Below Deckand its spin-offs have been on the air for a decade, and there have been several villains in the franchise over the years. Reality TV shows likeBelow Deckrely on a wide cast of characters, ranging from heroes to villains and everything in between. Some characters are whiny and dramatic, likeBelow Deck’s Barbie Pascual, or just plain incompetent, likeBelow Deck Mediterranean’s Bri Muller. However, the best cast members are the ones everyone loves to hate: the bad guys.
Below Deck Sailing Yachtseason 5is well underway, and it’s unclear who could emerge as the season’s villain.Chief Stew Daisy Kelliheris trying to manage her lazy stews Danni Warren and Diana Cruz. Additionally, First Mate Gary King deals with Deckhand Emma Crouch while potentially starting a boatmance with Danni. Gary has a tumultuous past, but it’s unclear if he’ll hold on to his villain status. Here are the ten worst male villains in theBelow Deckuniverse.
10Kyle Viljoen
Below Deck Mediterranean
Kyle Viljoen is an obvious choice for one of the topBelow Deckvillains. He stirred up trouble onBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 7 due to his stirring the pot with Natalya Scudder and Tumi Mhlongo. Kyle was accused of pitting them against each other for no good reason. His explosive temper and bullying behavior, including verbal outbursts directed at Natalya and Jessika Asai, led Captain Sandy Yawn to give him an ultimatum about his conduct on board.
20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now
Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.
Kyle’s relationship with charter guest Frankalso didn’t help. While it could have been cute, it seemed like Kyle pursued Frank to create drama and get attention. Kyle’s decision to pursue a romance during a charter, which is against the rules, was shady. He and Frank didn’t continue a relationship after the season, meaning it was likely fake.
9Ben Willoughby
Below Deck Season 11
Ben got the villain edit onBelow Deckseason 11, and it’s unclear whether he’ll return forBelow Deckseason 12. There’s no lost love betweenBen and Captain Kerry Titheradge, who took over for Captain Lee Rosbach after season 10. Ben claimed Bravo made him look bad, but his actions on the show seemed villainous. He led on Sunny Marquis, a fellow deckhand, for nearly the entire season while still calling his ex, Camille Lamb and asking for her back. When he got rejected, he kept hooking up with Sunny.
Ben and Sunny are still together today despite their tumultuous boatmance.
Ben’s working relationship with Captain Kerry was tense.Captain Kerry publicly expressed doubts about Ben’s readiness for a leadership role, hinting that Ben might not make it through the season. Ben defended himself, stating Captain Kerry’s comments could hurt his reputation, which he had built over years in the industry. Ben might have redeemed himself a bit by continuing his relationship with Sunny after the show, meaning it wasn’t all just a manipulative farce.
8Adam Glick
Chef Adam Glick definitely deserves to be on the villain list. His secret relationship with Malia White stirred up major drama. Although the relationship began before filming, Malia’s growing interest in another crew member, Wes Walton, triggered jealousy and resentment in Chef Adam, leading to arguments and confrontational moments. His bitterness and attempts to undermine Wes were not well-received.
Chef Adam also didn’t seem to care about the guests, in fact,Chef Adam completely disregarded guests' preferences. In one notable instance, despite a guest’s request for meals without onions, Chef Adam repeatedly added onions, insisting they made the dishes better. His stubbornness resulted in a worse tip, making his relationships even more precarious. Chef Adam had a short temper, making him difficult to work with. He and Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier had an especially tumultuous relationship due to his lack of teamwork.
7Leon Walker
Below Deck
Unsurprisingly, as one of theworst chefs inBelow Deck, Leon Walker also tops the list of worst male villains in the franchise. Chef Leon often clashed with crew members, especially Chief Stew Kate Chastain, and ended up getting fired by Captain Lee. His abrasive personality, unwillingness to collaborate, and reliance on shortcuts—like using frozen seafood instead of fresh—brought tension to the crew and compromised the high standards expected of a yacht chef. Chef Leon’s rudeness towards Kate often bordered on vindictiveness, especially when hepoured honey into Kate’s bed as a prank.
Chef Leon was bad at his job, causing danger to the crew and guests, but also consistently had a bad attitude.
The final straw for Chef Leon came when a fire broke out in the galley, which was traced back to the chef’s failure to clean the oven properly. Instead of taking responsibility, Chef Leon tried to deflect the blame onto Chastain. This behavior led Captain Lee to describe him as the “single most disruptive force” he’d ever worked with.
6João Franco
João Franco can be viewed as a villain onBelow Deck Mediterranean. During his time onBelow Deck Mediterreaneanseason 3, he frequently clashed with Chief Stew Hannah, and his volatile alter-ego “Jezebob” led to heated and disrespectful incidents, particularly with Hannah. João used his drunken alter-ego as an excuse for his bad behavior. One of the standout moments showed João shattering a wine glass in frustration. He regretted it, but the incident was still a red flag.
