Below Deck fans have to wait to find out whether Kyle Stillie actually slept with a married guest while her husband was onboard — but why has there already been fallout from the season 12 drama?
Before the hit Bravo series premiered in June, the official trailer teased a Below Deck first, with Kyle seemingly hooking up with a guest. The issue? They were still on charter, and the guest’s husband was on the trip with her.
Kyle, for his part, didn’t confirm in the first look whether he actually crossed the line. There was, however, footage of Kyle getting up close and personal with someone in public — and Captain Kerry Titheradge eventually caught wind of the rumors.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Captain Kerry confirmed that he had to step in after he was alerted that Kyle and a guest might have been intimate.
“There was an investigation done. I’m not too sure how much of that will be shown, but I did a thorough investigation before I made my decision,” Kerry shared in June. “It will be interesting to see what happens after I interviewed each of the crew members — including what was actually said behind [my back].”
Kerry wouldn’t give away whether Kyle was fired — but hinted it wasn’t off the table.
“I don’t get to see what’s going on Below Deck because I’m in the wheelhouse or I’m over here and I can’t be everywhere,” he explained. “I don’t micromanage. I allow my crew to grow and I like to be here and to help encourage people. There’s a lot I don’t see and there’s even more I don’t want to see.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the drama:
The Key Players
Bravo viewers were introduced to Kyle when he joined season 11 as a deckhand. He slowly formed a connection with stew Barbie Pascual — and they were even discussing their plans for the future together. Things fizzled out when Barbie stormed off the boat late at night, hours before the charter season came to an end
“I got a message from her last night [which read], ‘Change your f***ing flight. I never want to see you again,'” Kyle said in the May 2024 episode. “[I] put my heart on the table. I am putting on a brave face but I am gutted. She took me for a ride.”
Kyle returned in season 12 determined to start fresh with Captain Kerry and a new crew.
The GistIn April, Bravo released the official season 12 trailer, which showed Kyle potentially hooking up with a guest at the beach in full view of his coworkers. In the footage, Kerry confronted Kyle, who wouldn’t confirm what happened. Kyle asked producers whether his comment about “f***ing” a guest whose husband was on charter was “a joke,” and an offscreen producer asked him the exact same question back.
Below Deck fans know that exploring any kind of connection with a guest while they are on charter is off limits. Think Hannah Ferrier‘s entanglement with charter guest Jason on Below Deck Mediterranean, which nearly ended her time on the boat.
While other captains haven’t been as strict about crew mingling with guests after their charter wraps up, Kyle allegedly hooking up with someone who is married — with her husband around — would cross multiple boundaries.
What People Are Saying
Chief steward Fraser Olender told Us in May that “things were turbulent” already on St. David before Kyle’s extracurricular activity with the guest.
“I’ve done it before, so I can’t speak on [hooking up with a guest]. What is a hard no is on charter and what is a hard no is potentially engaging in something whilst their married significant other is also around,” Fraser teased. “It was definitely [the most explosive thing I have been a part of]. Because this situation then was the catalyst of so many other problems. And this really did spiral into something that no one saw coming. So it’s the beginning of the end. It’s so good though.”
In a separate interview, Kerry wouldn’t give away how the drama played out.
“We’re going to see how it all develops on the show. If one of my staff is with a married person on the boat, they’re not going to stay on the boat,” Kerry told Us. “You’re breaking a boundary there that you can’t cross.”
Kerry recalled previously having a good experience with Kyle, adding, “Kyle works very hard. He has a lot of respect. Last season, he was led astray by the bosun but I think he needs to keep it in his pants.”
He continued: “But he has a very strong work ethic and he’s a very good crew member to have around. He doesn’t have any ego. He gets the job done, he works hard and I want to see him grow in the ranks. I want to see him continue in the franchise. Let’s see if he can’t be a bosun one day — but maybe that’s over for him.”
What’s NextJust like Us, Below Deck viewers have to tune into season 12 to see the drama unfold.
