Heavy/Getty Jill Zarin
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum Jill Zarin is not an easy customer, at least according to “Below Deck” chief stew Fraser Olender.
A new season of “Below Deck” is underway and the returning chief stew joined Captain Kerry Titheradge on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” after the premiere. During their appearance, Olender and Titheradge, who replaced Captain Lee Rosbach as captain, were asked about Zarin as a charter guest.
“Without giving too much away, what can you tease about having Jill Zarin as a charter guest? Was she high maintenance?” one person asked. Cohen replied jokingly, “No, she’s super low maintenance.” Olender then teased, “I really don’t think I need to answer it. I’m going to go with — without spoiling too much — probably one of the toughest charters this season.”
The chief stew’s comments echoed those he made in an interview with Decider ahead of the season when he revealed Zarin’s charter was “one of the harder charters, if not the hardest. I’m going to leave it at that.”
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Jill Zarin Was Featured in a Preview for the Season
Fraser Olender says #RHUGT’s Jill Zarin challenged him with one of the toughest charters on this season of #BelowDeck. #WWHL
A clip of Zarin, who was one of the original cast members on “The Real Housewives of New York City,” during the season’s charter was included in a preview for season 11. In the clip, she was seen telling Olender, “I have this in mind, a button for the primary, and it’s like a doorbell, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong,” she laughed.
Zarin won’t be the first Housewives star to make an appearance in a “Below Deck” episode. During the first and so far only season of “Below Deck Adventure,” which was the season that saw Captain Kerry join the Bravo family, RHOSLC star Heather Gay joined for a fun-filled charter.
Season 7 of “Below Deck” featured RHOC star Alexis Bellino and her then-boyfriend Andy Bohn, as well as chief stew Kate Chastain calling them out for their frequent make-outs.
RHOA star Cynthia Bailey also joined “Below Deck” back in season 3 along with Claudia Jordan for a charter that Captain Lee has since reflected on. In an interview with HollywoodLife, Rosbach said he had a great time meeting Bailey and they were both really lovely charter guests.
‘Below Deck’ Season 11 Began Chaotically in the First Episode
The season 11 premiere introduced viewers to many new faces and personalities, along with returning cast members Olender, Ben Willoughby, and Captain Kerry. However, it soon became apparent that there were several issues with performance among the crew.
The first sign of trouble came with bosun Jared Woodin, who admitted that he hadn’t worked on a large yacht as a bosun in many years. He made some mistakes with the anchoring and seemed to struggle to give his team direction and a schedule, which rubbed Willoughby the wrong way.
In the galley, Chef Anthony Iracane delivered delicious dishes but appeared to struggle with timing and keeping his galley clean. As for Olender, he realized fairly quickly into the charter that one of his stews, Cat Baugh, was overwhelmed with the work and being pulled in all directions.
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