Below Deck: Ben Willoughby And Camille Lamb's Relationship Explained
"Below Deck" just isn't "Below Deck" without a boatmance, and in Season 10, viewers bore witness to Camille Lamb and Ben Willoughby catching feels. However, as is typically the case on the show, the dalliance aboard St. David wasn't without its complications.
To say sparks flew from the moment Lamb and Willoughby met just wouldn't do them justice. The Season 10 castmates hooked up on several occasions, throughout Lamb's tenure on the yacht — including one particularly wild night in Willoughby's (ahem, shared) cabin. However, the boatmance was cut short, and they were forced to go their separate ways. Forced by Captain Sandy Yawn, that is. After a number of instances where Lamb showcased a not-so-great work ethic and combative attitude, Yawn (who had been brought in to replace Captain Lee Rosbach) dismissed the Mississippi native. In a confessional after the firing, Willoughby's cabin mate, Tony Duarte mentioned that he was sad to see her leave — but mentioned that her exit did have an upside. "I do feel bad for Ben, because I know he's gonna feel very sad ... [On] the other side, I'm happy, because it means that I will be able to sleep this time, and I won't hear any type of 'Boom, boom, boom, boom,'" he joked. Awks.
Things took an even more awkward turn when Willoughby locked eyes with another crew mate, Leigh-Ann Smith ... but more on that in a bit. Task one: what more do we know about Lamb and Willoughby's relationship?
They tried to make it work outside the show
Camille Lamb and Ben Willoughby's parting ways was dramatic, to say the least. In fact, after hearing the news, a visibly emotional Willoughby offered to help Lamb pack. He also shared a particularly sweet sentiment. "I really wanted to go on a date," he mused — prompting a big hug from Lamb.
It's not exactly surprising, then, that after hooking up with his second boatmance-ee, Leigh-Ann Smith, Willoughby reiterated that he wanted to make good on the plans he'd made with Lamb. Hello, romantic getaway in the Dominican Republic. Fast forward to March 2023, the deckhand took to Instagram to reveal that he'd done just that. "I had to see about a girl," he captioned a post featuring himself and Lamb in the ocean. In the same post, he also made a pretty big announcement. "Honestly, I fell in love with this wild spark," he wrote. Unfortunately, outside of the show, they weren't as compatible. The very same day of his first gushy post, Willoughby shared a breakup announcement. "Soon after we decided that this wasn't meant to be," he offered.
A heartbreaking twist for the fans who shipped them, for sure, but there was one consolation. That is, this split was super amicable. Willoughby's post featured nothing but kind words, and as for Lamb, in a post of her own, she maintained that the vacation was the "best trip ever." Cutest breakup ever.
... and he's still Team Camille, even after dating Leigh-Ann
After his boatmance-baecation-breakup situation with Camille Lamb, Ben Willoughby decided to explore his feelings for Leigh-Ann Smith after all. And, it seemed to get serious, pretty fast. As Smith revealed in an Instagram post (the same day as Willoughby and Lamb's breakup announcement), they started seeing each other almost as soon as he returned to the U.S. — and that's not all. "We decided to rent an apartment and lived together for just over a month," she wrote. Talk about moving on!
However, it seems moving on is exactly what wasn't happening. "I was there for him as he was getting through his breakup and was a shoulder to lean on. I did everything in my will to put a smile on his face everyday, even though it was killing my own mental health," Smith recounted. The two ended up going long-distance when Smith returned to South Africa, but once "Below Deck" Season 10 premiered, he ghosted her. "There is no reason to treat a person the way he treated me," she complained.
Willoughby ultimately clapped back in an Instagram Story, and provided an explanation. TL;DR: his feelings for Lamb played a major role, and his time spent with Smith made him feel "like I was gaslighted into thinking I was wrong for loving Camille." Well, Willoughby and Lamb might not have worked out as a couple IRL, but it's clear that their love has always been real.