Who Is Captain Kerry Titheradge of Below Deck and Below Deck Adventure?
Learn all about the new captain — and familiar face — taking the helm in Below Deck's Season 11.
Captain Kerry Titheradge is making his return to the seas and to Bravo, this time manning the M/Y St. David on Below Deck Season 11.
Captain Kerry is at the helm of the motor yacht this season — which premieres on Monday, Feb. 5 at 9/8c — and, with more than 20 years of experience in the yachting industry, he is ready to take control.
RELATED: Captain Kerry Titheradge Opens Up About Coming “Full Circle” in Below Deck Season 11
The captain also isn't new to the Below Deck universe: He manned the inaugural charter for Below Deck Adventure Season 1, which premiered on Bravo in November 2022.
Find out more about his work background, his personal life, and his connection to the other Below Deck captains below.
Where is Captain Kerry Titheradge from?
Captain Kerry was born in Brisbane, Australia.
He has worked on boats for about 30 years, and he’s been on yachts specifically for about two decades. Kerry has cruised around various spots in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific Northwest, noting in his cast bio that the favorite places he’s chartered have been to Dubrovnik, Croatia, and Turks and Caicos.
Captain Kerry is also the owner and CEO of Yachting Concepts, a boat service.
Does Captain Kerry Titheradge have a girlfriend?
The Below Deck Adventure leader is in a relationship with a “lovely lady,” his girlfriend, Ghönül Bihan. She also has experience in the yachting industry. and Captain Kerry opened up about their relationship in Season 1, Episode 3 of Below Deck Adventure.
“I’ve been dating my girlfriend, Gönül for a little over a year,” Captain Kerry explained. “She’s from Turkey. We worked together quite a few years ago. She was the chief stew. She actually quit after a few months because she didn’t like the way I ran a boat.”
“A few years later, after I got divorced, we reconnected,” he explained. “Eventually, she opened up. She’s helped me become a better person. And that’s pretty special.”
Captain Kerry’s Instagram account is filled with photos of the couple on vacation, enjoying dinners with the family, and traveling all across the world together.
Does Captain Kerry Titheradge have kids?
When he’s not working on boats, Captain Kerry resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his son, his daughter, their husky, Benny, and the occasional foster dog.
Captain Kerry and his daughter have an adorable weekly date scheduled called “Daddy Daughter Wednesday” where they go to coffee shops together and grab a snack.
What happened to Captain Kerry Titheradge on Below Deck Adventure?
At BravoCon 2023, Captain Kerry revealed during the “Oh Captain, Our Captains” panel that he took the Below Deck Adventure job after hearing that he would go to Norway, which he had never been before.
Before Below Deck Adventure Season 1 premiered in 2022, Captain Kerry offered quite the teaser for the debut season.
“There’s a lot of drama going on. There’s some people that I wish I fired. No regrets,” he says in the video. “And there’s a lot of action in the hot tub.”
RELATED: Here’s What Makes Below Deck Adventure So Unique, According to Captain Kerry Titheradge
That is exactly what viewers saw when the show premiered: The Mercury crew had a blast spending time in Norway, participating in some extreme sports, and even tending to charter guest and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member, Heather Gay.
Captain Kerry told The Daily Dish in November 2022 that he was happy that the guests were so different.
“That was my biggest concern when I did it: What kinda guests am I gonna get?,” Captain Kerry asked. “[But] pretty much every single group, I’m in close contact with at least one person…They just [are] people having a good time. And [that] doesn’t mean sitting in St. Tropez — you know, like, sitting and being seen…This is actually getting out.”
(You can relive all of the exciting adventures by streaming the first season of Below Deck Adventure on Peacock.)
Captain Kerry Titheradge on Below Deck Season 11
If the Below Deck Season 11 preview reveals anything about Captain Kerry, it’s that he knows he has big shoes to fill.
Luckily, he's very capable of stepping into those shoes.
“I think Captain Kerry is a very capable captain, and I’m sure he’s excited to leave the cold waters of Iceland for the warm waters of the Caribbean,” former Below Deck chief stew, Kate Chastain, told Decider.
“I expect perfection,” Captain Kerry said in the trailer for Season 11. “You work hard you’ll be rewarded. You f-ck around and I will f-cking turn in a heartbeat.”
He described his management style as “firm but fair” during BravoCon 2023.
Still, he might have a little trouble with his crew: The preview shows the crew members making out with one another, spilling food in the cabin, and mis-measuring the distance to the dock.
“Easiest part about being a captain is driving the boat,” Captain Kerry said in the trailer. “The hard part is the crew.”
Even though there are a lot of challenges, Captain Kerry said at BravoCon 2023 that he was delighted to return to the Caribbean, which is where Season 11 takes place. “I cruised the Caribbean most of my career,” he said. “For me, taking over Below Deck the original is full circle.”
And he seems to be happy about the fact that the Caribbean is “not as cold” as Norway, where he was docked for Below Deck Adventure.
But just because he has changed his location doesn’t mean he has lost his spirit for adventure. According to his current cast bio, Captain Kerry stays active in extreme sports like snowboarding, motorbiking, and paragliding.
Originally published Oct 28, 2022.
