What To Know
- Kizzi Kitchener describes her experience on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10 as an “emotional rollercoaster,” highlighting both the drama and strong teamwork among the crew.
- She clarifies misconceptions about her relationship status during filming, emphasizing she was single and focused on enjoying the season and building friendships, particularly with fellow crew member Josh Bingham.
- Kitchener expresses admiration for Captain Sandy’s leadership and hopes to leverage her reality TV exposure for future opportunities in entertainment, especially in theater and acting.
Kizzi Kitchener didn’t waste any time making a splash on Below Deck Mediterranean. The flirtatious stewardess from England caught the eye of the guys on the boat on the Bravo hit reality series. Among them Bosun Nathan Gallagher, who we know ended up getting back together with Gael Cameron and having a baby together.
Kitchener came aboard to make money serving high-end charter guests aboard the swanky M/Y Bravado in Barcelona. At the same time the second stew Brit was also there for a good time. And that creates a recipe for good TV, but also some drama. Just as Season 10 heats up, we catch up with Kitchener to talk about her time on the show and what’s to come.
Were you a fan of Below Deck prior to joining the series?
Kizzi Kitchener: I was a fan of the show before I went on it, mainly during COVID time. I was watching all the seasons, more like Captain Lee [Rosbach] and Kate Chastain’s sort of era. I loved those shows and was quite obsessed with them.
How has life changed since your episodes started airing?
Life hasn’t changed too much since the show has come out, but a couple of doors have opened, which are really exciting doors. My fingers are crossed that it’s going to work out. I’m putting it out in the universe.
How do you compare watching Captain Lee on TV to working for Captain Sandy [Yawn]?
They are two very different captains. No two captains are the same. That’s one of the beautiful things about working on boats is you get to meet so many different people. I loved watching Captain Lee. I was actually quite surprised how much I liked working for Captain Sandy. You never know if you would get on or like someone. I was nervous because she is this powerful woman in the industry, but I just really loved her leadership style. I think in general she is a great captain.
What were your first impressions of the crew? When you come on as a viewer, I’m thinking she is single looking at boatmance potential. However, you then point out you actually have a boyfriend. How do you look back on how you initially presented yourself?
To unpack that a little bit, I didn’t have a boyfriend. Everyone else thought I had a boyfriend because I used the word gentleman, which got everyone thinking I had a boyfriend. I was seeing someone. We were dating, but we’d only known each other for two months. Everything was super new. We weren’t exclusive. We weren’t together, but we were rather in love very quickly. You know when you meet someone and think, “oh my god, I’m in love.” You’re in love the first day you meet, but you only know each other for a matter of weeks. That was the case for Tom and I. I was single and was looking to have a fun season. My first impression of the boat walking on any boat is quite nerve-racking. You don’t know anyone or if you’re going to clash with people, how your personalities will match. I do like getting to know new people, so I was excited to get to know everyone.
BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN — Pictured: Kizzi Kitchener — (Photo by: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo)
How was it working for Aesha [Scott] and alongside V [ Victoria SanJuan]? It seemed like you guys hit it out of the park right out of the gate in terms of the job. How do you feel you mesh?
We came into the season story, and I think we carried that through the season. We had a great interior team, and I say the term team because you are on a boat with a very small number of people trying to get a really big job done. You have to be a team. I know it can look as though I’m side-eyeing V or being competitive, but it wasn’t competition. I didn’t feel it was like that or certainly want it to come across like that. I felt we were part of a great team. Aesha was a fantastic leader, a fair leader. I was super impressed with how V learned things so quickly and wanted to learn things. I’m competitive, but when you’re in a team, we’re competitive together.
There were some viewers who thought you may have wanted V out of your department when you pushed for her to help the deck team. I was thinking more of a deck-stew role may emerge, but what did you make of all that reaction?
