‘Below Deck’: Guest Hook-Ups ‘Happen More Often Than Not,’ Gary King Reveals – and Talks ‘Chemistry’ With Daisy

Guest and crew hookups happen more often than people may realize, Gary King from Below Deck Sailing Yacht recently dished.

He said some crew believe that hooking up with a guest can sometimes mean a fatter tip. But what happens if the boatmance goes south? King said he prefers to keep the line of professionalism drawn when it comes to guests. But crew … well, that’s an entirely different story. Especially when it comes to chief stew Daisy Kelliher.

Guest hookups can turn very awkward, Below Deck’s Gary King says

King wasn’t speaking specifically about Below Deck. But he said guest and crew hookups frequently happen in the industry.

“I think there’s kind of an unspoken rule that it’s not the right thing to do,” he said on the Kinda Sorta Dating podcast. “But then again, I guess someone would beg to differ and say, ‘Hey, I’m doing it for the tips.’ So it’s a very grey area. I personally haven’t hooked up with a guest before. But it definitely does happen more often than not, actually.”

“It would turn very awkward,” he asserted. “And I think that’s why it is like an unwritten rule of it. I mean, if you hook up with a crew member and it goes sour, you kind of still have to work together. But guests are paying hundreds of thousands to be on this boat. And the last thing they want is any awkward feelings. So, I mean, just to stay professional, you kind of keep them distant. But it does happen.”

He limits his hookups to ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ crew

Instead, King prefers to just hook up with the crew, which still can be awkward. “Yeah, my love life is very complicated at the moment,” he reflected. “And I mean, I’ve been single for a little bit now, and I think it’s time to kind of start settling down if I can say that. I mean, I’m in no rush. I’m not out searching for it. But if it comes my way, I’m more than happy to explore the idea.”

King and Kelliher shocked Below Deck Sailing Yacht viewers when they passionately made out in the hot tub, especially after they bickered nonstop during their first season together. King admitted he has feelings for Kelliher.

“With hooking up at Daisy, I definitely think there was some chemistry there,” he shared. “I think there’s always been chemistry there. And I think in the first season when I ended up hooking up with my deckhand on the first night, I think it was a massive turn-off for Daisy.”

“I think it was kind of – she was not going to go for me if I kissed my deckhand right in front of her,” he said. “So I think this second season kind of brought it out of us and showed our true feelings for each other. We did still fight a lot, not as much, but as you see, that kiss was quite passionate. I mean, this is how I feel for my part, you got to have to ask Daisy how she feels.”

Daisy Kelliher knew Gary King was attracted to her last season

In a surprising reveal, Kelliher said King told her he was most attracted to her last season. Meanwhile, he not only hooked up with deckhand Sydney Zaruba, but he also hooked up with stew Alli Dore. King and Kelliher fought for most of the season.

“I think it was the first night, he came over and covered my mic and was like, ‘You’re the person I was most attracted to when I walked on the boat.’ I was literally like, ‘Gary, I’m not going f***ing doing this bulls***’ you know,” Kelliher said during an Instagram Pita Party.

“Yeah, [producers] did actually pick it up, but they didn’t air it,” she added. “And when it did get picked up, they did hear it, you know, he tried hard by covering my mic. And I did tell Alli as well [but] after the show. I didn’t tell her during the show because I didn’t want it to be a storyline. I didn’t want to be involved in a big complicated mess. And it didn’t really mean anything to me. But Alli did know that he had said this to me. Obviously, this is the first time we’re telling any of this to the public.”