Below Deck‘s Daisy Kelliher is officially making the move from Sailing Yacht to Down Under — but how did the spinoffs compare?
“[The boat itself] is obviously the main one. You’re also given more time on [Down Under] because when you take that sailing element out of it, you have more time to set up for dinner. This was bigger and physically it was a taller boat, so a lot of stairs involved,” Daisy exclusively told Us Weekly. “It was quite far from the galley up to the sundeck where we were doing most of our meals. That was definitely a physical challenge.”
Daisy was excited for the change.
“I loved working with [Captain] Jason and he was great. But I loved working with Glenn and they weren’t that different in management style,” she recalled. “I find myself pretty comfortable pretty quickly. It’s always the crew that makes the biggest changes.”
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The chief stew got her start in the Below Deck franchise alongside Captain Glenn Shephard in Sailing Yacht. Daisy was on the show for four seasons until making the switch to Below Deck Down Under for season 4.
“I was nervous. This brought back a lot of feelings of what I initially felt when I first started Below Deck in 2020. I got quite comfortable being on Sailing. I knew the boat and I knew most of the crew,” she told Us. “Coming on to Down Under with a whole new boat, a new captain and an all new crew — I only knew Jason. There were definitely a lot of nerves. It was a good feeling, though.”
Daisy found it to be “a positive pressure” on her. “I didn’t reach out to anyone. When I started my journey on Below Deck, I didn’t reach out to anyone in the Below Deck universe. It’s important to have your own experience,” she noted. “Even though I’m sure they would have been able to give me really valuable advice, it would have probably gotten in my head. I probably would have tried to have been something I’m not — or tried to handle something I wouldn’t have handled my way.”
According to the first looks at the season, Daisy found herself facing off with Ben Robinson in the kitchen. She also bonded with fellow Below Deck alum João Franco in a boatmance that has since fizzled out.
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Daisy told Us she wouldn’t rule out returning for more seasons in the future. For now, Daisy is focused on her offscreen ventures — including the “Yacht Mess” podcast with former Below Deck guest Marc MacNamara.
“It’s really fun and just really light-hearted. We have a great time doing it. We hope that people just have a great time listening to it. It’s not too heavy and it’s just meant to be in line with Below Deck,” she shared. “We are organizing — at the moment — our first few guests that we’re going to have on. It’s just a good time. It’s nice to have a project I’m very passionate about. With Below Deck, I am so happy to be here and hopefully for the next season. But it is nice to have another project and develop something outside of it on my terms.”
She continued: “It’s a great way for the audience and viewers to see a different side to me. Because on below deck, I am working as a chief stew. This is a space where I can just be completely lawless and funny and unguarded. It’s really exciting.
Below Deck Down Under returns to Bravo Monday, February 2, at 8 p.m. ET with a super-sized premiere. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
