Below Deck season 11’s Ben Willoughby has struggled throughout his time on St. David this season, but as the charter season comes to a close, what have Ben’s messiest moments been? While he’s still newer to the franchise, Ben isn’t a first-time yachtie on Below Deck season 11. The former deckhand-turned-bosun began his Below Deck journey in the previous season, where the majority of the story surrounding him was focused on his love life. Coming into the current charter season, Ben was looking for more of the focus to be on his work, especially working beneath Captain Kerry Titheradge.
Ben’s time on Below Deck season 10 allowed him to prove himself as a capable member of the exterior team, but left him struggling to find his way through a boatmance with Camille Lamb. Throughout Below Deck season 10, Ben was working to find his footing aboard St. David, but with shifting leadership and trouble in figuring out where he stood, Ben was sometimes lost in the shuffle of the rest of the crew. For Ben, who was new to the world of Below Deck, standing out wasn’t easy in a group of yachties who were looking to stand out.
Throughout Below Deck season 10, Ben worked to find his groove on St. David amidst all sorts of drama. While the yachtie wasn’t new to life aboard a superyacht, he was new to the brand of life that comes with being on Below Deck. Adjusting to his newfound nautical life wasn’t easy, but he found support in Camille and some of the other members of the Below Deck season 10 crew. While Ben was doing his best to keep his head down and get his job done, the drama wasn’t interested in leaving Ben alone.
Despite the fact that he was good at his job, Ben struggled to make things work with the new St. David crew as he moved from Below Deck season 10 to season 11. While his time on St. David has been relatively normal throughout Below Deck season 11, it’s become clear that he’s faced issues with nearly all of his castmates after the filming for the season was over. In watching the episodes back, Ben has taken issue with the way he’s been edited throughout the season, and in the way his castmates have spoken about him online.
While Ben’s issues aboard St. David appeared to be minimal, there was likely more that happened behind the scenes to irritate the new bosun. Ben’s relationship with Marie “Sunny” Marquis, for example, was apparently edited far differently than it happened on screen. His interactions with Captain Kerry, along with the rest of the crew, have created some messy moments for Ben throughout his time on Below Deck.
Throughout Below Deck season 10, Ben was in and out of a boatmance with Camille, a deckhand/stew who struggled with taking orders aboard St. David. While Camille was capable, she struggled to fit into the style of work that St. David’s interior team. At the time Camille was on St. David, she was joined by Chief Stew Fraser Olender, and stews Alissa Humber and Hayley De Sola Pinto. Her team was all looking for more effort from Camille, who didn’t feel she had more to give.
While Ben was working with the exterior team and doing well, his boatmance with Camille was a dark spot on his performance aboard St. David during Below Deck season 10. Ben and Camille clearly had feelings for one another, but she was often detrimental to his work. After she was fired from St. David by Captain Sandy Yawn, Ben’s performance was better than ever.
During Below Deck season 10, Ben’s boatmance with Camille put him in a precarious position with the rest of the St. David crew. He especially felt friction with Alissa, who was Camille’s main nemesis throughout the season, because he stood up for his boatmance often. While Ben and Camille presented as a united front to a fault at times, Ben’s opinions stood on his own once Camille left St. David for good.
While there were some moments of drama that Ben didn’t have much of a say about, he was vocal both during Below Deck season 10 and afterward that he didn’t like the way Alissa spoke to or about Camille. He shared his opinions publicly, trash-talking Alissa while talking up Camille. Below Deck viewers struggled to support Ben after knowing that his involvement was to tear one St. David crew member down while raising another up.
After Below Deck season 10, Ben claimed that he would be staying out of the drama aboard St. David, but he quickly broke his word on Below Deck season 11. Coming into a nearly entirely new crew, save for Fraser, Ben was working hard to earn his place aboard Captain Kerry’s St. David. He shared he’d be swearing off boatmances, and though he quickly found himself connected to Sunny, his hand didn’t dip into the drama of the season for a few charters.
