Boyfriend Reveals Candid Health Update on Below Deck Star Fraser Olender

Below Deck fans got a scare — and then a bit of relief. Fraser Olender had a serious health emergency that pulled him off the show, but his boyfriend, Matt Rogers, says Fraser is now on the mend. The short version: a vape sent him to the hospital, doctors found heart trouble caused by a sudden artery spasm, and he’s recovering after a rough week in London hospitals.

The quick catch-up

• Fraser was rushed to the hospital a few weeks ago with severe chest pain and trouble breathing.
• Doctors diagnosed EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury), linked to heavy vaping.
• He also had a coronary artery vasospasm — the artery feeding his heart clamped down — which triggered a STEMI heart attack. This wasn’t from a blockage, but from the heart getting starved of oxygen during the spasm.
• He spent a week in London hospitals seeing specialists to figure out what happened and check for damage.
• On the December 9 episode of Below Deck, Matt Rogers told viewers Fraser is doing a lot better and thanked everyone who has been worried.

What actually happened, medically

Fraser explained that whatever was in his vape set off a coronary artery vasospasm — basically, the artery tightened up out of nowhere. That reduced blood flow enough to cause an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (a STEMI), which is a type of heart attack. Important detail: this wasn’t the classic clogged-artery situation; it was the oxygen cutoff during the spasm that did it. Layer on EVALI — lung injury tied to vaping — and you can see why his symptoms were so intense.

Fraser’s own words

He laid out the entire ordeal on Instagram earlier this month, including the fact that doctors hit him with the strongest pain meds they had and the pain still only dropped from a 10 to a 7. He’s 33, grateful to be recovering, and done with vaping. Forever.

"I could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid."

His message for anyone still vaping: rethink it. He hasn’t touched one since and says he never will.

What Matt Rogers said on the show

During the December 9 episode, Matt checked in directly with viewers who were worried and said Fraser is doing a lot better. He also gave a blunt PSA: toss the vape. Honestly, after this, hard to argue with him.

Where this leaves Below Deck

Fraser temporarily stepped away because of the health scare, but he’s recovering. For context, he joined Below Deck back in 2021 as the show’s chief steward in Season 9, and he’s been a staple ever since.

It’s a wild situation — a vape triggering a heart attack via an artery spasm is not something most of us think about — but Fraser’s story is pretty clear: the risk wasn’t worth it, and he’s lucky to be telling the tale.