Below Deck Down Under’s Mike Durant Breaks His Silence on Sudden Firing

If you watch Below Deck Down Under, you probably caught the drama: Mike Durrant got the boot, and it wasn’t exactly a subtle exit. The captain decided he just couldn’t deal with Mike’s antics anymore, and out he went. Honestly, it wasn’t the biggest surprise—at least not to those of us who’ve seen Mike’s pattern of stirring up trouble on board. But what is a little surprising is how much Mike’s attitude has changed since then. Turns out, even reality TV troublemakers can have a moment of self-reflection.

So, What Actually Happened?

Here’s how it all went down:

• Mike Durrant stirred up plenty of issues this season—think everything from repeatedly poking fun at Stew Alesia Harris, to spilling a guest’s secret, and generally getting on the last nerve of Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher and Second Officer João Franco.
• There was a particular clash where Daisy told Mike he’d be working a late shift. Mike shot back with a, 'We’ll see about that,' which, to his credit, he now admits probably wasn’t his smartest moment. His words: 'That was exactly the reaction I had… In my head, it was more like I’m winding her up, but… it was definitely out of order to speak to somebody like that.'
• The last straw? Mike tried to joke that he was actually head of the department—a move that did not land well.
• Captain Jason Chambers called it out directly: 'There’s a toxicity on board, and you’re the source. I won’t tolerate it. I need you to leave the boat today.'

Mike’s Take—Then and Now

Right after he got fired, Mike was pretty defiant. In his words, 'I don’t think I did anything wrong,' and his early defense boiled down to 'other people are too serious.' A classic reality TV move, honestly. But a few months later, he’s singing a slightly different tune in a new interview. Now he says, 'I hold more accountability in being like, OK, now it’s actually time to rein it in.'

Mike even admits Captain Jason made the right call. 'So, of course, for Jason to have that mindset of Mike being toxic, then especially for a working environment, I agree.' He also owned up to having lost jobs before for being 'the class clown'—which, if you saw the season, checks out.

He gets a little philosophical too: 'I do feel like I made mistakes… It wasn’t the work hard, play hard. For me, it was like I wasn’t working hard, but I was playing hard. Sometimes your best pro also might be your best con… you’re sort of letting the rest of the team down.'

Still, Mike doesn’t think he’s about to reinvent himself overnight. His words: 'The thing is, I can never change who I am.'

But he does throw in a classic reality show redemption line for the road: 'Can’t change the past, but I can change the future.'

Where and When to Catch the Chaos

If you want to see all the drama for yourself (or rewatch the meltdown), Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST, which honestly is a pretty prime slot for this kind of reality mess.

So, there you have it. Mike Durrant—part prankster, part cautionary tale about when 'playing hard' at work goes just a little too far. At least he’s owning up to it now… sort of.