon Reveals Why She Was So Grumpy On Her Date With Brian de Saint Pern
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3:01S7 - E12 | Part 5The Below Deck Crew Reacts to Kate Chastain Quitting the Boat
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3:09S7 - E12 | Part 6Did Kate Chastain Know Ashton Pienaar's Mom Was a Trigger for Him?
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3:56S7 - E12 | Part 7Going Behind the Scenes of the Van Ride That Terrorized Kate Chastain
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4:30S7 - E13 | Part 1Is Ashton Pienaar Misogynistic? Ashton Reacts to the Accusations Made Against Him
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2:15S7 - E13 | Part 2Chef Kevin Rants About Demanding Charter Guests' Dietary Restrictions
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2:53S7 - E13 | Part 3The Crew Reacts to Kate Chastain Quitting, Right Before She Un-quits
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1:53S7 - E13 | Part 4Captain Lee Saves the Day With This "Boss Move"
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1:46S7 - E13 | Part 5Tanner Sterback Has the Ultimate Solution After Chef Kevin Forgets a Guest's Birthday
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1:40S7 - E13 | Part 6Did Ashton Pienaar Only Apologize to Kate Chastain Because He Was Being Filmed?
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1:20S7 - E13 | Part 7This Is Exactly How Captain Lee Found Out Kate Chastain Quit
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1:43S7 - E14 | Part 1Chef Kevin Dobson Shades Justine: "She's an Instagram Chef"
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1:44S7 - E14 | Part 2Courtney Skippon on Charter Guest Drama: "Put Me in, Coach!"
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3:15S7 - E14 | Part 3Captain Lee Says Ashton Pienaar Gunning for Rhylee Gerber Was "Uncalled for"
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2:03S7 - E14 | Part 4Does Ashton Pienaar Owe Rhylee Gerber for Saving His Life?
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4:31S7 - E14 | Part 5Ashton Pienaar Wants to Send Rhylee Gerber Back to Alaska
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2:01S7 - E14 | Part 6Is Kate Chastain the "Puppet Master" of Below Deck?
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2:33S7 - E15 | Part 1The Crew Reveals How Former OC Housewife Alexis Bellino Was as a Charter Guest
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0:57S7 - E15 | Part 2Tanner Sterback Reveals to Chef Kevin That He Hooked up With His Nemesis, the Instagram Chef!
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2:47S7 - E15 | Part 3Wait, Brian de Saint Pern Was Texting Charter Guest Molly While He was Still With Courtney Skippon?!
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2:07S7 - E15 | Part 4Kate Chastain Awkwardly Addresses Her Attraction to Tanner Sterback in Front of Captain Lee
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2:34S7 - E15 | Part 5Kate Chastain Reveals a Secret Crush Could Have Been the Real Source of Chef Kevin's Back Spasms
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2:19S7 - E15 | Part 6This Is How Brian de Saint Pern's Breakup Text Spread Like Wildfire on Valor
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2:34S7 - E15 | Part 7Did Brian de Saint Pern Just Initiate the "Dumbest" Breakup in Below Deck History?
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3:33S7 - E16 | Part 1Why Did Brian de Saint Pern Get Mad at Courtney Skippon for Doing Exactly What He Did?
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3:10S7 - E16 | Part 2The Guys Defend Their Guys Vs. Ladies Mentality on the Boat and Icing Out Rhylee Gerber
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3:07S7 - E16 | Part 3What's the Real Reason Rhylee Gerber Can't Sit at the Same Table With the Crew?
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3:42S7 - E16 | Part 4Ashton Pienaar Says He's Tired of the Word "Misogynistic" Being Thrown Around
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4:35S7 - E16 | Part 5Rhylee Gerber Calls Kevin Dobson Out for Being a "Cry Baby"
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2:13S7 - E17 | Part 1The Below Deck Crew Defends Kate Chastain's Resting Bitch Face
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3:42S7 - E17 | Part 2Is Kate Chastain's Revenge Always Penis-Shaped?!
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3:13S7 - E17 | Part 3Everything You Need to Know About Chef Kevin's Penis Cake Disaster
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2:03S7 - E18 | Part 1Kate Chastain Learns That Ashton Pienaar Talked Sh-- About Her to Captain Lee When the Charter Season Ended
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2:41S7 - E18 | Part 2Brian de Saint Pern Chose the Guys Over Courtney Skippon After the Charter Season Ended
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3:10S7 - E18 | Part 3Rhylee Gerber Claims Courtney Skippon and Brian de Saint Pern Hooked Up in the Ocean
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3:07S7 - E18 | Part 4Tanner Sterback Opens Up About His Infatuation For Older Women
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2:59S7 - E18 | Part 5Kevin Dobson Is Shocked to Learn That He Was Caught on Camera Kicking Sand in Kate Chastain's Face
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33:57S7 - E1910 Moments You'll Never Believe Happened During the Below Deck Season 7 After Show
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1:57S7 - E20 | Part 1Wait, Did Tanner Sterback and Aesha Scott Hook up?!
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1:32S7 - E20 | Part 2Tanner Sterback Tells His Mom Everything...Including His Experiences With Hookers
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2:38S7 - E20 | Part 3Simone Mashile Gets Honest About Her "Built up Frustration" With Always Having to Prove Herself
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1:37Digital SeriesWhat Do Simone Mashile and Tanner Sterback's Girlfriend Think of Each Other?
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2:27S7 - E20 | Part 4Did Kevin Dobson Get Into Yachting to "Escape Real Life"?
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4:01S7 - E20 | Part 5Kate Chastain and Captain Lee Open up About Their Relationship's Very Rocky Start
Captain Lee Rosbach was just as shocked as the rest of us when he heard the news that Kate Chastain would not be returning to Below Deck.
The Below Deck boss opened up about his longtime chief stew's announcement during a recent interview with HollywoodLife. “That was out of left field. I did not see that coming at all. I was totally blown away,” Captain Lee said. “Kate called me and it was a bittersweet thing. She let me know that she wasn’t going to come back, but she thought it was time to move on."
Captain Lee went on to say that he is sorry to see Kate go but still excited for her next chapter. “She’s got bigger and better things to do and I was happy for her. But, I was sad in the same breath because she’s a valued member of my team and she’s a valued member of ‘Below Deck’ and the show," Captain Lee said. "So, big shoes to fill for somebody, or try to do it, yeah. I miss Kate.”
Captain Lee and Kate reminisced about their rough start in Season 2 of Below Deck in the Below Deck Season 7 After Show, above.
Kate announced that she would not be returning to Below Deck after six seasons as chief stew following the Season 7 reunion in February. "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, I have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new land based role," she wrote on Instagram. "I intend to step back as a senior member of the Below Deck Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support His Majesty Andy Cohen.”
When Kate returned to the United States from Thailand, she immediately packed up her life in Florida and moved to New York City. She is now currently back in Florida where she is self-quarantined with her dog Halo amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, having just moved into a new apartment in the Big Apple in March.
Kate is already on to her next project. Her limited-run series Unapologetically Kate Chastain launched earlier this month on SiriusXM's Radio Andy channel. “I’m absolutely thrilled about this opportunity to join SiriusXM’s Radio Andy family! It is both an honor and a major check off on my ‘mental vision-board bucket-list’ to join the lineup," Kate told PEOPLE. "I like to consider myself a recreational sociologist, which is quite liberating because it means I’m not judging people, I’m basically a scientist-ish. I look forward to voicing my thoughts with Radio Andy listeners nationwide!”
Kate has also been keeping up with the newest Below Deck franchise, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, which airs new episodes on Mondays at 9/8c. See what she had to say about new Captain Glenn Shephard, below.


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