Luka Brunton on Real Reason Lara Du Preez Was Promoted

Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

Below Deck Mediterranean fans know a lot is happening with the show, but the crew always seems to be at the center of the drama.

Of course, Ruan Irving, the bosun, was fired because of forged documents. Because of this, Captain Sandy Yawn promoted Luka Brunton to the role. Fans were happy about this because he is a fan favorite. Luka then promoted Lara Du Preez to the role of lead deckhand in order to help motivate Max Hagley and some of the other crew members. He also felt that she deserved the promotion. 

However, now Luka is speaking out about the real reason he decided to promote Lara. Essentially, he said that the two are in synch and that having her in the role made the job easier.

According to Reality Tea, he recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live and had this to say, “I think having Lara to help me definitely helped motivate [Max]. Yeah, me and Lara were in sync. I didn’t even have to tell her what to do, she just knows exactly what I’m thinking. She helped me out a lot.”

Lara was also recently on WWHL, and the Below Deck star discussed working with Max. She said, “I think what made him respect me was that he saw that I respected him.” She added, “I took Luka’s advice and gave him compliments, and it really went well from there on. He really respected me.”

After a while, the Below Deck Med team was as good as new. Max was much more balanced than before, and Luka and Lara had stepped into their roles perfectly. Of course, before this, Max was often late, the crew members hated him, and he also hated being there. This goes to show how a change in leadership can help a crew like the one on Below Deck Med. 

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays on Bravo.