‘Below Deck’ star Captain Lee Rosbach opens up about son’s accidental drug overdose
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Captain Lee Rosbach is still mourning the loss of his son, Joshua Lee Rosbach, who died of an accidental drug overdose in July at 42.
The Bravo star opened up for the first time about his son’s death in an emotional interview with Page Six and shared that a part of him also died that day.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I deal with it every day. I hate going to sleep, and I hate waking up. There’s a hole there that can’t be filled,” the “Below Deck” star told the outlet.
“And the person who said, ‘time heals all wounds,’ is full of it. It doesn’t,” the Captain added. "The only thing that time may do for you is allow you to learn the skills you need to cope with the situation that you’re dealing with. As parents, you’re not designed to bury your children.”
Rosbach told Page Six that Josh had shown signs of progression in his recovery in the months leading up to his death, adding that the family was sure their beloved son had a breakthrough.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“He had a DUI conviction about 12 or 13 years ago that he finally got off his record,” said Rosbach. “He’d got himself a car. He was working. We thought we might have hit a milestone.”
'BELOW DECK' STAR CAPTAIN LEE ROSBACH REVEALS HIS YOUNGEST SON DIED OF AN ACCIDENTAL DRUG OVERDOSE
But, Rosbach’s worst nightmare was realized on July 22 when he drove over to Josh’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home “to check on” his son.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I walked in and he was sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands, and I thought he had just passed out. I felt relieved. I thought he was fine,” Rosbach told us. “Then I went over to give him a hug, and he was cold. He’d gone.”
Captain Lee Rosbach of Bravo's "Below Deck." (Bravo/NBC)
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The medical examiner reportedly told the family that Josh suffered a relapse and informed them their son purchased pills that appeared to be prescription opioids but were later found to be counterfeit pills laced with a litany of substances – including cocaine, heroin and the highly-potent drug fentanyl, which has claimed the lives of a number of individuals in Hollywood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The captain told the outlet that he has plans to combat the opioid crisis, though he isn’t yet ready to throw his hat into the ring while in bereavement.
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“I don’t want to start something, then not be able to finish it,” he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rosbach hopes that sharing his feelings about Josh’s death publicly might help others who have lost loved ones to drug addiction.