After her long stint on Below Deck, Rachel Hargrove won’t be appearing on the reality series again. It is a common theme that chefs can be pretty temperamental. The heat in the kitchen might get to them, or it’s just the pressure of trying to satisfy different taste buds. Still, several chefs have graced the Bravo series, with the common theme being their good food and the rare moment of madness. However, the past chefs have yet to make an immediate impact like Rachel Hargrove. The redhead debuted on the show in season 8 and got off to a flying start thanks to her big personality and ability to provide some comic relief for fans.
However, her first season on St. David was fraught with controversial moments. One of the most dramatic moments was when she stormed off the boat ahead of a new charter. Rachel threw a fit at the guests’ meal preference list and cursed up a storm in Captain Lee Rosbach‘s presence before quitting her job. However, she was back the following day feeling regretful and asked for her job back. Even though some of her crew mates disapproved, Lee gave her a second chance. Rachel also drew the ire of her crew mates when she drank a little too much during their day off on a beach. She got drunk and embarrassed her co-workers with her wild behavior.
Despite her erratic behavior in season 8, she returned for the next season. From the start, fans noticed something had changed in Rachel, and she went on to have a drama-free second season. She handled everything thrown at her gracefully and even opted not to take any alcohol. Rachel carried that momentum into season 10 and has continued to impress viewers with her boisterous personality and culinary skills. Sadly after an off-screen fight with a Bravo executive, Rachel will not return for the future Below Deck series.
Rachel Is Feuding With Bravo
Away from her on-screen performance, Rachel’s off-screen activity, especially on social media, has produced some controversial moments over the years. Last year, the reality star raised eyebrows when she slammed Tyra Banks over her weight. Rachel received heavy backlash for her shade on Tyra, but it didn’t do much to dissuade her from taking on her next target. That same month, Rachel feuded with Southern Charm star Austen Kroll on social media. The “Below Deck” star was more on the offensive as she threw several shades at Austen and even called him a “narcissist” in a now-deleted tweet. According to reports, Rachel and Austen had an encounter in which the latter disrespected her.
After Rachel’s tweet, a Bravo producer, Peyton, apologized on Austen’s behalf and asked Rachel to take down the tweet. The Below Deck star did not back down and instead shared their conversation on Twitter. She followed it up with a tweet announcing her exit from the show. Shortly after, Rachel took her rebellion against the network to new heights. She took to a Reddit thread to claim she had never liked Bravo, even before she appeared in the series. In her words:
“I hate the show… I’ve always felt that way since before I filmed season 8. It’s just time for me to tell them to get the F@*$ off my back and stop treating us like the way they do. Eddie did it, and now I did it.”
Below Deck fans were surprised by Rachel’s outbursts, but she provided more context to her feud with the network in subsequent posts. Rachel claimed the network was in the habit of treating its workers poorly. She cited how Eddie Lucas claimed they were the lowest paid despite the show’s high ratings. He also revealed his anger at the network for the way they replaced him on the show without a heads-up. Meanwhile, this is not the first time Rachel will quit the show. While she returned the last time out, this is her final season, as there seems to be too much to repair.