The Real Reason Captain Lee Is Missing From Below Deck Season 9

If you are a fan of the hit Bravo reality show, "Below Deck," you are familiar with Captain Lee Rosbach. Lovingly called the "Stud of the Sea," the captain is a beloved member of the cast (via Screen Rant). It's hard for fans not to become attached to Captain Lee — he is the only regular cast member, as a new crew is selected to run the yacht each season.

Prior to manning a yacht, Captain Lee was working in the food hospitality industry in Michigan before he got into yachts in his 30s. Now, he has a successful mega-yacht business that attracts wealthy customers and even landed his own reality show.

While he has been the only consistent cast member across the show's eight seasons, that has changed as Season 9 sets to air. According to E! News, the captain will be absent during parts of the upcoming season due to a mysterious health condition.

In the show's Season 9 trailer, Captain Lee Rosbach is missing due to a mysterious condition. As such, he sat down for an exclusive interview with E! News, where he shared more about his health. "I am much better," he said. "The timing was mainly screwed up. Because we have such a tight shooting schedule, it was imperative that the guests' charters start and end on time so it didn't have a domino effect and impact every charter after that." 

Captain Lee added that he is returning to the show, saying, "It really felt good to get back on the water." "When I finally got onboard, I was the happiest guy in the world," he gushed. He stressed that his condition was not COVID-19 related, but did not give much information other than that. 

Without their fearless leader, the staff onboard the luxury yacht, My Seanna, were thrown into disarray (per Express). While they were being led by a different captain, it certainly wasn't the same. However, Captain Lee seems to be in better health now and will be returning to his beloved yacht.