Kyle From ‘Below Deck Med’ Makes History as First Yachtie Replaced for Injury in History of Series
Several Below Deck yachties have come close to going home due to an injury, but stew Kyle Viljoen from Below Deck Mediterranean became the first yachtie who had a season-ending spill.
The steep yacht stairs have always been an issue on Below Deck, more often when the crew was drunk. But Viljoen wasn’t drunk and navigating the steep staircase while holding balloons. He’s heard tumbling down and yelling for chief stew Natasha Webb while lying at the bottom.
Kyle fell down the stairs on ‘Below Deck Med’
Viljoen moaned and cried as the crew radioed Captain Sandy Yawn. Viljoen was in so much pain he couldn’t seem to move. Webb and stew Natalya Scudder rush to get him ice and bosun Storm Smith helped him to the couch.
Yawn wondered what happened and he said it was a small step around the corner of the staircase that tripped him up. “If you can’t put weight on it, then you need to go to the hospital,” Yawn told him after examining his ankle which seemed to already be swollen.
“Is it broken? Is he OK?” Yawn wondered in a confessional. “I’m concerned.”
He tried to rally but Kyle still went home
Yawn had good reason to be concerned. The interior team was a person down, plus they were dealing with weather that prevented the yacht from leaving the dock. Viljoen returned to the yacht and said he strained ligaments in his food. Viljoen was thankful he didn’t break his ankle but he remained in a significant amount of pain.
“But the doctor said I have to be off my foot for seven days,” he shared in a confessional. Despite doctor’s orders, Viljoen didn’t want to give up. Yawn pointed out that after the current charter, they only had one more charter left. He was determined to finish the season but worried the next day about how he would do what is required of him without making his injury worse.
He did some work while sitting and vacuumed the crew mess. But it simply wasn’t enough. Webb and Scudder end up working about 20 hours.
Natasha wished she didn’t have to replace Kyle
Webb didn’t want to send Viljoen home, but at the same time, she and Scudder couldn’t work around the clock. Viljoen became emotional when the notion that the situation wouldn’t work became apparent.
“I don’t want to replace him,” Webb admitted in a confessional, but she knew what she had to do. She confided in Yawn that she didn’t think Viljoen would make it for the final charter. If the boat had a way for him to be on only laundry, Webb thought he could stay on. But Webb and Yawn agreed that they needed the help. And so Viljoen was sent home to heal.
Thankfully crew placement agent Norma had a quick replacement for Yawn. But that was little consolation for Viljoen. “I don’t wanna be replaced,” he sobbed when Webb told him the news. “This is my heart and soul and passion, and being number two with you is my entire life.”
“The pain I feel in my heart is worse than I feel in my foot,” he said in a confessional. “I respect her decision.” He told Webb he was proud of the work she did as a chief stew.
During Viljoen’s final tip meeting, Yawn emphasized that he was not fired. So who is Viljoen’s replacement for the final Below Deck Med charter? Stay tuned.
Below Deck Mediterranean is on Monday at 8 pm ET on Bravo.
