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He’s a two-time World Series Champion and he’s one of the biggest names to appear as a charter guest on Below Deck Mediterranean as a charter guest, and wow was Johnny Damon fun to watch on this show. Damon stepped aboard Sirocco with his wife Michelle and a handful of friends for relaxing, water toys, and…and undercooked steak. Whoops!
I spoke with the Damons this morning, who had yet to see the episode, about their experience on the yacht. Here, Michelle and Johnny explain how they landed on the Bravo series, the activity Captain Sandy wanted to do with them, and why their group hug helped *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick and his wife get pregnant,
Decider: It was so exciting to see that you guys were going to be charter guests on the show.
Johnny Damon: Yeah, it was such a fun experience. Being in the South of France was something that we really wanted to do.
I like when you show up in your fancy red shirt, that is a total vacation shirt. What were your goals for this vacation? Was it a totally relaxed time or did you want to do activities as well?
Johnny: I feel like it was a relaxed time. We wanted to play water sports and enjoy the beach and enjoy cruising. We were very lucky to get our suitcases because our flight from Orlando was delayed because of a tropical depression up in New York. So we sat on the ground, we missed our flight and we were hoping our bags were found. Fortunately, I was able to get that shirt in plenty of time.
Michelle Damon: It would have been Below Deck Naked.
Johnny: Yeah, actually we had to go buy some clothes for the first night.
I’m glad that it worked out. Had you guys watched the show and are you Bravo fans in general? How did this come about?
Michelle: So we hadn’t actually seen the show before. Of course, now we’re big fans and have been watching it. One of my friends told me about it and then she sent an email, I showed it to Johnny and he was like, “Looks amazing!” The boat was amazing, the location was amazing. We started to call some of our friends who wanted to do it with us, and of course everyone wants to do it. So we had to figure out who would be good and fun and get along. But two of the other couples had seen every single show and knew. The other couple had never seen it, but they didn’t want to watch it because they didn’t want to know what it was like. Johnny and I watched one [episode] just to see, but then we also wanted it to be more like…I feel like now that we’ve seen it and watched it, it probably would be a different experience. Because now we’re friends with Captain Sandy and Hannah, we love everybody so it makes it a lot more fun to watch.
It’s probably good that you didn’t really know what would be happening on the show. Did you want to spend time with the crew and know about their drama or were you just going about your own business?
Johnny: Michelle and I were going about our business, but one of our friends definitely wanted to see what was going on all the time. But Michelle and I used to own a boat [as did] another one of the couples, so we kind of understand how it works.
Michelle: Don’t bother them…
Johnny: Yeah, don’t bother them. When the weather hits you might not be able to go somewhere. I think there was a number of times in one hour they came to us and changed our plan and Michelle and I are just go with the flow. Whatever is safe, whatever we need to do, we’re enjoying being on the boat and enjoying our vacation.
That primary suite looks beautiful, but there’s also that gorgeous bathtub. Did you guys get to use that at all?
Johnny: We didn’t get to use the bathtub. It was very beautiful, but we also know that showering and stuff on a boat is not — regardless of how big the boat is or how luxurious it is — we understand that it’s a little tougher to do. Filling up that tub with the water pressure probably would have taken a good hour.
Michelle: We did go in the hot tub.
Johnny: Yeah, we did go in the hot tub, made sure we cleaned off in the ocean.
I believe that Colin is a Mets fan, but did the rest of the crew have any questions for you or want to ask you about your career?
Johnny: No, I think Colin knew mostly about me. [Almost] everyone else was from outside the country, except June. But yeah, he was a big baseball fan and we were able to chat a tiny bit about it. I think they realized what kind of an athlete I was when we raced down the streets late at night with those guys. I could still hold my own, even though I was going against 25-year-olds.
Michelle: Yeah, Johnny raced them so that was funny. Not on the boat though.
That was also very nice of you to help him with the jetski.
Johnny: That’s just what I do. I’m a helper. I don’t like idle hands, so if someone needs help to do something, I’m always there to try to make things go quicker so we all can relax and have a good time.
Michelle: We haven’t seen it yet. We’ll be seeing it for the first time tonight actually.
I was going to ask you if you were having a party and inviting those same friends over to watch the episode?
Johnny: We would, but everyone seems to be vacationing because all of our kids go back to school in two weeks. Everyone is getting their last time for fun during summer.
