Ben Willoughby and Sunny Marquis started dating during Season 11 of Below Deck. Their relationship developed from a boatmance into a serious romance once filming wrapped. But roughly one year later, this relationship walked the plank.
Thankfully, Sunny is returning to the exterior team for Season 12. But Ben is not, which makes sense, as he popped off on almost everyone once Season 11 took to the airwaves. However, Sunny and Ben were still dating while Sunny filmed for the next season sans her man. Therefore, we will likely hear his name at least once during the upcoming season of BD.
To help prepare us for this mess, let us look back at this boatmance shared by Sunny and Ben. From flirtations to frustrations (on repeat) to a fully-blown romance that perished on dry land, here is the timeline of Sunny and Ben.
Ben and Sunny struck up a rocky boatmance during Below Deck Season 11
When Sunny boarded the boat as a deckhand in Season 11, Ben looked her way several times. However, Ben also had lingering feelings for his Season 10 ex, Camille Lamb. Oh, and Paris Field, a stewardess in Season 11, also caught his eye.
Thankfully, when Ben reached out to Camille during Season 11 (while he was already involved with Sunny), Camille also said no to a possible rekindling, as this relationship had already sailed, in her correct opinion. In his confessional, Ben revealed that he did not share a spark with Sunny. This statement likely stung Sunny when this episode aired.
Likewise, Paris saw straight through Ben. She even appeared on Watch What Happens Live as their season aired, encouraging Sunny to end things with Ben. “He needs therapy,” Paris quipped, adding that Sunny needs to “get rid of Ben.”
Ben struggled with giving Sunny his one-on-one attention. Yet no matter what transpired on board, Sunny would always dry her eyes and return to Ben, ready to forgive her Bosun for his ill-spoken statements and handsy behaviors.
Following Below Deck Season 11, Ben and Sunny start dating
Once BD Season 11 wrapped, Ben took to his socials to announce that he and Sunny were still together. We would include his post here, but they have since split, so this lovesick nod no longer exists. Thankfully, we reported on these posts back when they occurred. Therefore, we can still easily share the relevant details with you now.
Ben wrote, “Yes, you guessed it, we are still together! Finally, we can let go of the secrecy” they had been hiding for the past 15 months. Ben further revealed that he and Sunny traversed “the globe together last year, and Sunny made her way to Australia for Christmas.”
Two months ago, Ben posted a TikTok reel that is shockingly still alive on his page (for now). His curated montage centered around his travels and time spent with Sunny. From late-night beach giggles to bike riding and skating, this duo seemed a decent enough fit.
But something must have still been amiss, as their break-up announcement sounded only a few weeks ago. Luckily for us nosey Nellies, we might learn more about what transpired shortly once Sunny returns to Bravo without Ben.
Sunny filmed for Below Deck Season 12 sans Ben
Below Deck Season 12 is bringing back Sunny, but not Ben. But remember, Sunny was still dating Ben when this season was filming, so a Season 12 FaceTime call might still occur, bringing Ben back into our lives whether we like it or not. But why is Ben no longer starring in this series? Let us recap thy ways now.
As a Bosun, Ben performed his job well. It was his interpersonal behaviors that sank his ship on Bravo. First, Ben seemed to love flirting and touching other females on board, which made Sunny cry. But somehow, her reactions to his piss-poor behaviors always got labeled as problematic “chick” antics by Ben, which, ew.
Sunny continually forgave Ben, but as the viewers, many of us struggled to do the same. Therefore, the vitriol that Ben received as Season 11 aired was high, especially once his combative scenes with Captain Kerry Titheradge transpired. To recap, Captain Kerry promoted Ben to a Bosun position, but he revealed in his confessional that Ben was not his first pick. This reveal sent Ben spirling, quipping, “Time will tell that man’s true character.”
Yet, time only showed Ben brushing off orders, speaking poorly about his captain and his other colleagues, and never once taking accountability for his behaviors. Therefore, we are unsurprised that Ben is no longer attached to this series.
Ben and Sunny broke up in December 2024
The Daily Dish managed to capture the fallout between Sunny and Ben online. Ben made this announcement via his Instagram Stories, which disappeared after 24 hours. “I need to kindly ask that people respect my space at this time and stop the negative comments and messages. It’s been a very difficult couple of weeks, and some things are private between two people,” Ben wrote.
Meanwhile, nothing says single and ready to mingle like thirst trap pictures posted around the holidays. So this is what Sunny did after she scrubbed her accounts of Ben.
“Chapter closed,” Sunny began, thanking her supporters for backing her this year, both on Below Deck and off. “See you in 2025,” a topless Sunny added, basking in her bikini bottoms on a cliff by the sea, looking like a hot, potentially reoccurring new Bosun for the Below Deck franchise (or so we hope).
Below Deck is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU SAD TO HEAR THAT BEN AND SUNNY ARE NO MORE? WHY DO YOU THINK THIS BOATMANCE FIZZLED OUT?