Below Deck Sailing Yacht: 8 Times Daisy Kelliher Proved She Is The Ultimate Female Below Deck Franchise Villain

Daisy Kelliher returned as Chief Stew on Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5, but she might be the ultimate female villain on the show. The Irish Stew first joined the Bravo spin-off cast in Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 2, replacing chaotic Jenna MacGillivray. Known for her sense of humor and no-nonsense professionalism, Daisy’s story took a turn when she got involved in a love triangle with First Mate Gary King and former Chief Engineer Colin Macrae.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5 has been a wild ride thus far. Daisy confronted Gary in the season premiere regarding the fallout of her boatmance with Colin. Additionally, Chef Cloyce Martin seems a little big for his britches, bragging about his culinary prowess and preferring to hang with the guests over-preparing their food. Danni Warren is more concerned with flirting than doing her job, and Diana Cruz could continue to pose problems. Amid all the drama, could Daisy be a villain?

8 Daisy Is Feuding With Diana On & Off-Screen

Could She Be The Bad Guy?

Diana has made it clear she doesn’t like Daisy both on and off-screen, even suggesting she’s a tyrannical boss. Their feud began when Daisy assigned her stews a cocktail-making class to sharpen their bartending skills, which Diana resented. Diana reluctantly made a drink for a crew member but soon walked off, leaving fellow stew Danni Warren to handle the bar alone. Daisy, unimpressed by Diana’s lack of cooperation, reprimanded her and warned she’d have to repeat the bartending duty as a result.

In response to the episode, Diana got spicy online. In a now-deleted Instagram post, she defended her stance, arguing it was unfair to ask her to make drinks during off-hours. She also lashed out at Daisy, calling her a “bad leader” and implying Daisy’s criticisms stem from her own frustrations, making Daisy a potential villain. While Diana didn’t seem like an especially hard worker, it was unfair for Daisy to make her work during her leisure hours.

7 Daisy Can Be Passive Aggressive

She Can Come Off As Condescending

Daisy used to be straightforward, but she’s become more passive-aggressive in her leadership style over time. Her tense relationship with Chef Cloyce has led to several passive-aggressive exchanges. Daisy got frustrated when Chef Cloyce questioned if the table was cleared for dessert service despite her already confirming it via another crew member. However, the communication was never direct, and she came off as condescending rather than a strong leader.

Daisy’s leadership style has changed since she first appeared on Below Deck Sailing Yacht as Chief Stew.

Daisy’s passive-aggressive tendencies also surface when managing her team, which is probably why Diana and Danni can’t stand her. In one incident, she told Diana, a stew, that she would have to do bar duty next time after she left her coworker Danni to handle it alone. This caused Diana to go off on her online and could lead to more friction in future episodes.

6 Daisy Didn’t Care About Danni’s Feelings Regarding her Table Scape

She’s Not Very Empathetic

Daisy also has problems with her other stew, Danni. The stew has proven she cares more about flirting with Keith Allen and Gary than doing her job, and Daisy doesn’t know how to deal with her. In one instance, Danni started crying over what she perceived as Daisy’s “tacky” table decor. Daisy seemed to know it was tacky and claimed that was the point. In her shock and frustration, she was rude to Danni, dismissing her feelings about the situation.

She also lost her patience with Danni when she made a mistake in the table setting, forcing Daisy to fix her mistake ahead of meal service for the guests. Daisy used to be a direct but kind Chief Stew, but her temper has gotten short with Danni and Diana. While it would be frustrating to manage the pair, it could set her up to become a villain in future episodes.

5 Daisy Yelled At Gary While On Duty

She Needs To Keep It Professional With Her Former Fling

Daisy’s relationship with Gary could turn her into a villain. In the season premiere, she confronted him regarding his behavior last season. After Gary and Daisy hooked up off-screen between seasons 3 and 4, Daisy started a boatmance with Colin. Gary and Colin were good friends, and Colin’s relationship with Daisy made him jealous. He purposefully tried to undermine their boatmance and cause trouble. While Colin and Daisy ultimately broke up, Daisy called Gary out for not being there for her as a friend as she went through a breakup.

