‘Below Deck Down Under’: Daisy Kelliher Dishes on Wild ‘RHOSLC’ Crossover & New Romance

A sick guest, missing nipple covering, drinks thrown, and glasses broken. The ladies of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City certainly didn’t make things easy for the Below Deck Down Under crew during the Season 4 premiere. Drama spilled over on the superyacht Katina with primary Heather Gay, Whitney Rose, Lisa Barlow, Meredith Marks, Mary Cosby, Angie Katsanevas, Bronwyn Newport, and Britani Bateman as the first charter on the February 2 episode. Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher had her hands full alongside newly minted second stew Jenna Woudberg and deck/stew Mike Durrant. The Bravo reality series fan-favorite also found herself down a stew after Joe Caron left the boat upon finding out her grandfather was in the hospital. 

For Kelliher, this marks a new chapter as part of the franchise. Here, she works under Captain Jason Chambers after spending four seasons on Below Deck Sailing Yacht with Captain Glenn Shephard. Fans of the show have followed her, oftentimes, tumultuous relationships with Gary King, Colin MacRae, and Keith Allen. A teaser showed another boatmance may be brewing between her and Second Officer João Franco.

Here the TV personality dishes on the RHOSLC crossover, team tensions, and more.

What was it like going into uncharted waters for you this season? 

Daisy Kelliher: Yeah, definitely excited to join a new show in the franchise. I loved working with Captain Glenn and had so much fun on Sailing. Sometimes it is good to challenge yourself in new ways. The timing worked out really well. I was excited to try a new boat. I was excited to work with a new captain. I felt really strong going into this season. I wanted a bit of a redemption season after Sailing Season 4 where the girls kind of ran amok around me. I wanted to come in really strong and impress Jason and impress the viewers and have a good season. I went in with a good headspace and good mentality. 

How would you compare the two captains? 

I definitely think they are similar and definitely the kind of management style that I respond to really well too. They don’t really micromanage and let me run my department the way I want to run it, which I appreciate. Jason was a great support to me this season. He was a great sounding board. We had a really good relationship. 

How do you look back at this first charter with the Housewives? 

We do come in hot. I went in with a really good headspace. I did feel the pressure was on like, “What have I done to myself again. Can I actually survive this season?” The first two episodes are really fast-paced. It feels like you’re almost watching a mid-season kind of series in the first two episodes because usually you’re kind of learning characters, but because we have so many returners, it’s kind of like we picked up where we left off. There really are no lull moments. Just constant changes and conflict and boatmances. It’s going to be exciting. 

What was it like watching the drama unfold with the ladies at the dinner table? 

There is not much you could do. That was all between them. Now obviously looking back, they were halfway through their season of filming, so they were in the midst of their drama. Now it makes a lot of sense why there was so much tension and conflict. At the time, I thought these ladies were kind of crazy. You wouldn’t expect anything less from the Housewives, so it was very entertaining. 

This was the first Below Deck crossover. How was it seeing both sides of filming? 

There are definitely some differences. With our team, the fourth wall is very strict. They have a production office that we don’t see the producers really ever. They really try to create this fourth wall to protect the authenticity and carry on, which it does. That’s what I think is so fun about Below Deck. The producers are more in front of them, so it was interesting to see how their show is filmed. But they were all professionals and kept out of the way. It was great to see the two worlds collide in that way. It was interesting for me to see how they do work differently. 

Before the charter even happens, Joe gets sad news her grandfather wasn’t doing well and leaves the boat. How do you look at that? 

It was sad to see Joe go, but I think it was best for everyone when someone is fully present. Even though I was disappointed she left, and it created more work for us, I also know Joe wouldn’t have been able to pull her weight at that point. I can’t really be dealing with that either. It was definitely the right decision for her to go home and be with her family. The way I viewed it was if we survived this charter, which was me and Jenna, then the rest of the season would be smooth sailing. It would only be easier. So, it was disappointing, but I was really proud of what we achieved. Everyone was so helpful. Jason was so helpful, the deck team was so helpful. It was tough physically, but it was nice to see the crew band together and support and help me like they did. 

We’ll see who comes aboard next, but you decided to make Jenna second stew. When there is a hierarchy, that brings its own share of issues. On top of that, Jenna comes off as high-maintenance at the start.  You also have a deck-stew. How would you describe the work dynamic? 

Jenna would describe herself as high-maintenance. It’s pretty accurate. You always get challenges with hierarchy. You’re going to see that typical drama and tension over this second stew. That kind of develops later in the season. I don’t know, but people are obsessed with these titles. I never cared about the title, but that is part of the story. Not just for Jenna. There are other people, too. I don’t want to give too much away, but it surfaces a lot throughout the season. With a deck-stew, there is always the challenge with how you balance that out. I’d say me and João manage that pretty well, but I’m not sure Mike liked how it was managed. There was definitely some tension in that area as well. It’s always fun for me. There is always a new problem. 

