The drama comes fast and furious on Below Deck: Mediterranean – and we love it. But sometimes it's easy to forget that the reality show about yachty crews offers glimpses into real human emotions and stories. Such was the case in the most recent episode of Season 6, when Lloyd Spencer came out as sexually fluid to his crew and, by proxy, the world. Well, the world had a pretty heartwarming response to the deckhand’s revelation and he's reacting to it with just as much appreciation.
Lloyd Spencer’s coming out moment on Below Deck: Mediterranean was filled with a lot of tears, as he heartbreakingly shared his experience with homophobia in the yachting industry previously. But the crew quickly rallied to his side. On Twitter, fans also had a lot of positive responses, saying that he was “brave” and to “keep being you” and that it was a “powerful” moment for TV. In an interview with E! Online, Spencer reacted to the outpouring of love:
It's liberating that I've seen it play out. Obviously I've got my own memory of it, I've got the memory of the others that were there, but it was especially daunting leading up to this episode. It's the episode that I was most worried about airing. It's certainly relieving. I'm relieved that I watched it…It was nail-biting for me to watch the episode, but I have had nothing but support from just the colleagues on the boat but also from people on social media as well.
The beautiful moment on Below Deck: Mediterranean came only an episode after Lexi Wilson's huge blow-up with the crew. In a drunken tirade, Wilson said inappropriate things to Lloyd Spencer and got physical with him, as well as with others. But it was Spencer’s later coming out reveal that put the incident into more context for how problematic it actually was. Supposedly, too, Wilson has yet to give a real apology to all of the cast concerning her behavior.
However, while reflecting on the latest episode, Lloyd Spencer shared that his coming out moment on Below Deck: Mediterranean didn't fully encapsulate all of his experiences. At the time, he said he was “90 percent straight,” but really, he says it's more like an ever-moving scale:
Yeah the 90 percent straight thing was my realization that I said it on television and kind of trying to stop it from spiraling to a full confessional of my entire life, but if I were to put it in a statement of such, I completely believe in like a fluid spectrum and as any part of my life, I might move on that spectrum up or down. It just depends on the time in my life. It depends on where I am. I personally feel like everyone is on that spectrum. People may be a bit more than others and I certainly have my experiences where I've been up and down on that.
It is refreshing to see someone share experiences that fall outside of the traditional heteronormative standards that are typical on the Below Deck franchise. Lloyd Spencer’s vulnerability on his sexuality, coupled with his crew and fans very supportive backing, shows that the world is making baby steps into being a more inclusive environment.
