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Watch Below Deck on Bravo Mondays at 8/7c and next day on Peacock.
Every charter guest has their quirks, but Chief Stew Fraser Olender likely wasn't expecting to encounter one so quickly on Below Deck Season 12.
Instead, the veteran Head of Interior and new stew Barbara Kulaif were in for quite a surprise during the supersized Below Deck Season 12 premiere.
So, what did the two find that surprised them so fast?
What the primary charter guest packed on the Below Deck Season 12 premiere
Though the first charter guests of the season were initially left worried that they might not ever receive their luggage (more on that below!), they ultimately retrieved their bags, and after that, they wasted no timing unpacking. However, the primary turned out to have one very interesting object packed: a blacklight.
Yes, a UV blacklight, like one you might see a detective use on a police procedural.
The primary immediately went to work, diligently sweeping the light over every surface in his cabin — including the bed. He seemed mostly satisfied by his findings, remarking out loud that the room was in "not bad" shape and "everything [was] kinda clean," until he got to something "dis-gus-ting."
From there, the primary didn't waste any time flagging down the interior team.
"I did blacklight," he revealed to Fraser. "I found the switches by the bedside were disgustingly dirty, so they were not wiped down."
How Fraser Olender and Barbara Kulaif reacted to the primary's blacklight
Fraser was visibly stunned to hear that a guest took a blacklight to review his team's work, but kept his composure.
"We can do that, as opposed to you doing it now," he told the primary after hearing his complaints. "If that works?"
Barbara confirmed that was "not a problem at all" to go over the switches (the ones that are built into the nightstand next to the bed), and even offered to "clean [her] hand first" before doing so.
However, she admitted to being surprised in her confessional interview: "If I had the blacklight, I wouldn't even know. Like, 'Oh, is this germs or is it just dust?'"
"It's crazy," Barbara added. "But it's really funny."
Fortunately for the interior crew, that was the last of the blacklight-related drama — at least for the first afternoon of the charter.