In the first charter of the season, stews Barbie Pascual and Cat Baugh struggled to find their footing in their working relationship. After what felt like an endless power struggle throughout the first charter, Cat complained to Fraser about the way Barbie had been treating her. While Cat was hoping Fraser would chat with Barbie, Ben decided to get involved and stir the pot, telling Barbie about Cat’s complaint, which he’d overheard on his own.
While Ben’s boatmance on Below Deck season 10 was difficult for him to get over, he quickly developed a connection with Sunny on Below Deck season 11. When the two exterior crew members got together, it was clear that they were interested in one another right away, but neither was looking for a major commitment. While Ben was happy to have Sunny aboard St. David, she was simply looking to be reassured he wasn’t going to ghost her for someone else on the crew.
When Paris Field joined the St. David crew during the second half of Below Deck season 11, the Australian found herself welcomed by the rest of her crewmates, but especially by Ben. Whether it was because he was attracted to her, because he was happy to have another Aussie aboard, or some combination of the two, Ben was incredibly touchy with Paris in her first days on the charter. Sunny addressed her issues with his behavior with Ben, but he didn’t completely understand what he’d done wrong in her eyes.
While Ben has always been a pot stirrer when it comes to drama aboard the superyacht, he’s been surprisingly judgemental about the rest of the crew of St. David gossiping in any way. Throughout his time on Below Deck, Ben has been known to share any sort of information with other crew members, earning him a reputation. During Below Deck season 11, his role as a gossip became even more pronounced when he began meddling with the rest of his crew’s issues.
Though Ben continued to stir the pot with Cat and Barbie’s issues after his initial meddling, he was even worse when it came to former bosun Jared Woodin. Ben regularly reported back to Captain Kerry about the mistakes that Jared was making in his work, which ultimately got him fired. While Ben feels comfortable gossiping behind others’ backs, he’s hypocritical about others gossiping, admonishing them for the same behavior he displays often.
While Ben and Sunny’s boatmance has been happening since the earliest days of the Below Deck season 11 charter, Ben’s had relationships with the rest of the crew that have shifted throughout the season as well. Ben and Sunny’s boatmance may have been confusing for some of the St. David crew even though it feels obvious on screen, as Ben’s behavior outwardly wasn’t different to Sunny than it was to other female members of the crew. During one of the crew nights out, Ben put this on display when his behavior toward Xandi Olivier was more than friendly.
While Ben and Xandi both shared in confessionals that they weren’t anything more than friends, his touchy-feely behavior with Xandi while she’d been drinking struck a chord with Sunny. After sharing that she was frustrated, Ben seemed irritated at Sunny’s anger rather than trying to reassure her that he wasn’t interested in Xandi. Though he claims to care about Sunny’s feelings, Ben’s been harsh when she shares insecurities.
Ben’s behavior wasn’t just limited to the women aboard St. David during Below Deck season 11. While he was working on the superyacht, it was clear that Ben had some rose-colored memories of his ex, Camille. Though earlier in the season he’d shared that Camille was the reason he didn’t want to get into a boatmance again, he quickly connected with Sunny and apparently put that out of his mind.
During his time aboard St. David, Ben chose a particularly rocky moment with Sunny to reach out to his ex-girlfriend. He FaceTimed Camille during some downtime aboard the superyacht, and much to Camille’s surprise, he was interested in talking with her. The conversation seemed stilted, but the fact that Ben felt it was appropriate to reach out to his ex-girlfriend while Sunny was still hopeful for a genuine relationship was messy.
While Ben was hooking up with Sunny and sharing her bunk night after night, it became clear that he still wasn’t over his ex-girlfriend more and more with each charter. Though he was doing his best to make Sunny feel secure in their connection, he also refused to put a label on their relationship or make any plans beyond their time on St. David. Sunny was fine with being casual, but Ben’s lack of commitment wasn’t easy to deal with.