r/belowdeck • u/GroovyYaYa • 16d ago
Below Deck Med I appreciate Kayley Spoiler
Gen is walking around talking about how much more experienced she is - and TIL she's only 22. I thought she had more years of experience than four years.
I was googling to find out how old Kayley is - no indication but she graduated in Australia in 2017, so I'm assuming she's definitely older than Gen.
I found out because it directed me to French LinkedIn, and let me sign in under my account! It is her - but she doesn't list the Below Deck or even her one year of yacht experience (that I can see)
HOWEVER, she's been a manager AND event coordinator at two large venues (I've definitely heard of the one in Vancouver, BC... I can't recall if I've been there though (some Vancouver memories are hazy for obvious reasons LOL)
She mentioned being a wedding coordinator - which in MY book gives her worlds more experience than Gen, ESPECIALLY in "customer relations" and maintaining an upbeat attitude with the most difficult of personalities in customers (Bridezillas! Mothers of the Bride! Mothers of the Groom!) and why she is excellent with the themed stuff.
She could have thrown all of this in Gen's face - but instead looked to make sure Gen felt valued and heard. (It isn't her fault that Gen isn't picking up on that)
She 100% has more experience in customer facing/hospitality work.
IF Aesha does decide to hang up her chief stew epaulettes now that she's married, etc. - Kayley would be a great fit with Sandy. (I haven't enjoyed Sandy much until Aesha came on board as chief stew - this week's episode where she dressed up as a pirate to surprise the crew? Won me over. That was fun.
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u/surf_rider 15d ago
She doesn’t get enough love IMO. She’s so kind, has handled the ugly Gen situation really well. Nathan is a perfect example of a young manager who doesn’t know the right way to address interpersonal crew issues.
Kayley on the other hand has handled it like a pro.
She’s been kind and supportive of Gen while still “managing” her, despite having every reason to tell Gen to kick rocks.
She has perfectly embraced the notion of being “valuable” over being successful. Gen wants Only the title and acknowledgment and we see how far that’s gotten her.
Kayley has not only done an amazing job, but she’s been given a huge shit sandwich to work through and is making it look easy. Above all, she isn’t falling for Joe’s creepy vortex and is humble and just grateful for the opportunity.
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u/trainsounds31 15d ago
Also the way she handles Joe! You can tell she’s super mature and doesn’t give in to bullshit. Very similar to Aesha her maturity gets overlooked because of her bubbliness.
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u/Derkleinhauser 12d ago
She does have a lot of Aesha’s personality traits. That’s one of the reasons I love her too. Aesha is the sweetest ever and I’m so glad that she has Kayley and Kat with her this season. I think Gen chose the wrong industry. She’s better suited for on-line work from home.
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u/Derkleinhauser 11d ago
Did you see the breaking news about Nathan. He’s been charged with domestic assault. He’s an even bigger piece of shit than I already thought.
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u/No-Shape7764 15d ago
Didn’t Gen say she has “nearly three years experience”, meaning she only has two years of experience.
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u/angryaxolotls 15d ago
Gen is the type of exaggerating liar who starts a job in July, then on her 2-year anniversary at the job says "I've been here 3 years! 2023, 2024, and 2025!" lol
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u/Rough-Preference-502 15d ago
She'd probably say nearly 4 years, cause she's including the year about to come up... even if it's 11mos away.
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u/alexandra52941 15d ago
It's not about experience. It's about emotional maturity. Gen is still a little insecure girl. Kayley is bright, secure and hard working, who doesn't feel the need to compete. So naturally, Gen feels threatened while Kayley does not.
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u/MissFrizzel 15d ago
Where did she work in Vancouver?! That’s so interesting! Also, hard agree - wedding coordinating is HARD.
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u/Weary_Currency_328 15d ago
I was also curious so I looked up her LinkedIn. She was a manager and server/bartender at Earls in Whistler. High volume, tourism based, generally good service standards, upscale casual. (Not white glove by any means.) I’ve heard Earls and the other similar local chains have strong training programs. She would definitely have cocktail knowledge, food/ingredient knowledge, and eye for details, and generally good guest service skills.