The nature of Gary and Daisy’s relationship remains unclear in
Below Deck Sailing Yacht
season 5.

It seemed as though Daisy and Gary hashed it out, but Daisy later yelled at Gary for not listening to her orders. Daisy and Gary have similar ranks on Parsifal III, with both reporting directly to Captain Glenn Shephard. Gary might have annoyed Daisy, but she didn’t necessarily have the right to yell at him.

4 Daisy Plays The Victim

She Doesn’t Take Responsibility

Daisy might still be a fan favorite, but she does seem to play the victim on the show. During Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 4, a love triangle developed between Daisy, Gary, and Colin, which led to conflicts where Daisy usually positioned herself as the victim. After her hookup with Gary was revealed while she was dating Colin, Daisy deflected the blame on Gary. Colin, who was frustrated, told Daisy to take accountability for her actions rather than blaming others.

Daisy expressed feeling overwhelmed and under pressure, claiming she bore excessive responsibility as the Chief Stew on the sailing yacht, her job. She could be on the verge of a breakdown given Daisy’s relationship with Diana and Danni, and she’ll undoubtedly blame them for their vindictive behavior. Daisy struggles to take criticism, which is why she tends to play the victim when things go wrong.

3 Daisy Is Having Issues With Chef Cloyce

They’re Having A Power Struggle

Daisy and Chef Cloyce have started to butt heads on Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5, and Daisy could become the villain amid their feud. Chef Cloyce, a 22-year-old chef with experience in yachting but new to working on Parsifal III, struggled with Daisy over service expectations and kitchen logistics. Chef Cloyce’s timing with meals made Daisy angry, but she largely behaved passive-aggressively.

Their disagreements were also compounded by differing understandings of service protocol. For instance, Chef Cloyce’s approach to timing and meal preparation clashed with Daisy’s preferred service flow. While Captain Glenn encouraged them to resolve issues independently to build a stronger team, he kept a close eye, especially as Chef Cloyce started to abandon orders on the yacht by hanging out with the charter guests. As Daisy and Chef Cloyce continue to clash, she could become the bad guy.

2 Daisy Is Always Stirring The Pot

She Loves The Drama

Daisy seems to relish the drama on Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5. She observed drama brewing between Deckhand Emma Crouch and stews Diana and Danni during a night out and didn’t do anything to mitigate the drunken discussion. Additionally, she stirred the pot with Gary in the season premiere when she brought up old issues from season 4. The only real reason to do that on camera was to raise tension and make her storyline more dramatic.

While Daisy can often stir the pot, Gary is also to blame for intensifying dramatic situations.

One of her biggest moments of stirring the pot involved the ongoing tension with Chef Cloyce. Daisy criticized Cloyce for a series of kitchen mishaps, including a disastrous attempt at preparing a birthday cake, which he decided to heat, causing it to collapse and become inedible. Daisy didn’t hold back, calling his approach “horrific” and unprofessional, which escalated their tense relationship and added to the boat’s overall drama.

1 Daisy Allows Personal Issues To Impact Performance

She Suffered Professionally During The Love Triangle

Daisy’s ultimate descent into villainy could lie in her inability to prevent her issues from impacting her job performance. Season 4 saw Daisy embroiled in a love triangle with Gary and Colin, which led to heightened stress and tension both personally and professionally. Due to the drama, she got distracted from her duties as Chief Stew. She’s already proven she can’t work effectively with Gary because of their issues. Daisy has been snippy and demanding with Gary thus far and could blow up if he hooks up with Danni in upcoming episodes.

During the love triangle debacle, Daisy struggled with the pressure of her job responsibilities, always feeling overwhelmed. This led her to occasionally step away from crew meetings to decompress, which affected her leadership. Her transparency about these struggles, both on social media and Below Deck Sailing Yacht, indicates she might become a bad guy if she can’t balance these roles.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht

airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.