Below Deck’s Kyle Stillie Keeps His Job After Alleged Guest Hookup — Captain Explains Why
Jordan Collins here. Okay, I’ll explain, but try to keep up. Below Deck’s season 12 drama hit peak chaos when deckhand Kyle Stillie drunkenly claimed he slept with a married guest, but Captain Kerry Titheradge ultimately kept him aboard the St. David after a quick investigation and crew support.
If you watched the Aug. 11 episode, you saw the moment that sent yacht fans into a tizzy: a boozy Kyle blurting out to colleagues, “I f–ked Helen in the water.” Flashback footage showed Kyle cradling a topless guest named Helen in the Caribbean as her husband also vacationed on the charter. The claim was explicit and explosive, and it immediately raised the very practical question that keeps yachting careers afloat or afloat no longer — did he break the cardinal rule of guest-crew relationships?
Chief stew Fraser Olender reacted predictably: alarmed. He told a confessional that if the hookup was real, it would be “stupid, irresponsible and insane,” and that Kyle might be “in the firing line.” Fraser’s phrasing is not melodrama; the industry and the show treat staff-guest hookups as a serious breach, both professionally and for the yacht’s reputation. Fraser even pointed out the possibility of plausible deniability, noting how public the scene was and that anyone could have misunderstood what happened.
The crew buzzed the next day, and lead deckhand Hugo Ortega and stew Rainbeau de Roos publicly shrugged off Kyle’s on-camera confession as the ravings of a man who’d had too much to drink. Hugo called the claim so outrageous he barely gave it time of day, and Rainbeau said she “brushed it off” as drunken talk. Deckhand Damo Yorg, more pragmatic, urged Kyle to confess to Captain Kerry before the rumor traveled up the chain of command. Damo warned that “the writing’s on the wall,” and insisted the captain needed to hear Kyle’s side directly.
Kyle’s sit-down with Captain Kerry was tense and unvarnished. He insisted he had not had sex with the guest, explaining that he was “taking the piss” and that any flirting did not cross the line. He even said, plainly and directly, “I definitely didn’t do it, a hundred percent.” Cap Kerry’s reaction was immediate and skeptical: he called the comment “unacceptable” and warned that if Kyle had done it, he deserved to leave the vessel.
Here’s where reality won out over reality-TV drama: without proof, Captain Kerry could not fire Kyle on a hunch. In private, Kerry noted he needed to investigate, but with multiple crew members saying they did not believe Kyle’s claim and no direct evidence that intercourse occurred, the captain opted to keep Kyle on board while restricting how close he could be to guests. Kerry’s decision was grounded in practical leadership; firing someone without evidence could be legally and operationally precarious, and the crew’s consensus weighed in Kyle’s favor.
This outcome stands in contrast to several past Below Deck firings where on-the-job failures and documented misconduct led to swift dismissals. The show’s history demonstrates that proven infractions get punished, while unproven allegations often result in warnings, private reprimands, or strict boundaries instead.
So yes, Kyle stays — for now. He got reprimanded in private and warned to keep his distance. The captain made the call based on what he could verify and crew testimony, not gossip and a late-night boast. The takeaway is simple: talk like that on camera and you’ll make waves, but you won’t necessarily walk the plank unless there’s concrete proof.
Want more juicy breakdowns? Keep watching Below Deck and pay attention to what counts as evidence in these yacht-side scandals — and remember, drunken confessions aren’t always grounds for dismissal.
Well, now you finally understand.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Bravo
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
