Controversial Below Deck Sailing Yacht First Officer Gary King revealed his desire to become a captain one day, and I think his pursuit and lack of accountability proves his ego is out of control. I have watched the entire Below Deck franchise avidly since the premiere of Below Deck in 2013, and have expert knowledge of all the spinoffs. I am familiar with all the on and off-screen drama, and Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Gary have a lot of it. Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5 recently premiered, and saw the return of Gary for his fourth straight season.
Also returning alongside Gary is Captain Glenn Shephard at the helm of Parsifal III, and Daisy Kelliher as Chief Stew for her fourth consecutive season. Gary and Daisy are both 36-years-old, and some of the oldest cast members in the franchise aside from the captains. BDSY season 5 is mired in controversy due to Gary's behavior on and off the show, and the entire season's debut was delayed because of it seemingly. However, Gary is ever present once again this season, and is not letting his bad reputation bring him down as he looks to new heights, which I feel is out of line.
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Gary Has A Checkered History In BDSY
He's Always Been An Ornery Playboy
I'm convinced that Gary is a playboy for life, as his antics with women have not changed one bit from season to season. Gary has been most well known for being a womanizer, as I've seen him enter several boatmances just in the course of one season. He has hurt several women's feelings, put his hedonistic ways above the job, and I think that he has no regard for anyone but himself. Gary interjects himself in crew drama with his self-serving antics, and I know his reputation has been ruined by his behavior.
Specific situations regarding Gary's poor character playboy displays have been when he stirred the pot in Daisy and Engineer Colin MacRae's budding romance in season 4, when he divulged to everyone that he had slept with Daisy. In the same season, he started a boatmance with Mads Hererra, whom he alleged he wanted to have a committed relationship with, but called her out and embarrassed her for allegedly being on her period when they hooked up. These situations and several similar behavioral displays are what I believe have soured Gary for BDSY viewers.
Gary Has A Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against Him
Which Gary Has Denied
On top of his playboy reputation, Gary has a serious accusation against him. During the beginning of filming for BDSY season 4 in the summer of 2022, Below Deck makeup artist Samantha Suarez claimed that a drunk Gary trapped her in his hotel room and attempted to physically restrain her from leaving while grabbing at her. Gary denied the sexual misconduct allegation, and Bravo seemingly backed him up by saying they investigated the allegation and "action was taken based on the findings."
Gary went on to blast Samantha's allegations and his public scrutiny on social media, but then deleted his comments.
"It’s so weird, it’s also so far from the truth. She always wanted a platform and unfortunately I’m the unlucky target."
Gary clearly found nothing wrong with his behavior, and I think it is sickening and proves that he feels he can do no wrong.
Gary Would Not Make A Good Captain
Gary Is Not A Good Leader
In Bravo's BDSY season 5 episode one, Gary spoke in an interview about his interest in becoming a captain.
"I want to be a captain one day, and training people in any circumstance. So I'm going to use this to prove that I am a good leader."
I know that Gary would make a horrible captain. I've watched him talk down to his crew, try to steal women away from his subordinates, flex his power, and generally just be a jerk. I feel Gary has nothing but poor personal qualities that would not translate well into a captain position. I'm convinced Gary would be an ineffective leader who is not respected by his crew.
Gary Has No Accountability
& Doesn't See His Faults
The other major fault that I see in Gary that should disqualify him from ever being worthy of being a captain is that he takes no accountability for his actions and deflects blame. I'm certain Gary never sees his own faults and acts with his own best interests in mind with everything he does.
All of Gary's flaws, I feel, not only prove that he is unfit to ever be a captain but also that his ego is out of control.
Despite all the negativity surrounding Below Deck Sailing Yacht's Gary, Bravo decided to keep him and perpetuate his bad behavior. I think this could mean viewers might even see him in an on-screen captain role one day, which would be a big mistake. Based on the online backlash I've seen about his season 5 appearance, Gary is driving viewers away, and the spinoff is becoming a train wreck because of it.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
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Below Deck Sailing Yacht is a spin-off of the Below Deck reality television series. Premiering on Bravo, the show follows the life of a Yacht crew as they attempt to navigate a busy Charter season in which many customers make use of a 177-foot sailing yacht. Over the first three seasons, the yacht has been to Greece, Croatia, and Spain.
