Laura Bileskalne is looking back at her time on Below Deck Down Under — and there isn’t much she would change.
“With all the false accusations, people ask me if I regret going on the show? And my answer is NO!” the reality star wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, October 24. “I learned so much about myself and about people in general. It did boost my self esteem by seeing how obnoxious a great amount of people are and realizing that I have nothing on them made me feel good about myself. I don’t even need to try to not be like them, I am just not like that.”
After watching the drama unfold on screen, Laura is even more confident that she has “no regrets” about the experience, adding, “That realization has made me love myself and see myself in a different light. Some time ago it was kind of hard to believe when people told me ‘Hang in and you will see, everything happens for a reason.’ But now I do. Grateful for all the attention — good and bad.”
Laura has stood by her actions even after receiving backlash from Below Deck viewers for her involvement in season 2’s highly discussed consent scandal. During an August episode, Luke Jones was fired by Captain Jason after he got into Margot Sisson‘s bed naked while she was asleep. Production stepped in and removed Luke from the boat immediately.
Shortly after Luke’s exit, Laura publicly voiced her disappointment and subsequently blamed Margot for what transpired. Her comments — and past unwanted advances toward deckhand Adam Kodra — were reported to Jason, who eventually asked her to leave the boat as well.
Laura initially issued an apology to her costars.
“My sincere apologies to Adam, I did not realize I made him feel uncomfortable and no one should be put in that position,” she wrote via Instagram in August. “And to Margot to not been [sic] able to empathize. I was 29 when the show was filmed, 30 was my life-changer. I am 31 now and I am watching it as all of you, an entertainment show.”
However, she has since changed her tune and continues to support Luke. “I will stay loyal to myself and my friend @lukebonesjones. I never do or ever will stand up for what is wrong. And you can not bent [sic] me. I am a hustler and you have nothing on me,” she wrote via Instagram days after the drama unfolded. “#Hatersgonnahate. And that’s on you.”
Meanwhile, Luke has largely remained tight-lipped about his time on Below Deck Down Under. Before the incident aired on Bravo, Luke seemingly described his feelings about reality TV as a whole.
“It doesn’t Matter what they think about you because you don’t Care. Everything we Hear is an Opinion, Not a Fact. Everything we see is a Perspective. Not the Truth. Take Ownership and move forward,” he wrote in an Instagram post from August that has since been deleted.
In the aftermath, Jason and Aesha Scott were applauded by fellow stars and viewers alike for their swift response. The captain weighed in on the widespread praise after being honored as a Guardian in Us Weekly‘s Reality Stars of the Year inaugural issue.
“I honestly spent hours and hours every day replying back to people because there were so many that had a story to tell [after watching the episode],” he shared with Us this month. “I’m trying to do as much as I can. There’s a lot going on out there and this actually brought to light a hell of a lot. The amount of feedback that came to me — I’m pretty overwhelmed.”
Jason went on to thank the producers who broke the fourth wall and intervened.
“Obviously I’m not going to be able to do what I do without my team around me. What we do — and definitely what production does behind the scenes — it really always amazes me. There’s so much work [that] goes into it,” he noted. “As a yacht captain, I know what logistics are and I do a hell of a lot of it. But to actually see the production go behind the scenes while allowing me to do my job and not interfere with me, it is quite amazing. This show has come about over a decade [on air] now and they really showcase how we operate a boat and crew.”
