Bravo’s Below Deck may have just ended, but fans don’t have to wait to get their sea legs back too much longer because Below Deck Sailing Yacht is returning this week. After nonstop feuding last season, returning stars Daisy Kelliher and Gary King are sparking rumors of a budding romance in the new preview clip for the show’s upcoming third season.
The two have been spotted hanging out together off the show and palling around in pictures. So, are they or aren’t they dating?
Speaking to E! News, Daisy is setting the record straight and sharing that though the relationship lines became blurred, the two remain friends.
“No, we’re not dating,” Daisy told the entertainment network. “But I did really enjoy how much speculation there was. No, Gary and I are just friends.”
Gary also reiterated Daisy’s remarks, making the point that dating in the yachting industry is difficult and rarely works out.
“It’s very difficult to date when you’re working on a yacht. I mean, I’d probably see Daisy once every four or five months and I personally don’t think that’s fair on any of the parties. So, I can safely say that we are just friends,” Gary told E! News.
So how did these two go from foes to making out in a hot tub?
Daisy credits that to a “huge lack of communication” in the previous season and going in on better terms for the new season.
“It was important to both of us to get along and make sure we had a good team and a good season, so pretty early on we established we need to be on the same team,” she explained. “So, this year we tried harder to communicate and obviously we communicated too well.”
Daisy says that one thing just led to another and ended in the steamy hot tub kiss, but the two ultimately decided to keep their relationship platonic. Stills, Gary says he’s always had a “soft spot” for Daisy even when they weren’t on the best of terms.
“It’s a complicated friendship. I don’t think we’re more than just friends. We’re very affectionate people and we’re very affectionate towards each other and care a lot about each other and we’ve been through a lot over the last two years. I just think that just got a bit blurred,” Daisy explained.
She added, “Our relationship is very platonic. We care about each other and like I said we’re both affectionate people, so affection can sometimes lead to kissing. But no, we’re just friends.”
Gary also confirmed the nature of their friendship, saying, “When I heard Daisy was coming on board [for season three] I was actually very nervous to be honest with you because, like you say, Daisy and I did not end on good terms last season…Daisy and I had a great relationship this season, I think you’ve seen in the preview how good the relationship was this season. And now when we’re in L.A. together we hang out at Disneyland together and we’ve actually built a very strong friendship.”
Season three of Below Deck Sailing Yacht premieres Monday, February 21, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo
Photos Credit: Laurent Basset/Bravo