Everyone who watches Bravo’s Below Deck knows that boatmances are bound to happen. How else are these yachties supposed to blow off a little steam? The Season 12 trailer even includes a montage of crew members making out with each other during those rare nights off. Best of all, this group of yachties make up one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly crews in franchise history.
In this exclusive clip from tonight’s all-new episode, deckhands Kyle Stillie, Jess Thomas, and Damo Yorg are performing their duties and gossiping. “So do you reckon any of the girls on board are your type?” asks Yorg. “I like SoSo’s [Soléne Favreau’s] humor,” says Thomas. “And yourself?”
“Rainbeau [de Roos], very attractive,” Stillie chimes in.
“SoSo, very attractive, and if Barbara [Kulaif] swung that way…” Immediately, Thomas gets a big smile on her face and asks: “So, she is gay?” “She’s gay, yeah” replies Stillie, and the two deckies high five. “Is she your type?” Stillie asks. “Now she is!” says Thomas excitedly.
Then, the camera moves to Thomas’ confessional in which she talks about her sexuality joyfully. “I wear my gayness proudly,” begins Thomas. “I’m proud of who I am.” She then shares her coming out story. “I went to a pretty religious school. I came out to my parents in the last year of high school. I was expecting the worst.” An image of Thomas and her mom and dad looking happy flashes on the screen.
“I told my mom that I was gay first,” remembers Thomas. “And I told my mom I’m not telling my dad because I was so scared of what he would think about me. In the Afrikaans culture, [being gay] is so frowned upon,” explains Thomas. “But when I was like, ‘dad, I’m gay,’ he was like, ‘no, I know.'” Thomas recalls she that started crying. “I went through all that emotional trauma for you to be like, ‘ok, cool.'” Ultimately, Thomas could only laugh with relief!
“My parents have been so supportive.They really don’t care who I bring home as long as it”s a good person,” says Thomas. Back on the St. David, Yorg, smiling, puts it best: “If it’s love, it’s love.” The three laugh, but Thomas is leery. “You will never find love on a boat, trust me,” she states confidently. “Two weeks and then I cut it.”
Will Thomas repeat her old patterns? Or will she form a deeper connection? Tune in to Below Deck at Mondays at 8pm ET/PT on Bravo to find out!