‘Below Deck Med’ Star Exits Show After Shocking Twist in Season 8 Premiere

Things got off to a rough start on Bravo‘s Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Season 8 premiere after one crewmember seemingly lied about his documentation and then quit the show after learning some heartbreaking news.

Before the first charter guests even arrived to board the M/Y Mustique, Bosun Ruan Irving found himself in hot water when an MCA inspector noticed his ENG medical certificate and Yachtmaster status weren’t certified copies like the rest of his documents appeared to be.

Captain Sandy Yawn asked Irving to explain himself, to which he said all his documents are “certified copies by the police station,” and the originals are secured in a friend’s safe back in South Africa. But Yawn and the MCA inspector told Irving he needed the originals; otherwise, the boat could be detained.

Things only got worse for Irving later in the episode after one of his documents scanned up with another person’s photo in the database. “The officer just had me scan this. Is this really you?” Yawn asked. “Whoever issued this, it’s not yours. Where did you go to school?”

Irving said he got his yachting credentials in Monaco, but Yawn responded, “No, you can’t get your yachmasters on a boat in Monaco. They don’t have a school in Monaco.”

“I’ve been on boats for three years with that same ticket. I swear to God the last thing on my mind was that the ticket was false,” Irving said in a confessional.

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As if things weren’t bad enough, Irving also learned that his best friend from back home had died in an accident. “One of my best friends just died,” he shared with Deckhand Luka Brunton. “He’s the only friend I’ve known since this big that’s been through everything with me. He had a head-on collision with a bus. I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”

With everything going wrong, Irving eventually called Captain Yawn and decided to quit. “Sorry about this, Captain, but I don’t think I’m going to get the ticket sorted in time,” he explained. “I don’t want to hold the vessel up any longer. I’m just going to go back home, and I don’t think I’m going to come back… I’m deciding to call it quits and head back to South Africa.”

Yawn wished Irving all the best, but now she is a crewmember down just as the charter season is about to begin.

Below Deck Mediterranean, Season 8, Mondays, September 25, 9/8c, Bravo