Here's Why Captain Lee Had "Tears Running Down" His Face After Rachel Hargrove Quit

The Below Deck crew had a preference sheet meeting like no other in the December 14 episode of the series.

After Captain Lee Rosbach read off the long list of culinary requests from the upcoming group of charter guests — which included "authentic New Orleans cuisine" and a "vive la France party with an elaborate 10-course dinner" — chef Rachel Hargrove decided she would not stick around to cook for them. Rachel told Captain Lee that she would be leaving the crew, and she promptly packed up her things and disembarked the yacht.

"Oh, I completely quit," Rachel shared in the Below Deck After Show, above. "Unfortunately, these guys have no idea what preceded them, especially, like, I think at this point, Rome Fiumicino had already shut down and Nice Airport was shutting down with COVID. So I was like, I need to go home, and I need to prioritize what's most important. And if I'm gonna deal with drama, I'm gonna deal with drama at home."

Captain Lee agreed with Rachel in the Below Deck After Show that the preference sheet was "over-the-top," and chief stew Francesca Rubi said that the chef must have felt "a whole lot of pressure" to prepare those elaborate meals.

Eddie Lucas shared in the Below Deck After Show that he was not only surprised by Rachel's outburst during the preference sheet meeting but also Captain Lee's reaction. "I mean, we had a charter the next day. I didn't want to see her leaving or getting fired right then and there. I was just kind of just so shocked [by] her complete disrespect and how vulgar she was being in front of Captain Lee," Eddie said. "I know Cap. He don't take no s--t. It was really uncomfortable, kind of one of those tense moments, like what's about to happen?"

"I thought I composed myself quite well, considering what it was like around me. It was like World War III," Captain Lee added. "I just wanted to get it over with."

Rachel explained her choice of words during that preference meeting during the Below Deck After Show. "I love my vast vernacular. Sometimes when I'm vehement about things I really reach down there into the trenches and pull some good ones out," Rachel joked before more seriously clarifying, "It was just a bunch of verbal bullsh-- going on because I was over it. I was like, 'There is so much more important s--t to deal with right now. This is really pissing me f--king off.' I'm like, 'I've got to get the f--k out of here.'"

The chef said that she needed a moment to cool down at that point. "If you let me walk for a second, I'm good to go. Or go to the bow, I'm good to go," she shared. "But if you confine me in and push me in a corner, I get really combative, and I've always been that way."

Kate Chastain, who previously worked with Rachel on a yacht back in 2013, shared her reaction to the buzzy Below Deck moment during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on December 14. "I mean, I've worked with Rachel in the past, so I wasn't surprised," Kate said.

When it comes to some of the comments the chef made at the preference sheet meeting, Kate said, "That's what I like about Rachel: She is so wild and crazy, but she's so creative even when she's being crazy... And that's one of the reasons why she's a great chef. She's very creative."

Captain Lee gave one last-ditch effort to try and convince Rachel to stay after the preference sheet meeting — to no avail. "She wasn't having any of it. Yeah, it was a pretty lame effort on my part," he recalled in the Below Deck After Show. "It was a total exercise in futility."

There was one moment amid all of this chaos that Captain Lee couldn't help but laugh at: Eddie carrying Rachel's luggage off the yacht. "It was so funny watching you struggle with that bag she had though," Captain Lee told the bosun in the Below Deck After Show. "He's trying to drag it up the stairs, and I can't help it. I'm rolling on the f--king floor. I'm laughing so hard. I've got tears running down my face."

Even with no chef, drama in the interior, and a challenging charter ahead, Captain Lee wasn't about to give up on his crew. "We're gonna do what we can do, we'll make the best of the situation, and if that's not good enough, so be it," Captain Lee said. "But we're not gonna roll over and play dead."

Want more Below Deck? New episodes air every Monday at 9/8c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.

Preview how the My Seanna crew will prepare for the next charter, below.

Captain Lee Scrambles to Find a New Chef Less Than 4 Hours Before Charter