Below Deck season 12 deckhand appears to cross a major line with a married charter guest in upcoming episodes of the show. In Touch takes a deep dive into what happened and how the incident sparked an investigation.

In the season 12 trailer, Kyle was shown in the Caribbean Sea holding a woman in his arms as she drank a glass of wine on a beach trip with charter guests. His fellow deckhand told , “Stillie is either in there making our tip or losing our tip,” thanks to the Scotland native’s seemingly overly flirtatious behavior with a charter guest.

Kyle was next shown in Captain ‘s wheelhouse, as the skipper told him, “The crew think you banged a charter guest.”

Chief stew exclaimed, “That is not OK,” while the St. David’s crew were out to dinner as he showed something on his phone to stew . A male crew member’s voice is heard saying, “Her husband paid for the tip,” referring to the money the cast got at the end of the charter.

A man and woman’s silhouettes were shown on the beach at night in a passionate embrace as the latter straddled her lover, although in the darkness it was unclear if it was Kyle and the guest.

Kyle was asked by producers about his comment on “f–king” a guest whose husband was along on the charter, saying “Was is a joke?” The producer repeated back the question hoping for an answer during the confessional as the beach makeout was shown. He then let out a heavy sigh.

“There was an investigation done. I’m not too sure how much of that will be shown but I did a thorough investigation before I made my decision,” Kerry told Us Weekly on June 3, 2025, one day after the season 12 premiere aired teasing whether or not Kyle’s alleged actions with a charter guest caused him to get fired.

“It will be interesting to see what happens after I interviewed each of the crew members — including what was actually said behind [my back],” he continued.

“We’re going to see how it all develops on the show. If one of my staff is with a married person on the boat, they’re not going to stay on the boat,” Kerry explained “You’re breaking a boundary there that you can’t cross.”

Kyle was only one of two returning cast members for season 12 of Below Deck, alongside Fraser, who has been with the show since season 9.

“Kyle works very hard. He has a lot of respect. Last season, he was led astray by the bosun but I think he needs to keep it in his pants,” Kerry told Us Weekly about Kyle’s work habits.

“But he has a very strong work ethic and he’s a very good crew member to have around. He doesn’t have any ego. He gets the job done, he works hard and I want to see him grow in the ranks. I want to see him continue in the franchise. Let’s see if he can’t be a bosun one day — but maybe that’s over for him,” Kerry teased about whether or not season 12 would be Kyle’s last.

If Kyle does get involved with someone in Below Deck season 12, it wouldn’t be the first time he hooked up with someone during charter season.

He and season 11 stew Barbara “Barbie” Pascual had a hot and heavy boatmance, although it was hampered by her worries that her wealthy father and conservative family in Argentina would never accept the humble deckhand as a worthy boyfriend.

Kyle addressed the situation in the Below Deck season 12 premiere, telling Damo, “The girl I met last year— f–king tried to make it work, but I was like a lost little puppy, mate. I really just f–king went for it.”

“What happened to me and Barbie after St. David? When I got to Miami, we linked up and had a beautiful relationship,” Kyle added in a confessional. “And I think part of me still does love that girl.”

Kyle shared that he and the designer-loving stew were “very different people,” revealing, “Our core — we don’t connect.”