For the first time in its history, Below Deck is centering queer romance—not as a side note, but as the heart of the story. Season 12 is breaking away from its typical straight-centered hookups and giving viewers a rare look at the full spectrum of sexuality onboard, shifting the franchise in a groundbreaking new direction.
But rather than tokenizing the queer cast members, the typically heteronormative relationships take a backseat for the queer ones. Sure, they may just be a kiss or an emotional attachment, but in a space dominated by straight individuals, progress is being found on Below Deck. Season 12 beautifully celebrates the entire sexuality spectrum, thereby changing the face of the series for the better. It’s opening up narratives about a marginalized community on the series.
‘Below Deck’ Season 12 Is Putting Queer Love In the Spotlight
In a season filled with dramatic charter guests, “beautifully incestuous” crew love is in the air. Fraser Olender identifies as gay. Jess Theron and Barbara Kulaif are lesbians. Solène Favreau, who loves attention, is straight. Damo Yorg has said he is straight but fluid. It’s their stories that are being told.
Fraser has become the face of gay representation on Below Deck. After ending an off-boat relationship, he shared a kiss with Damo, who identifies as fluid, and their so-called “straight date” sparked a rare, meaningful conversation about father figures, coming out, and self-acceptance—defying the typical hookup narrative often attached to queer stories on reality TV.
At the same time, Jess has been navigating the blurry line between flirting and real feelings, a challenge she knows well as a queer woman drawn to straight women in the yachting world. Her connection with Solené felt playful at first, but Solené’s ongoing pursuit of Kyle Stillie forced Jess to realize it was just summer camp fun, not something deeper. In a vulnerable conversation, Jess admitted she was setting herself up to get hurt, highlighting how dating dynamics shift depending on sexuality. The episode also revealed that Barbara, previously quiet about her identity, is queer too—and her confession that she avoided pursuing Jess because of Solené’s mixed signals opens the door to Below Deck’s rare chance to show two queer women exploring love onboard.
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‘Below Deck’ Is Not Just Telling, It’s Showing
This season would not have been able to celebrate queer love had it not been for groundbreaking moments of the past. Season 1 kicked off with the first gay deckhand David Bradbury, who was able to share his story when his boyfriend came to visit. Captain Sandy Yawn has long been a leader in defying gender norms in yachting—but seeing her celebrate her proposal and wedding on the show was a groundbreaking moment. Kyle Viljoen‘s shining queer moment came when he finally felt seen during an all-gay charter. Kyle Dixon opened up about being bisexual and dating a transgender woman and Lloyd Spencer was the first to reveal the struggles he’d faced being sexually fluid. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Queer stories on Below Deck have often been sidelined, but in Season 12, they’re finally front and center.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 8:00pm on Bravo. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
