Erica Rose Sanders made a splash in the waters of Spain after she and her husband became charter guests on Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
Many fans were angry when Charles said Chef Marcos’ food was “gross” and that he’d had better food at a “ballpark.” To set the record straight, Erica opened up to Reality Blurb.
She offered a reminder that Below Deck crew members are also reality stars. “For [my family] this was a trip,” she said. “For the people on the boat this is their job. They are not just people who work on a yacht, but they are actual reality stars. Especially the ones like Daisy [Kelliher], Gary [King], Colin [Macrae] and the captain who came back for a second season.”
“As a reality TV vet myself I know that, but I’m not sure if the viewers conceptualize it,” explained Erica, who indeed has a reality show resume (including ABC’s The Bachelor, Bachelor Pad, and VH1’s You’re Cut Off!).
“What people don’t realize is, is this is not my everyday life. My everyday life is being an attorney and a mom – despite my reality TV background,” she added.
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Her husband, however, is new to the game: “This was my husband’s first time on reality TV though and he truly thought he was there to be entertaining, as well as to have fun on vacation . . . It was their highest rated episode.”
Erica also addressed the viewer backlash. “I don’t like others being entertained at our expense (literally since we paid for the trip),” she expressed. “We had a good time and I just want people to realize not to take it so seriously, because at the end of the day it’s a TV show and it’s not good to take anything personally.”
She added, “I also truly don’t feel I was disrespectful or unkind or hurtful to the crew members/cast of the show. I’m only responsible for myself and my actions.”
According to Erica’s statement, production wanted Charles to act in a certain way. This would confirm Charles’ claim on Instagram — that his comments were somewhat scripted with producers.
“I definitely can’t control my husband,” said Erica. “But I think if people realize that he was acting and participating along with producers and what they wanted him to do, maybe that will help explain things.”
“I live by the philosophy that everyone is their own person and just to let people do their own thing. As long as it’s truly not harmful,” she went on. “My number one priority is my family which of course includes my parents my husband and first and foremost my daughters.”
Erica reminded viewers that Below Deck is entertainment: “As an attorney I practice family law as well as other areas and I take my job really seriously. Luckily my clients know that and they take this show for what it is – an entertaining thing to distract people from their everyday lives, including all the chaos going on in our world.”
Photo Credit: Instagram/EricaRose