Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo, Charles Sykes/Bravo
The new season of Below Deck has been airing for several weeks now. One of the show’s most dramatic moments happened with an unruly guest, and now, Captain Kerry Titheradge is discussing how the encounter was far worse than what fans saw. Plus, he’s discussing Jill Zarin and whether she would be welcomed back after her behavior.
As viewers know, there was a guest named Kelly on a recent episode of Below Deck. Sadly, she became so intoxicated and confrontational with the crew that the police had to be called.
Captain Kerry discussed the meltdown with PEOPLE and said viewers only saw “a short part” of what went down with Kelly. According to him, “We could only put so much into a 45-minute episode. But it was very, very, very intense for everybody in the vessel.” He then called it the “craziest experience” he’s ever had as a captain.
Captain Kerry then said, “Her energy was intense.” Additionally, he recalled barring her from having access to more alcohol, and he said that he did it “not to punish her, but to protect her and everyone else.”
The Below Deck star went on, “It’s such a hard thing to do at first because you don’t want to be a party pooper, right? But it’s about safety. Her enjoyment is secondary to her safety.”
At one point, Kelly wanted to go out onto the banana boat. However, she refused to wear a life jacket, which Kerry mandated. This led to her jumping into the water without the safety equipment. Upon being pulled out, she became aggressive. He stated, “I was trying to physically stop her from getting in the water, at first using my body to block her, but then she’d try to get past me.”
Captain Kerry continued, “I asked the crew to move up. They kind of made a wall so she couldn’t get past us to get her into a safer area of the vessel.”
Regarding having to involve the police, he said, “She couldn’t stay with us. We weren’t the place for her to get better. I tried to give her some time to chill out inside the vessel. I had my crew staged at every exit so she couldn’t get out of the boat for her own safety, but she just wouldn’t calm down.”
He then expressed that taking this measure is out of the ordinary. Kerry explained, “Normally, it’s the opposite. Normally, I’m in Saint-Tropez and the Bose [speaker] is playing a bit too loud, and I’m asking the police to leave us alone. I’m not asking them to come and help us.”
He went on to highlight the primary charter guest’s response to the situation. He said, “When things got to the point where [getting Kelly off the boat] was the only option, I couldn’t send her ashore by herself. I mean, that wouldn’t be responsible at all, so I asked Helen to go with her.” He then said Helen was “the right person to ensure Kelly wasn’t left alone because she was in such a fragile state.”
However, Kerry is concerned about how Kelly will react to seeing herself on Below Deck in such a way. He also says he has compassion for her.
Captain Kerry also spoke to US Weekly about the new season of Below Deck. He was also asked about Jill and if she would be invited back aboard following her demanding visit. He said, “Oh, absolutely. I mean, it was a fantastic episode. And the crew definitely learned a few things.”
He continued, “I think what Jill was looking for was just something that we all should have been doing. I think the way she delivered it — it was abrasive to some people the way she delivered it, but she wasn’t wrong. She kept us all on our toes.”
Fans can watch the new season of Below Deck on Monday nights.