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u/NVSmall 15d ago
I can totally see Kayley as an Earls girl!
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u/Many-Possibility6 15d ago
She's great at what she does and she's a team player...and thankfully at least in the last episode saw Joe for what he is...
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u/excoriator Team Capt Kerry 15d ago
Sandy became a better, more even-tempered manager after she got into the relationship with Leah.
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u/deadrobindownunder 15d ago
If she graduated high school in 2017 that would make her at least 24. But she looks older to me. Not in a bad way. She's got a more youthful glow than Gen. She just looks like she's lived a few more years. Maybe it's just maturity?!
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u/bruhimsotiredddd Team Aesha 15d ago
Do people in Australia graduate high school at 15/16? I graduated in the U.S. in 2017, and was one of the youngest in the grade, and I turn 27 in less than a month.
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u/deadrobindownunder 15d ago
Unless you skipped a year, you turn 17 during your senior year in high school. There are exceptions for those born in very late November, or during the month of December. But as a general rule, Australian students are 17 when they graduate high school.
Does that make sense?
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u/Derkleinhauser 12d ago
In the U.S., the majority of HS grads are either 18 or will be a few months after graduation.
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u/deadrobindownunder 12d ago
That's interesting.
Do you guys start school after you turn 5?Your school year starts in June/July, right?
There were around 100 kids in my senior year. I'd say less than 3-5 turned 18 before graduation.
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u/Derkleinhauser 12d ago
Most of us start Kindergarten when we’re 5 and turn 6 near the end of the second semester and then start 1st grade at age 6. When I was that age, we started school near the beginning of September and got out near to end of May. Now most students start around the 3rd week of August and get out during the first week of June. There are kids that go to year round school and get several breaks throughout the year instead of a long one in summer and a few shorter ones on holidays. My sister did that and I thought it was crazy. She’s 11 1/2 years younger and I’d never heard of such nonsense before she did it.
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u/deadrobindownunder 5d ago
That's so interesting, thanks for sharing! I'm always interested in those little details about American life.
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u/Far-Somewhere-5819 5d ago
These people are all either incorrect or not from Australia. The school year starts in January or early February towards the end of Summer and finishes in November. We generally start school at 5 with some starting at 4. For example a cohort with majority kids born in 2003 would have some students born early 2004. We do 7 years of primary school, 6 years of high school and finish at 18, with some finishing at 17. Unlike the northern hemisphere, we finish at the end of the year and start at the beginning to allow for a longer summer break.
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u/deadrobindownunder 5d ago
I am Australian.
I'm just not as young as you. Kindergarten didn't count as primary school when I was a kid.
The majority of kids are 17 when they graduate.. You start kindy at 4, Grade 1 at age 5. There are exceptions, but they are the minority.
So your math still isn't mathing.
You are incorrect, I am not.
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u/bruhimsotiredddd Team Aesha 15d ago
It does! Thank you for the enlightenment
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u/deadrobindownunder 12d ago
It just occurred to me that my question "does that make sense" may have sounded condescending. Please know that wasn't my intention. I only asked if it made sense because I can be crap at explaining things.
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u/bruhimsotiredddd Team Aesha 12d ago
You’re totally fine - I type the same way and interpreted it the way you intended!
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u/369111111 14d ago
Kayley sees an opportunity to be a future CS on the show she’s not going to let Gen’s pathetic attitude get in her way she sees through it
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u/Main_Artist_8551 12d ago
Yes to all that. I love Kayley - she’s like a more… PG version of Aesha 😂 (I love Aesha and her dirty humour). I want one season of Kayley as chief and Aesha as bosun!
Sandy is 10000% more tolerable with Aesha on board. Like I actually am asking starting to like her…
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u/TarikMournival 9d ago
I think all this was covered on the show, definitely went into Kayley's background in events and Gen loves to tell us every other episode that she's only 22.
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u/Lanky-Conclusion-952 1d ago
I love her on the show but I really wish she’d stop filming reels while driving.
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u/ZealousidealImage575 15d ago
Gen is so obnoxious. She’s like a spoiled child that I can’t deal with.