Bravo viewers watched as stew Leigh-Ann Smith grew increasingly closer to deckhand Ben Willoughby during season 10 of Below Deck. But not was all as it seemed according to Leigh-Ann after she revealed what went on post-show release, and things didn’t exactly go to plan.
Ben reportedly ghosted Leigh-Ann as episodes of season 10 began airing on TV after what turned out to be an awkward love triangle involving sacked stew Camille Lamb.
After the show, Ben travelled to the Dominican Republic to meet Camille and “pursue” their “connection”, according to Leigh-Ann.
She claims he later “reached out to me to say that things ended between them”.
Admitting this himself, Ben wrote on Instagram that his relationship with Camille “wasn’t meant to be” despite a “school crush” connection.
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Taking to her own lengthy post, Leigh-Ann recently revealed: “I happened to be in Miami at the time so we decided to link up.
“We decided to rent an apartment and lived together for just over a month in [Florida] … 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 travelling together and Ben possibly coming to [South Africa] with me.”
But it was after those conversations that Ben reportedly found another job before he “cut all ties with me with no explanation”.
She explained: “I’ve reached out to him on numerous occasions to find out what I have done wrong and why I deserve this reaction but yet he fails to reply.
“There is no reason to treat a person the way he treated me. What did I do to deserve this? After all I did to be a good friend to him.”
Despite being heartbroken, Leigh-Ann says she has now “come to peace with not getting an answer”.
Ben has since addressed Leigh-Ann’s post, admitting: “I had to cut her out of my life as my mental space was taking a toll.
“I needed space to actually have my own thoughts, make my own decisions [instead] of someone trying to force me to fall for them.
“I felt like I was gaslighted into thinking I was wrong for loving Camille and that’s not what someone who says they have [your] best interest at heart would do.
“I followed my heart and am responsible for my own happiness,” Ben concluded. “[Y]ou have to be selfish in those situations.”
