Benny Recalls Being on ‘Below Deck Down Under’ Sometimes Felt Like Watching a Reality TV Show [Exclusive]
Sometimes being on a reality TV show can feel downright surreal. Benny Crawley said he had somewhat of an out-of-body experience while watching some of the crew fights on Below Deck Down Under.
For the most part, Crawley mainly had tension with bosun Jamie Sayed. And while he enjoyed getting to know just about everyone on the boat, sometimes those wild crew fights and dramas were a little too wild to witness.
Benny got along with Chef Ryan on ‘Below Deck Down Under’ but watching him shred people was hard
Crawley told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, that chef Ryan McKeown was “lovely” to him and he didn’t have any issues with him. That being said, Crawley didn’t love McKeown’s delivery during some of the crew nights out. “Do I like the way he was talking to everybody else? Absolutely not,” Crawley said. “Being sat next to him at the dinner table, I was just like … ugh.”
McKeown was seen making snarky and obnoxious remarks at dinner, usually directed toward chief stew Aesha Scott. “This group of people … the dynamic. I’ve never sat at a dinner table like that for an hour while someone’s yelling profanities at somebody. It’s like I was watching a reality TV show. And not in it.”
Benny got along with both Chef Ryan and Aesha on ‘Below Deck’
Crawley said, “From what I’ve seen of Aesha, I have watched some [Below Deck] Med seasons,” he said. “And like, she’s not fighting with anyone. But I don’t fight either. We’re both like getting pushed to our limits and bringing that side out of each other. And Aesha’s learning a lot about herself from watching it.”
“But I definitely didn’t like the extremities,” he continued. “I was more just in shock at what I was seeing while out. But what was occurring in the kitchen … Ryan fed me. It was always nice, we’d laugh. Like, you know, he never was mean to me or anything. So, you know, it’s just interesting to watch from that perspective. You don’t see a lot of the stuff, you know what I mean? A lot of the stuff that was happening to me, I didn’t even know it was happening. So I’m thinking I’m working my ass off and I’m getting reprimanded for not picking up the weight.”
He added that the storyline of stew Magda Ziomek on her phone 24/7 was something he was totally unaware of. “I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend,” Crawley said.
Who did Benny bond with the most?
Crawley forged a few strong friendships from the experience. He bonded with Captain Jason Chambers, almost immediately. And while his relationship with deckhand Brittini Burton was a little strained at first, he said Burton is a forever friend.
“I mean, she just grew so much on the show, so did I,” he said. “You’re always learning, but, early on, especially when she looked out for me, she just goes by her values, and she speaks her mind and, like, she has no filter, and it’s pure what comes out of the mouth, whether it’s right or wrong.” Burton warned Crawley that Sayed was so frustrated with him that he could ask Chambers to fire him.
Crawley said that from there, he just got closer to Burton. “We became really close in the latter half of the show, and now she’s like a little sister to me.”
Below Deck Down Under is currently streaming on Peacock and episodes are airing on Bravo.
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