Captain Lee Rosbach has confirmed he will be back on Below Deck before the end of the season after Below Deck Mediterranean’s Captain Sandy Yawn fills in, according to a new interview.
On the December 19 episode of the Bravo show, Captain Sandy was revealed as Captain Lee’s replacement after he exited Below Deck Season 10 last week over health concerns.
“That’s something I’ve never done in my life,” the longtime reality TV star tells PEOPLE Magazine of his decision to leave the season early. “I’ve never quit. I’ve never had to say I quit. And it was really, really hard to admit, especially to myself, that there’s something out there that kicked my ass. That was a hard pill to swallow.”
When he revealed the news that he was leaving the season early, the crew — mainly Fraser Olender and Rachel Hargrove — were almost in tears. “I was very touched by that,” Captain Lee explained, looking back. “It was palpable. You could taste it. It was in the air and it was just raw emotion on both sides of that fence. I was close to tears because it just means that much to me. And to be able to instill that in other people, that same sort of caring and see it take place, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve done good.’ To have to walk away from that was just harsh.”
Despite his health concerns, Captain Lee is feeling much better and has been working to build up his strength. “Gosh, the progress with nerves is really slow,” he says. “Nerves regenerate about four millimeters a month. And if I wanted to get back, I had to bust my hump and not pay attention to the nerve issue, but pay attention to getting the muscles stronger so that I could physically perform my duties. Because I had atrophy, where my muscles had weakened because of underuse. So that’s what I concentrated on; the muscles. The nerve, that’ll happen when it happens, and it’s going to be slow.”
He continues, “It was a bit of a rough patch there. I felt like Chester in Gunsmoke!”
In the interview, Captain Lee revealed that fans do not have to worry for long as he will be back on Below Deck Season 10 before the season finishes airing.
Below Deck airs Mondays on Bravo.
