Mike Durrant Reacts to His Shocking ‘Below Deck Down Under' Firing: ‘I Wasn't Working Hard-I Was Playing Hard'
"I don't think I did anything wrong," were deck/stew Mike Durrant's final thoughts after he was fired on Below Deck Down Under. But months later, his perspective has shifted-dramatically. Watching himself back, Mike admits to Parade, "I hold more accountability in being like, OK, now it's actually time to rein it in."
In a not-so-surprising turn during tonight's episode, Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher finally had enough of Mike's antics, and Captain Jason Chambers fired him. The final straw? Mike started needling the crew during their night out by "jokingly" insisting that he was the true head of the department.
This came after revealing a huge guest secret and relentlessly trolling stew Alesia Harris-something he now describes as a brother-sister dynamic he "thoroughly enjoyed," explaining, "I felt like for me it wasn't like when I woke up in the morning I'd be like, right, how am I gonna wind Alesia up today," he explains.
Mike pushed Daisy and Second Officer João Franco to the brink this season, leaning hard into that so-called "HOD" moniker and constantly badgering the interior team. After telling Jenna Woudberg he was the "MVP" and that Alesia would make a better second stew, Jenna hit her breaking point, telling Daisy, "I can't work with Mike anymore."
Caught in yet another moment of "winding people up," Daisy confronted Mike before ultimately removing him from the boat. "What did I say about winding people up?" she asked, as Mike insisted he "didn't say anything." When Daisy told him he'd be working until 9 p.m., Mike muttered, "We'll see about that"-a line he now regrets.
"You know what, that was exactly the reaction I had," Mike says, admitting he regretted those words the minute he said them. "In my head, it was more like I'm winding her up, but… that was actually probably worse than what I meant it to be… it was definitely out of order to speak to somebody like that." He adds that Daisy "remov[ing] me from the boat was the right choice, and I agree with that decision."
That moment sealed his fate. Soon after, Captain Jason called Mike to the bridge and didn't hold back. "There's a toxicity on board, and you're the source," he said. "I won't tolerate it. I need you to leave the boat today."
Again, Mike completely understands Captain Jason's perspective. "So, of course, for Jason to have that mindset of Mike being toxic, then especially for a working environment, I agree. And for me, I feel like if I'd have just put that little bit more effort into actually trying to help the interior side, because I feel like for me, I learned early on that the interior was probably a little bit more difficult for me, and it was one of those things where I was having to put myself into- it was a bit more attention to detail."
At the time, Mike maintained his stance. "This isn't the first time I've been sacked… for being the class clown," he said in his final confessional. "The thing is, I can never change who I am."
But now? He sees things differently. "I do feel like I made mistakes," he says. "It wasn't the work hard, play hard-for me it was like I wasn't working hard, but I was playing hard." He admits that while he focused on entertaining guests, it came at the expense of his actual duties: "Sometimes your best pro also might be your best con… you're sort of letting the rest of the team down."
Mike also acknowledges that his behavior created tension, especially with Alesia. "Of course, from her side she's thinking… not only is he winding us up… she's having to put the graft in," he says, referring to her having to work harder. "So I do understand where she was coming from."
Even one of his more serious slip-ups-spilling a guest's request for a makeup artist-could have ended things earlier. "I got away heavily with that, if I'm being honest," Mike says now. "I was very lucky."
Still, he insists there was no bad blood with the crew (or any of the guests) after filming. "I never left and was like, I don't like this person, I despise that person," he says, adding that he's stayed in touch with his castmates. "They were just like, he is a wind-up merchant, and that's all he is."
Ultimately, Mike says the experience forced him to confront his long-standing habits. "Back in various other jobs, I could never watch myself back… and I never really took accountability," he admits. "But watching myself back on this now… it's actually time to rein it in."
As for what's next, Mike is focused on growth. "I can't change the past, but I can change the future," he says.
Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 6:00 PM.