Genevieve “Gen” Lillie is a yachtie who is not afraid to speak her mind or go after what she wants. She has faced criticism for her actions on Below Deck Mediterranean this season, and Lillie is watching the series back and learning about herself. “The number one thing I’ve learned about myself was that I have horrible taste in men,” said Lillie. Lillie found herself caught in a love triangle with Deckhand Luke Brumer and Chef Joy Lefaucheur. After Brumer and Lillie spent the night together in the cabin he shared with Bosun Nathan Gallagher, Brumer immediately had regrets.

Instead of having a mature conversation to clear the air, Brumer coldly rejected Lillie and, when she wanted to tell Lefaucheur what happened between them, even tried to gaslight her into thinking that he was the wronged party.. “I totally forgot how bad that conversation was until I watched it back,” said Lillie. “I didn’t want him to cause drama between Joy and me because why would we fight over someone like Luke?” Infuriated by his insults, Lillie got her revenge by telling Deckhand Cooper Dawson what happened during the hookup: Brumer finished on Gallagher’s sheets and let his boss sleep on them for three consecutive nights.

“I was just confiding in Cooper because he was the person I was closest to on the deck team,” explained Lillie. “It was more like“gossiping with your gals” type situation. I didn’t realize the whole chain reaction until I watched it back.” Once Gallagher found out through the grapevine what had happened, he immediately went to Captain Sandy Yawn, who was naturally horrified. Knowing his future on the M/Y Akira One was limited after this information was revealed, Brumer went to Yawn and apparently quit. “I think he knew Captain Sandy and Nathan wanted to let him go,” said Lillie. “He wanted to beat them to the punch.”

Lillie spoke to Decider over Zoom to discuss the season, dish on her brief affair with Brumer, share her thoughts on working with Chief Stew Aesha Scott, and more

DECIDER: Is there anything you’ve learned about yourself while watching this season back?

GEN LILLIE: The number one thing I’ve learned about myself—which I kind of already knew—was that I have horrible taste in men. That’s number one [laughs]. The number two thing is I need to go to more therapy.

What first interested you about the yachting industry?

Ooh, I think it was the traveling aspect. I’ve known since I was a little girl that I wanted to have a job that allows me to travel and make money at the same time. Growing up, watching all these yachties and all these cool places they visited definitely enticed me into joining the industry.

What were your first impressions of Captain Sandy?

I love Captain Sandy. I was a little starstruck because my parents have been watching Below Deck since it first came out in 2013. I was also super excited because I’ve never worked with a female captain before.

So, are you and your parents watching this season back together?

They have not seen certain episodes [laughs]. They have seen most of the season so far, except for those two episodes.

It’s probably better if they don’t.

Yeah, and I also warned their friends who have seen me grown up. I’m like, “maybe skip this episode and that episode.”

Since you were familiar with the franchise, you must have seen your Chief Stew Aesha before. On WWHL, you said that she “never gave you the time of day.” Do you still stand by that?

I 100% stand by it. It was clearer to me after I filmed the show. Aesha never really gave me the time of day. As soon as we all set foot on the boat, she knew she wanted to make Kayley [Smith] her Second Stew just based on first impressions. I’m currently working under a new Chief Stew right now. I’ve been here for, like, two days and she’s already given me more time than Aesha.

Did you feel like you and Kayley were pitted against each other?

I think we were pitted against each other. I’ve worked on interior teams of 20+ girls and never felt any sort of competition like this.. I mean, I’ve fought like sisters with some of those girls because there were so many of us, but I’ve never before felt pitted against another Stew in my entire career.

Thank goodness you had Kat Johnston though! How important was it for you to have her support throughout the season?

Her support meant everything. You always want to get along with the person you’re sharing cabin with. Kat and I are basically the same age, and we’re into the same things. Having someone I could just laugh with after hard days was so important to me. We dried each other’s tears during the season. We’ve been there for each other through all the boy drama and the guest drama and everything drama.

Joe Bradley is one of the most lovable lotharios the franchise has ever seen. On WWHL, you said “Joe Bradley flirted with all of us, and then just picked Kayley.” Were you ever interested in Joe Bradley?

