‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’: Why Wasn’t Ashley Marti at the Reunion?

It’s a wrap! Season 3 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht is over, yet a controversial member of the team was noticeably absent from the reunion. Keep reading to find out everything we know about why Ashley Marti wasn’t at the Below Deck Sailing Yacht reunion.

Ashley Marti Had a Controversial Relationship with Gary King

Season 3 of the series captured a lot of crazy moments but one of the most hot-button topics was a hook up that occurred between Ashley and the ship’s bosun, Gary King, when he was extremely intoxicated.

During the special, host Andy Cohen asked Gary, “You were really drunk, you told her to stop. From the viewer’s perspective, you were sexually assaulted. Is that how you felt?”

While Gary prefaced his answer by revealing he and Ashley “aren’t friends,” he took to the New York native’s defense against the major backlash from viewers.

“I don’t think there was anything of it and I think people are being very harsh to her,” Gary described of the drunk interaction. “I thank everyone for sticking up for me but there was nothing to it and I feel that everyone should leave Ashley alone on that circumstance because it wasn’t how it seemed.”

The Watch What Happens Live host pointed out it would be “quite serious” if the roles reversed, especially if he made a comment similar to Ashley’s “you’re f—king inside of me right now.”

“I understand that, Andy, I really do,” the South Africa native responded. “I mean, it’s not an ideal situation, to be honest. I personally wouldn’t do something like that. But I can’t stress this enough, I’d just like people to leave Ashley alone.”

Why Wasn’t Ashley Marti at the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Reunion?

Ashley took to an Instagram Live session before the reunion aired to explain why she chose to not attend.

“At the time the reunion was filmed, all of the stuff with the bedroom scene was coming out,” she clarified on June 26. “And people were being very nasty, and I just felt like I didn’t want to have to deal with it during the reunion.” The stewardess also insisted she wouldn’t have been able to “really tell my side of the story.”

When the reunion started, Andy explained Ashley’s absence as a “no show.”

Tim Pearson, a previously fired crew member and former hook up, revealed he “spoke to her yesterday.”

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“She just said that she doesn’t need this in her life,” he explained on the special. “She wasn’t interested in taking part, so I’m not surprised.”

While chef Marcos Spaziani tried to defend her and mentioned she could’ve been busy, chief stew Daisy Kelliher wasn’t having that excuse. “We’re all busy, OK. We all have jobs,” the Irish native replied over the video call. “We all have things to do but we all knew that the reunion happens, so cut the bloody b—t.”