Cathy Skinner is sharing more details about her stepfather’s passing, which occurred mid-charter season. The Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10 stew received the news during the season and is now opening up about her stepfather and how she is navigating the loss.
Cathy appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Monday, Jan. 5, where she spoke about the death after there being “a lot of speculation.”
“I am not ashamed, it was a suicide, which is just uncomprehendable to the family and everyone that knew him,” she said.
“So I just want to raise awareness and do what I can, do with the small platform that I have just to say, ‘Hey, it’s OK not to be OK,'” she explained, as seen in the video above. “And for everyone [that’s] a suicide survivor, which is the people that got left behind, just every day, one foot in front of the other, a bad month is not a bad year, and a bad year is not a bad life.”
Cathy continued, revealing why she chose to stay and finish the charter season, instead of heading home to be with her family after she found out about her stepfather. She shared with WWHL host, Andy Cohen, that there was “not one” thought about her going back home.
“You heard what my mom said on the show, ‘He thought you were going to be a star. Stay where you are.’ And that just stuck with me,” she noted. “I was never going to leave. I live on my own in London, what was I going to do? Go home and cry? I was having the time of my life.”
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How Max Salvador helped Cathy Skinner get through her stepfather’s death
Cathy was consoled by the crew of M/Y Bravado, including Captain Sandy Yawn, when Cathy found out about her stepfather’s death in Below Deck Med Season 10, Episode 14. But, she was really thankful for the comfort of deckhand, Max Salvador.
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“For someone so closed off, I have no choice but to be completely vulnerable,” she said during a confessional in the episode. “And having Max helping me to be open and cry and get it all out…Without him, I don’t think I’d be able to carry on the way that I am.”
Cathy Skinner on how she’s coping with her stepfather’s death today
Cathy also spoke with Us Weekly on Jan. 5, where she admitted that she has some personal growth to do in the wake of her stepfather’s death. “This year, I’m going to heal and go to therapy and talk to people about it,” she explained. “I really need to learn how to be alone instead of just being really busy. So it’s tough. It’s still going to be tough. You can’t grieve, in one year, a person’s life.”
Learn more about how Cathy handled a very stinky situation during Below Deck Med Season 10.
If you or someone you know needs help for a mental health concern, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). For confidential treatment referrals, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website or call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If it is an emergency, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or call 911.