The heads of each department are experienced in the Below Deck world. Chef Ben [Robinson], who is among them, has a very strong personality. How do you feel he treated his sous-chef Alesia [Harris] in the beginning? Do you think he was a little hard on her? 

It’s tough. Ben is definitely not an easy person to work with. He has a temperament that not everyone is used to. Alesia is quite young. She is 26. I was nervous working with Ben, so I can’t imagine how Alesia was feeling when she found out Ben was her chef. She isn’t as skilled as she would have liked to have been or Ben would have liked her to have been. I do think in yachting you do have to have thick skin. There are moments I think Ben helped escalate things. She was already feeling nervous and already wasn’t very skilled and then unfortunately how Ben spoke to her. You make more mistakes when in that environment. I understood Ben’s frustration for sure, but I also don’t fully agree with how he spoke to her. But at the same time with yachting, you have to have thick skin, especially. That, coupled with reality TV, is not easy. It’s definitely going to test you. You’ll have to see how they go. 

How do you feel you got along with Ben? 

I really wanted a strong season. I felt vulnerable after the last season of Sailing Yacht, and I think sometimes people take my kindness for weakness. I think it’s important to reflect back and think of how you can change. My attitude was I can’t, for lack of a better word, bully me or put me down. I was really nervous when I saw the chef was Ben and thought, “How am I going to do this?” It was kind of a fake it till you make it kind of moment. I was going to make sure he could not bully me and get his way around me, even though I was shaking inside. I didn’t let him see that. I do actually think Ben respected me for that. Ben is the kind of person you need to stand up to. He responds to that and values that. Even though we have conflicts and a very up and down journey. I think in the end we respected each other. I think we saw a bit in each other where we aren’t going to take BS from each other. We were always able to hug it out in the end. It will be entertaining to watch I’m sure. 

You spoke about boatmances. It looks like you and João have some sort of connection. What can you tease for what we’re going to see between the two of you? 

I never go into the season hoping for anything because I am really there to work. I’m also young, fun, and single, so sometimes it happens. It is a fun part of the show. I’m so stressed the rest of the time with all the conflict, trying to manage people and difficult guests. So, when there is a romantic thing there, it’s fun for me because I can relax a bit and have a bit of fun and laugh and all that fun stuff. I think João and I navigated it pretty well. I like to think I’m a professional, and I don’t think it has ever affected my work throughout the seasons on Sailing. It was a fun storyline for me to show I’m not always shouting at people. Sometimes I am nice. I’m a lover, not a hater. 

You’ve been through so much over the years in terms of relationships. Are you looking at them differently on the boat? 

Yeah, it’s weird. I get way more attention on the show than I do in real life. I don’t know what it is I’m doing on that boat where I seem to draw these men. You get to know people really quickly, so I think it’s really easy for someone to find a relationship on the boat. You’re kind of meeting these people and after two weeks it feels like you know them for six weeks. So, yeah, for some reason I love a good boatmance even though I’m never looking for it. It’s just a good time. It’s nice to have something fun to do and flirt with someone and chat with someone and not it just be all work for six weeks. 

This is an exclusive part of the Caribbean in Canouan. What do you make of the guests we’re going to see for the rest of the season and challenges you face? 

 Canouan  was absolutely beautiful. I was excited to be there. We had great weather. The charter guests were great this year. There were none that we rude. They were nice, but we were definitely put through our paces with drink orders nonstop, cleaning cabins. They knew what they wanted. It certainly wasn’t easy. We didn’t have an easy charter. Certain things like provisions were difficult. Being so remote, sometimes we weren’t able to cater to the guests the way we wanted to. Overall, we had great guests, but they kept us working hard. That leads to conflict because the pressure-cooker we were in. 

How did you compare your experience to Sailing Yacht? 

It was really exciting to do something new. It was fun to have a new boat, captain, and all that stuff. I had a great time on Sailing Yacht. I miss Sailing, but I’m excited for this new adventure on Down Under and very proud to be part of the franchise. 

We’ve seen Kate Chastain appear on The Traitors and now House of Villains. Is this something you want to do, too? 

Absolutely. I think there is a villainous style to me. I would love to do The Traitors. We’ve had Maura Higgins representing the Irish flag. I think the next one should be me coming in there. I’m a huge fan of The Traitors. Kate did amazing in that, so if I ever get that opportunity, I’ll take it on. 

Below Deck Down Under, Mondays, 8/7c, Bravo.