Michelle: The last bit of their vacation before back to school, I guess.
Johnny: Yeah, we start early in Florida.
You also had a wrestling session going on one night on the boat. Is this something that breaks out at parties that you have?
Johnny: Well, I know that table was very heavy to move, but yeah, I mean…
Michelle: Yes, we used to have a wrestling ring.
Johnny: Yeah, we used to have a wrestling ring at the house and I think it’s all good fun to have a little workout late at night.
Michelle: Captain Sandy told us the next day that someone should have woke her up for that. She missed out. We were supposed to do it again and then, I don’t know, we forgot. We’re already talking about how we have to go back again because it was such a fun time, so maybe we’ll get Captain Sandy to wrestle with us next time.
We’re starting to see that Anastasia is struggling a little bit in the galley, but how was the food for you guys? Was there anything that you absolutely loved that she made?
Johnny: I always thought breakfast was great. But my steak was very raw and I can eat it like that, but it needs to be warm and it just wasn’t. I know it’s tough to cook on a boat, but it seemed like she was doing pretty good in the episodes we saw. I think that was her third charter. It’s tough. Yes, we wish our steaks would have been done more. We also had a serving of some raw urchin or something that just…
Michelle: I don’t think anybody ate that. It was like a weird spiky thing and then it had something in it that was raw.
Johnny: Yeah, but we’ve spent time on boats and we’re so used to doing stuff ourselves. So I think the food probably would have been all-around better if we were able to take care of ourselves, but she tried. Those couple of meals were very good.
You handled sending it back in a very polite way. This isn’t your first time on a reality show, and this one is a vacation for you, but how does it stack up to other shows you’ve been on before?
Johnny: Well it’s Bravo, they know what they’re doing. Our experience was great. The communication lines with everyone, from the crew to the production side, was very professional.
Michelle: I would say definitely if we had to pick to only do one reality show, it would definitely be this one. And for you too, because Johnny loves being on the water.
Johnny: She is right. We have been on some pretty cool stuff like Tanked.
They should do a spinoff that’s Below Deck Damon and they just follow you for the whole season.
Johnny: That would be amazing.
Michelle: And then we bring our six kids and then we’d have to get a lot of the crew to help out with all the kids.
It’s clear that you two have a great relationship and you’re into each other for many reasons, but one that I love is how candid you are about your sex life. Is that something that you are known for being open about?
Michelle: Yes.
Johnny: Yeah, and that’s why we have six kids and I’ve had two vasectomies. We think we’re done.
Michelle: I think if I got pregnant after a second vasectomy it would be like, Jesus. So hopefully we’re done. I guess a lot of our friends now, they’re used to it, so if there’s ever a new person that comes around they’re like, “Wait, what? What’s happening right now?” No filter.
Johnny: We haven’t had any kids in almost three years, but we have helped a bunch of our friends. We give them this crazy group hug [when] they’ve had trouble getting pregnant and we’ve helped…
Michelle: After we hug them they get pregnant.
Johnny: Yeah, Chris Kirkpatrick is the most famous one probably. They were struggling. So that’s what we do now.
Michelle: We hug them and help them get pregnant.
You’re using your powers for good. Speaking of helping people, it’s obviously getting a lot of buzz here in New York, but what are you thinking about the Yankees’ pitching at the moment?
Johnny: Yeah, I mean, they need some help. You can never have enough pitching, especially going into the postseason. But there are some big names out there that can really help out. It’s tough for me to say they’re just not getting the job done, because I know how hard it is. They’re all trying and they’re all capable, but there are a lot of good players out there, a bunch of good teams. But they do need some help.
I saw that trade yesterday with [Marcus] Stroman going to the Mets and I’m just wondering if this could be a way to get Stroman and somebody else to the Yankees for a young, talented, maybe their second baseman and then the Yankees could get Robinson Cano back. I don’t know. That’s kind of what I’m seeing right now. I don’t know, but I feel like Robinson Cano is going to be back in a Yankee uniform. That’s just a guess. I’m not the GM.
Michelle: Robinson Cano doesn’t know this, but Johnny does.
Johnny: Well because the Mets, they’re in like last place and then they go out and get one of the top pitchers. I know he’s from New York, but I think he’ll fit better with the Yankees. And the Mets have a lot of arms to trade, but they’re going to need some young guys in return, some very good young players.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Monday at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.