Exactly. Something I don’t think has been shown a lot was V spoke, especially to me, about how much she loved the deck and how she wanted to be on the deck and experience on the deck. So when Nathan and I were having this whole conversation, of course I was going to mention it because it was actually what V wanted. The deck team was struggling so bad at the time, any help would have been welcome…It’s something she really wanted to do. It didn’t come from a place where I didn’t want her in there. We had a really great team. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice that, but I knew she had a passion for the deck and was really in need.
Do you think Nathan could have done anything differently with his deck team to be more successful early on?
It’s hard for me to say because I’ve never been a bosun and will never be a bosun. It’s hard for me to comment on his leadership skills. I do know Tessa [Budd] really didn’t agree with his leadership skills at all. I know that Tess felt like she wasn’t being shown the things she needed to do and being scolded for not doing a certain way. Maybe there would be stuff to work on, but I wasn’t on the deck team. So, I can’t speak on that.
You hear about boatmances all the time on Below Deck. You look to have gotten along well with Josh [Bingham] for example, who is very unique. You have Nathan at that point too as a person of interest. What can you tease for what’s to come in that department?
A lot happens this season. It’s a rollercoaster, up and down. Lots of lessons learned I think for everybody. I can say for Josh and I, we have carried on a really incredible friendship. It’s nothing more than a friendship. I think of Josh as my big brother. I will go to him for advice all the time, and I did that during the season. He would give me almost painfully honest answers. Like I’d say, “Josh, have I done something bad?” He’d be like, “Yes, you have to sort yourself out.” I really appreciate Josh for that. I was single throughout the season, and I experienced that as you will see. A lot of has changed in a year. It’s not always the nicest thing to watch back, but it was an experience and I experienced it so…
What did you make of Nathan and Gael having a kid and how things turned out for them?
I’m genuinely really happy for them. Seeing them together, I just think you could see they are just perfect for each other. I think that’s brilliant and wish them all the happiness and all the health. We’re just in different places. I think people are comparing the two things. I want to have a baby with my boyfriend. I want to get married to my boyfriend one day. We’re separate entities. I just hope they are really happy, and I’m really happy, and everyone is really happy and it’s sunshine and rainbows.
What about the charter guest this season? One recent one who was obsessed with Szechuan chicken late at night. How do you reflect on the guests we’ve seen so far and ones we’ll see coming up.
I think the second charter we just watched were a lot of fun. I think they were a lot of fun. Jack was a little bit crazy and definitely wanted his Szechuan chicken. Now I think the tip wasn’t that nice. Maybe the Szechuan chicken would have put it over. They were a lot, but they were also a lot of fun. I think coming into the season we have really good mix actually of characters and people with some really disgusting things that happen, really shocking things that happen, really sad things that happen. It’s such an emotional rollercoaster throughout the season. I’m excited for everyone to go on that journey with us.
What has been the craziest request you’ve had in service?
I think in my career, I won’t even say some of these requests. Being in the service industry, you have a lot of weird requests. Someone once asked me to walk around their house for about a half hour with burning incense. The house smelled lovely, so I got that. But I wasn’t allowed to lower it above my head. I had the biggest biceps you’ve ever seen from that. That was in a house. The same as yachting as land. This was when I was serving in that job, but part of my job was apparently walking around with my arms up holding incense. It was quite degrading actually.
Where do you want to take this Below Deck opportunity?
There are so many different opportunities that could come from this. I would love to come back to the franchise and the show. I would be giving a completely different insight into my life now compared to what I was experiencing in my life when we filmed. I’m not sure people will find me interesting now. I’m settled in a happy relationship, but maybe that is what people do want to see. I would also love to take this opportunity to leap into theater, TV, film. I’m a trained performer, actor, so I would love for that opportunity because that is where my real passion is. That’s where I’m putting my thoughts and energy at the moment. I’m back into dance classes, which when I was on boats I couldn’t just hop off to dance classes. It’s lovely to be able to fuel my passions again.
Below Deck Mediterranean, Mondays, 8/7c, Bravo