João has returned toBelow Deck Down Under, but it’s unclear whether he will keep his villainy under control in future seasons.
João was a raging misogynist, simultaneously flirting with the women onboard and hating them. While João has since expressed regret for his actions, admitting that he needed to reevaluate his behavior, his attempts at redemption were middling at best. Even on his return toBelow Deck Down Under, João’s reputation for manipulation and disrespectful comments, especially with crewmates like Aesha Scott, was still pretty sketchy.
5Ashton Pienaar
Ashton Pienaar almost died onBelow Deck, but that still doesn’t excuse his behavior. One of the worst incidents occurred on a van ride after a night of drinking, where Ashton’s anger towards Chief Stew Kate got scary quickly. He punched the van window and aggressively lunged toward her, causing such tension that the van had to stop to defuse the situation. Production should have gotten more involved, but Kate had to take a leave of absence after the incident to recover from the shock.
Ashton’s behavior throughout the season included other shocking moments. He was misogynistic towards his fellow female crew members and had a short temper.Ashton later apologized for his actionsand acknowledged his alcohol misuse. While he apologized for his actions, Ashton will always be aBelow Deckvillain.
4Peter Hunziker
Peter Hunziker was bad news from the start, but the worst part of his villainous journey onBelow Deck Mediterraneanhappened online. During his brief time on the show, Peter was criticized for his sexist attitude, including calling his superior, Malia, terms like “sweetie” and “sweetheart,” which were super unprofessional and misogynistic. He was also unwilling to learn and follow instructions, and he probably would have been fired no matter what, but his behavior online is what led to his comeuppance.
However,Peter’s most serious transgression came off-screen when he shared a deeply offensive and racist memeon social media. Bravo fired him and heavily edited the show to reduce his screen time onBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 5. Although he later issued a public apology, expressing regret over his actions, the incident solidified his negative image among fans and effectively removed him from the series.
3Kyle Dickard
Below Deck Adventure
Kyle Dickard’s stint onBelow Deck Adventurewas brief, but he solidified himself as aBelow Deckfranchise villain. On his first and only charter,Kyle made unwanted advances toward his coworker, Kasie Faddah, kissing her at a guest’s request, which she later reported as uncomfortable. Captain Kerry reprimanded him for this, as this sort of breach of professionalism isn’t tolerated onboard the Bravo yachts.
Bravo needs to do more to ensure the safety of their crew members, especially the women.
Tensions with deckhand Nathan Morley escalated when Kyle refused to flush the toilet. When Nathan reminded him to flush, Kyle responded by threatening to “tussle” with Nathan. Captain Kerry gave Kyle the option to resign rather than face termination, and he chose to leave. Even after he departed from the show, Kyle continued to display reckless behavior, notably getting arrested in Florida after running onto a soccer field and resisting security.
2Gary King
Below Deck Sailing Yacht
Gary is currently facing a fair amount of heat for his past actions onBelow Deck Sailing Yachtand beyond, exacerbated by his appearance in the current season. He allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct during filming forBelow Deck Sailing Yachtseason 4. After drunkenly filming confessionals, former Bravo employee Samantha Suarez was asked to escort Gary back to his room. He proceeded to behave inappropriately towards the makeup artist, and while she got away, his behavior was nevertheless concerning.Gary denied the allegations.
35
Hometown
Knysna, South Africa
Aside from his unsavory allegations, Gary’s treatment of Daisy during her boatmance with Colin Macrae was also villainous. Furthermore, he neglected Daisy when she needed a friend in the wake of her breakup. He hasn’t learned his lesson regarding flirting with coworkers, crashing a tender while flirting with a hired dancer, and potentially getting involved with Danni onBelow Deck Sailing Yachtseason 5.
1Luke Jones
Below Deck Down Under
Luke Jones was dismissed for serious misconduct, branding him as the worstBelow Deckfranchise villain. The incident that led to his firing involved him entering Margot Sisson’s room while she was unconscious, undressed, and without her consent. Luckily, production and Captain Jason Chambers prioritized the crew’s safety by removing Luke immediately after the incident. Only Laura Bileskalne, who was also fired for a separate incident, came to Luke’s defense. The evidence was stacked against him.
Luke’s actions were shocking and raised other issues of consenton reality TV. Captain Lee harshly criticized Luke’s behavior, describing it as despicable and expressing that he would have handled Luke’s removal even more forcefully if he had been in charge. Luke will live on as the worstBelow Deckvillain for his disgusting behavior.
Below Deck Sailing Yachtairs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
Below Deck is a popular reality TV franchise that focuses on a group of crew members as they work on luxurious yachts and cater to their client’s needs. After the original series proved to be a success, Bravo developed a handful of spinoff shows including Below Deck Selling Yacht, Below Deck Adventure, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Mediterranean.
