RHONY Alum Jill Zarin Appeared On Below Deck, And Fans And Cast Members Were Not Happy To See Her

In the world of Bravo reality shows, crossovers and drama are pretty common. “Bravolebrities” regularly make guest appearances on each other shows or sometimes even find themselves charter guests on board the many yachts featured within the Below Deck franchise. When appearing on the hit sailing series, these reality stars are typically the “primary guest” on board, meaning they are the ones fronting the bill for the luxury vacation. However, that was not the case on the latest Below Deck episode which featured Jill Zarin of Real Housewives of New York stardom. And, in the aftermath of her appearance, fans and series cast members were not pleased. 

For those who aren’t well-versed in their Bravo history, Jill Zarin was one of the original members of the New York-based offshoot of the franchise. She appeared on the first four seasons as a full-time cast member and then left, before returning in a guest role for Seasons 9-12. During her tenure, she went from a fan favorite to arguably one of the most despised cast members. Though it’s been a while since reality TV fans have seen her in fresh content, all it took was a few minutes of screen time on Below Deck for them to remember why she’s no longer their favorite. One took to X and posted the following:

From the minute she stepped onto the St. David yacht, she was vying for the “Primary Guest” role despite not paying for the vacation. Not only that, but one of the first words out of her mouth was a reminder to Captain Kerry and the rest of the crew that she had chartered yachts before. From there, the situation only got worse, as she nitpicked details, including the fact that her bathroom wasn’t stocked with toiletries. Another viewer comment on her critiques:

While the first dinner service went off without a hitch — an impressive feat given the extensive dietary restrictions this group has — lunch was not as successful. Instead of being courteous to the crew that was clearly frazzled but trying their best, Jill Zarin arguably made everything worse. She tried to play it off as her being a concerned and experienced charter guest wanting to take the crew to the next level. However, fans now seem to view her as nothing more than a spoiled woman with a penchant for complaining.  

After the disastrous lunch, Captain Kerry and Chef Anthony Iracane sought out the primary guest to discuss dinner to make sure that the service was better than what they received for lunch. This is a typical conversation that happens on board these yachts, yet things were anything but when the Housewives alum joined the conversation, speaking over the primary guest. Not only did the outspoken socialite take over the entire meeting and change the menu, but she also did it with little regard to the primary guest’s dietary restrictions which caused problems later on. Take a look at the following reaction:

Jill Zarin wasn’t just a nuisance to fans trying to watch the show but also got on the nerves of the professional St. David crew. While it’s not uncommon for the crew members to make comments and vent about the guests, they rarely do it so unanimously. Stewardess Barbie Pascual was featured several times venting about how demanding she was, even calling her out by saying: 

Even senior crew member Chief Steward Graser Olendar, had had enough to the point that he opted to help set up their beach day instead of staying on the boat to deal with her during lunch. Still, even time away couldn’t keep her from getting to him. In a confessional, he said: 

Seeing the way she treated the crew was honestly disappointing for many reasons. However, when one considers the vast pay gap between Housewives alums and BD crew members, it’s even more heinous to see how she treated them. Even former fans of Jill Zarin found themselves unable to excuse her behavior, going as far as unfollowing her on social media, based on a handful of tweets. The worst part of this whole episode is that it’s a two-parter which means the RHONY alum will be making an appearance next week, too. Whether that installment is better received remains to be seen.

If you missed the episode or any of the current season of Below Deck (which includes two crew members leaving the ship in the same episode) you can stream it now using a Peacock subscription. And don’t forget to tune in for the assumed second part of Jill Zarin’s trip when it airs on Monday, April 8, at 9 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule.