Below Deck‘s Captain Kerry Titheradge didn’t realize the shade Ben Willoughby was throwing his way until he watched season 11 — and he was far from thrilled.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Kerry called Ben’s behavior “very disappointing,” saying, “I don’t quite get it because [his now-ex] Sunny [Marquis] worked for me. I had my own company in Florida and Sunny came to work for me after the season. And Ben was asking for work as well to come work for me.”
Kerry was initially hoping to put any season 11 issues behind them.
“With everything that happened on the show, I believe in second chances for everybody. He was trying to get work. I was encouraging him and trying to give him guidance. Then he didn’t like something I said in an interview, which was factual,” Kerry recalled. “I guess he thought he was the star and that he was trying to drag me down, so it had no weight. So it was very disappointing for him.”
The captain pointed out that Ben didn’t return for season 12, adding, “It really affected his employment opportunities. He acted out against a captain and it was — regardless of a TV show or not — you act out against a captain. What do you think other captains are going to feel? They’re not going to trust you. So it’s very disappointing that he did that, because with his ego aside, he’s very good at his job, but his ego got in the way.”
Ben faced some big changes throughout season 11 after going from a lead deckhand to bosun when Jared Woodin was fired by Kerry. After the onscreen promotion, Ben teased to Us that his working relationship with Kerry is what changed the most throughout the season.
“Captain Kerry [has] very much of a military stance. [It is] more authority-based. So that was a bit of a learning curve for me,” he admitted in March 2024. “It doesn’t really work with the style that I like with my leadership. So we did have a little bit of friction there, and you might see a little bit of that coming up.”
As new episodes continued to air, Ben took to social media to hint at his dissatisfaction.
“I once used to love Below Deck. There’s too much that isn’t seen. I’m at a crossroads as [to] whether the truth needs to be told or I don’t let this consume me anymore,” he wrote via Instagram during a fan Q&A in April 2024. “[I’m] not enjoying this season due to a number of factors. I never wanted to step foot on St. David again under those circumstances.”
Kerry called Ben’s comments a “real slap to the face” after he supported the bosun. “I would’ve fired him on ego [alone],” he revealed. “And he made the decision to act how he did after the fact, which is on him.”
According to Kerry, he has yet to receive an apology from Ben.
“I haven’t [heard an apology], and he kind of dragged Sunny into it as well. Airing your grievances doesn’t help — and I had numerous opportunities to fire him throughout the season. But I wanted to keep giving him an opportunity. So at the end of the season, I actually even spoke to him,” he explained. “I approached him and said, ‘Hey, mate, we’re going to do a cabin inspection. I want you to make sure all the cabins are done.’ So that’s what we didn’t see — I actually asked him to let the crew know how important it is and then I have to do it.”
Kerry continued: “It’s part of my structure of the vessel. It’s a legal requirement of my job to do cabin inspections. So I had to do it — but I waited until later in the season to give everyone a chance to find their footing. So I asked him to inform the crew how important it is and then he was the only one who didn’t do it.”
Despite Ben not being onboard season 12, Kerry still had his hands full with plenty of drama, teasing, “There were a lot of bumps in the road. We had some very challenging guests. We had some challenging crew onboard the vessel that we had to make some changes with — and we’re in four different countries. We had a five-day charter, which has never been done before. That’s a lot for the crew to take on. But they come together, they pulled together and they did an amazing job in the end.”
Below Deck airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
