Below Deck season 11’s Ben Willoughby has faced tension throughout his time on St. David, but he’s flown off the handle in the most recent episode.
Below Deck season 11’s Ben Willoughby has been stirring up drama all season, but he’s gotten out of hand in the most recent episodes and truly doesn’t know what he wants. Ben’s Below Deck journey has been moving in an interesting direction since his introduction to the crew in the show’s last season. After Below Deck season 10 left Ben sour on romance, but moving toward a new level of skill in his work, many believed he would be back for another charter season on the superyacht. Though Ben has returned to St. David, things haven’t been easy for him.
Ben’s time aboard St. David has been difficult in the latter half of the season, despite him having been promoted from Lead Deckhand of the vessel to the Bosun after Jared Woodin was fired. Captain Kerry Titheradge invested his time and energy in Ben, knowing that he would be able to work well in the position. Despite getting recognition for his time and work on St. David, Ben’s personal life has been suffering aboard the superyacht, which has made it easier for him to be judgmental of the things happening to other members of his crew, creating some unnecessary drama.
Ben’s Been Bringing Up Drama All Season
He’s Been Stirring The Pot
While Ben has been able to step in to help in some tough situations, his time aboard St. David on Below Deck season 11 hasn’t been easy. From the earliest moments of the season, Ben struggled with the authority aboard St. David. First, he had issues with Bosun Jared, who he knew was doing a poor job. After pointing out Jared’s mistakes to the Captain and giving his unfiltered opinion, Ben struggled when he was promoted to the new position without much preamble. Though he was excited to be moving up, it was a lot more responsibility than he anticipated.
Aside from his work drama, Ben has been in the mix with some of the most dramatic moments of the season. Early on in the charter season, he got in between Barbie Pascual and Cat Baugh, stirring up the drama between them as the go-between for their trash talk of one another. Ben also ensured that Jared’s poor performance was known about, telling whoever he could find that Jared was making major mistakes. Ben’s instability to keep things to himself gave him a reputation on the superyacht. The rest of the crew found it difficult to trust him with issues.
Ben’s Behavior Toward Sunny Has Been An Issue
He Doesn’t Know What He Wants From Her
Throughout Below Deck season 11, Ben’s romance with Marie “Sunny” Marquis has grown from a casual flirtation to a full-blown boatmance. Hitting it off quickly, Ben and Sunny were both working on the exterior team and had conversations all day, every day, connecting them to each other. They both found each other attractive, so it wasn’t long before they decided they wanted to do something about said attraction. Though Ben had sworn he wasn’t going to get into another boatmance after Below Deck season 10, he let go of his inhibitions and went there with Sunny, choosing to have fun.
While Ben and Sunny’s relationship has been fun for both of them, their connection has been a source of drama throughout the season. Earlier in Below Deck season 11, Sunny wanted more out of Ben than he was willing to give. She said she wasn’t looking for exclusivity, but instead just wanted him to be respectful of her as someone he was sleeping with. Ben, who was being touchy and flirty with other women on the crew, didn’t understand how he was disrespectful to Sunny. The couple fought over the issue and clashed hard enough for Ben to end things.
Ben’s Put Himself Into The Crew’s Problems
He’s Struggling To Remain Neutral
Rather than remaining a neutral third party on St. David, Ben has continually positioned himself into other people’s problems on the superyacht, making him appear like he thinks he knows everything. Ben’s attitude as the Bosun has been less that of a leader, and more that of someone who wasn’t prepared for the level of responsibility he’s been given. Though he can perform the job functions, his personal drama and preferences aboard St. David make it tough for him to do his job properly. Ben has had a hard time remaining neutral or impartial in a number of tricky situations.
Early on in the charter season, Ben struggled his way through the issues between Barbie and Cat, at times on Barbie’s side as he fed her information about what was going on, at times on Cat’s side as he gathered information about what was going on. Ben also put himself in the middle of Barbie and Fraser’s issues, and most recently tepped in to help facilitate communication between Barbie and her boatmance, Kyle Stillie. Ben struggled to remain neutral and allow Barbie and Kyle to talk on their own, instead putting himself in the middle and pushing his own agenda.
Is Ben The Most Dramatic Yachtie This Season?
He Can’t Get Out Of His Own Way
Although the majority of his problems have seemed to be with his relationship with Sunny, Ben has been one of the most dramatic cast members on Below Deck season 11. While he hasn’t directly engaged in much drama of his own, Ben has made it clear that he has stakes in the drama happening and wants to be involved if something comes up. In positioning himself in the drama while maintaining power aboard St. David, he’s creating a difficult working environment for the people who report in to him. Ben’s inability to stay out of the drama is an issue.
While Ben has been able to move up on St. David, the need he has for engaging in drama and stirring the pot doesn’t make for a good leader. While Captain Kerry may have promoted Ben to Bosun before he was completely ready, the fact that he’s been able to get into the job and work successfully at it bodes well for Ben. It’s just that the struggles he’s had socially are overwhelming, and at times diminish the actual work he’s done aboard St. David. Ben has been the most dramatic cast member of Below Deck throughout this charter season.
