She rocked the boat quite a bit for five seasons on Below Deck Mediterranean as the toughest chief stew to ever grace the high seas, but it all came crashing down for Hannah Ferrier when she was fired by Captain Sandy in 2020 for having undeclared drugs onboard while filming the reality show. (To this day, the 35-year-old denies that the drugs were illegal as was suggested.) Now, two years following her controversial ouster, Ferrier is making a TV comeback, but it’s not the role you think it is.
In other words, it’s unfortunately not a return to the high drama of the Below Deck franchise. However, it is a reality show set on a boat – if that’s what you can call a cruise liner. On Hannah Ferrier’s Instagram, she announced that she’ll be moonlighting as a quasi-Julie McCoy figure on the Australian series The Real Love Boat, which is like a cross between Bachelor in Paradise and the 1970s classic The Love Boat. The reality star shared that she’ll be helping passengers find their “perfect match.” Check out the first look of Ferrier back in her epaulettes here:
The pic shows the Below Deck alum alongside her co-leads: host Darren McMullen, Daniel Doody as the head of entertainment and Paolo Arrigo as the Princess Cruises’ real-life captain. According to the Australian outlet Mediaweek, Hannah Ferrier’s official title is that of “cruise director” (a nod to the original namesake series). It might sound more demanding than her old gig as chief stew on Bravo, but it shouldn’t be so unfamiliar to her, as she will be “managing hospitality and social events” for the passengers.
The dating competition was greenlit by CBS in March, per the Hollywood Reporter. Apparently, there will be “destination dates” and “challenges” for the group of singles looking for love onboard. After one month, one couple will take home a cash prize together. Both U.S. and Australian versions are being shot consecutively in the Mediterranean and will air later this year on the 2022 TV schedule, with the Australian version premiering in that country on Network 10.
Hannah Ferrier is certainly moving onwards and upwards, although she did tease at one point that she would still consider returning to the Bravo franchise that shot her to notoriety – under one condition. The condition is that she has be under the command of a certain someone whose name is not Captain Sandy Yawn. In the wake of Ferrier’s firing, the two kept their notorious feud going strong in the press and on social media afterwards. The last we heard, Ferrier had revealed that she and Yawn actually “weren’t friendly at all” since the very beginning of making Below Deck Med.
Nevertheless, Captain Sandy continues to be the leadership on the spinoff, with Season 7 currently underway, but it’s losing yet another major star. Meanwhile, Hannah Ferrier has been hosting a pretty successful podcast since her exit, Dear Reality, You're Effed!, where she interviews various other reality TV stars about their behind-the-scenes experiences. She also had her first child, a daughter named Ava, in October 2020.
All’s well that ends un-well, I guess. I can just hear it now: “The love boat soon will be making another run/The love boat promises something for everyone…” Well, at the very least, it is promising something new for Hannah Ferrier to work with.
