Vanessa Lucido on 'The Curse of Oak Island': Expert, Heir, or Just Eye Candy?

If you’ve watched The Curse of Oak Island long enough, you know the show has brought in a lot of experts over the years. Some have been fan favorites, others … not so much. One name that always sparks debate is Vanessa Lucido.

Vanessa, the CEO of ROC Equipment, came onto the scene in The Curse of Oak Island Season 6, helping the team with some of their biggest excavation efforts. On the surface, she seemed like a total powerhouse — running a major drilling company and playing a key role in the Money Pit dig. Depending on who you ask, she’s either a skilled expert, someone who inherited her way into the role, or just there to look good on TV.

So, what’s the real story? Keep reading as we take a closer look at Vanessa Lucido of The Curse of Oak Island and what fans think about her.

Vanessa made her first appearance in Season 6 when her company, ROC Equipment, was brought in to help with the island’s massive drilling operations. If you remember, that’s when the team was ramping up their efforts in the Money Pit, trying to break through centuries of debris to reach whatever treasure might be hidden below.

Her company’s equipment was crucial in making that happen. Since Vanessa was the CEO, she wasn’t just some random TV guest — she was out there, overseeing the operation and making sure things ran smoothly. She even returned in Season 7 when ROC Equipment helped install 8-foot-diameter caissons, which was a pretty big deal for the continued search efforts.

Of course, not everyone was sold on Vanessa’s expertise. While some fans saw her as a legit professional, others were skeptical. The biggest reason? Her father, Lou Lucido, was the one who founded ROC Equipment. When he passed away, she took over as CEO. That led to some viewers saying she didn’t “earn” her position and that she was just lucky to inherit it.

Unfortunately, there are some fans who believe she’s more of a public face for the company rather than the one running the show behind the scenes. To be fair, unless you work at ROC Equipment, it’s hard to say how much of the day-to-day she handles personally. Whether she inherited the company or not, she was still involved in some of the biggest excavations The Curse of Oak Island has ever done.

Per ROC Equipment’s website, Vanessa also didn’t retain her position either. In 2024, the company named Ed Robinson as the new CEO of the company. Unfortunately, the website does not detail why Vanessa is no longer the CEO.

Now, here’s where things get a little weird. Instead of debating her role in the company, a chunk of The Curse of Oak Island fanbase have been way more focused on how Vanessa looks rather than what she does.

If you’ve ever gone down the Reddit rabbit hole (let’s be honest, we all have at some point), you’ve probably seen the posts. Some fans call her a "tease," others say she’s "distracting," and there are plenty of people who just flat-out want her back on the show for reasons that have nothing to do with excavation.

No matter where you stand on Vanessa — whether you see her as a capable expert, an heir to a company, or eye candy — there’s no denying that she played a big role in The Curse of Oak Island's excavation efforts. She helped bring in some of the heaviest machinery the show had ever used. Without her and her equipment, the team wouldn’t have been able to dig as deep as they did.