Oh, no [laughs]. No offense to Joe. He is a fun person to be around, but he’s too short for me. I’m five foot nine and he’s five foot eight or so. It just wouldn’t work. Plus, he’s just not my type.

What did you think of Joe’s and Kayley’s connection?

In comparison to what I went through with Luke, their connection was solid. Obviously, I have no idea where they stand now, but I thought they were solid throughout the season.

Let’s get into the Luke of all. I really didn’t appreciate the way he spoke to you at the restaurant, and I was so proud of you for standing up for yourself and not allowing him to gaslight you. Can you walk me through that conversation?

Oh my god, I totally forgot how bad that conversation was until I watched it back. I must have trauma-blocked it out of my brain. I just wanted to clear the air. From my perspective, it wasn’t fair what he was doing to not only me, but also to Joy. I didn’t want him to cause drama between Joy and me because why would we fight over someone like Luke? So that was my main thing.

Then, the words coming out of his mouth were so diabolical that I was just in a state of shock. After watching that confrontation, people have told me that I was “so calm.” In reality, I couldn’t even process what this man—who is 12 years my senior—was saying to me. I really held my tongue when he sarcastically said, “oh yeah, you totally know men at your age.” I do know men. I’ve been in some pretty bad relationships in my short 23 years. I do know men’s behavior which is why I wasn’t giving him a reaction. I knew if I gave him a reaction, it would just kick him off even more.

And it was clear that he was trying to plot in real time how he could turn this situation to get back into Joy’s good graces. Did your night with Luke change your relationship with Joy?

Joy is one of the best chefs I’ve worked with. She’s shockingly good. We got along well at work. She trusted me to do things like pull plates for service. That is a big sign of trust. On a personal level, I think she just couldn’t get over the whole Luke thing. You’ll see it play out in the upcoming weeks, but I’m not going to argue with the chef. I’m just not going do it.

Maybe this is wicked of me, but part of me cheered when you told Cooper about Luke finishing on Nathan’s sheets and not washing them. Were you aware of the chain reaction you started?

If I’m being honest, I had had a few cocktails at that point in the night. I was just confiding in Cooper because he was the person I was closest to on the deck team. We’re also close in age. It was more like a “gossiping with your gals” type situation. I didn’t appreciate the whole chain reaction until I watched it back.

As someone who was in and out of laundry all day, can I ask why didn’t you wash the sheets yourself?

There was a basket in the laundry room for crew sheets, crew uniforms, crew whatever. I told Luke to put the sheets in the basket and then I would put everything in the washing machine. He never did that. Even when I wasn’t in laundry, I asked Kat to tell me if any sheets from that cabin came in. During that charter, the only sheets that came in were from Aesha’s and Kayley’s cabin. I’m also not going to push past a six-foot four ex-military man to get sheets from his cabin. I did what I could do.

While you didn’t get in trouble yourself, you did say that the dropped tray of champagnes and the dog pee were your “karmic reward” for Sheetgate. How do you fare for the rest of Amy’s bachelorette charter?

I would say that was my least favorite charter of the season. Having six men on board all pining for the same woman? It was awkward. Also, I do not like boat dogs. Like, why is a dog on a super yacht? [Laughs] It makes no sense to me.

At the end of last week’s episode, it looks as if Luke is going to quit. Do you think his reaction to the reprimand he got from Nathan and Sandy was extreme? What are your thoughts?

It was 100% extreme. He was pouting because his boss reprimanded him. Getting in trouble at work and facing consequences happens at every job. I think he knew Captain Sandy and Nathan wanted to let him go. He wanted to beat them to the punch because in any industry, it’s better to say, “oh, I quit” as opposed to, “oh, I got fired.”

What can you tease about the rest of the season?

More chaos [laughs]. There’s more drama in the interior. Things between Nathan and Joe on deck start getting heated again. There may be some familiar faces coming up. Maybe there’s a drink thrown at the end of the season. You’ll have to watch and see!.