Why Below Deck Down Under's Sexy New Deckhand Has Everyone Talking

Meet Below Deck Down Under's hot new Lead Deckhand Luka Brunton who is already making the Bravo series' crew and fans alike swoon with his unbelievable good looks.

By Brett Malec Aug 29, 2023 12:00 PMTags
Watch: What We've Learned About Yachting From "Below Deck"

Below Deck Down Under's newest crewmember is making waves for all the right reasons.

After Deckhand Adam Lukasiewicz was fired on the Bravo series' Aug. 28 episode, Captain Jason Chambers brought in a seasoned stud of the sea to take over the role of Lead Deckhand.

Enter Luka Brunton, who immediately stunned his new co-workers with his striking good looks.

"He's a beauty queen, it's crazy!" Stew Margot Sisson pointed out in a confessional immediately after meeting Luka. "Have you seen his eyelashes? They're real."

Meanwhile, Deckhand Harry Van Vliet joked, "I don't think Jason could have found anyone better looking than me, but he came pretty close."

But the New Zealand native wasn't a fresh face to everyone as Chief Stew Aesha Scott immediately gave her old friend a hug upon learning he'd joined the team.

"I love Luka," she explained in a confessional. "When I first started yachting my sister and I went to France to look for our first yachting jobs together and that's when I became friends with Luka. He's just one of those guys that everyone is drawn to and everyone likes."

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The Most Dramatic Below Deck Firings Ever

And the feeling was mutual. "She's like family actually," Luka admitted. "I actually hooked up with her sister seven years ago. Aesha knows about it, it was just a one-night stand. We were drunk."

Mark Rogers/Bravo

The 25-year-old even revealed a past relationship with BDDU season one Stew Magda Ziomek.

In addition to being a ladies man, the hunky engineer continued made viewers swoon again by opening up about his love for his family back home in New Zealand.

"I grew up in a small town called Raglan," Luka, who's been yachting for over seven years, explained. "My mom was about 26 when she met my biological father and then I was around 1 year old when he took off. It was just me and my mom until I was about 5 years old and that's when my mom met my stepdad."

Indeed, his blended family is his priority. "He's everything to me," he continued. "I have two half-siblings. Me and my brother surf together and then my sister, I take her shopping, we go for brunch."

And working on a yacht feels like home. "It's awesome joining new boats, it's like joining a new family," Luka shared. "Everyone's so close, I love it."

Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Bravo. 

Keep reading to revisit some of the most OMG moments in Below Deck history.

Oh Captain, My Captain

The Bravo franchise has had plenty of dramatic and crazy moments thanks to some unruly and demanding guests, including Georgia, who was a little too flirty with no-nonsense leader Captain Lee Rosbach.

Seafoam

Sometimes, you just want a foam party—at least, that's what this demanding guest asked for. Was it eyebrow-raising to see him drunkenly partying in what ended up being about four inches of foam? Yes. Was it still epic because of how excited he was? Also yes.

Defiant Delores

Where do we start with Delores? The season eight Below Deck charter guest made a splash, literally and figuratively, after she drunkenly jumped into the ocean late at night. To make matters worse, this swimming session was in direct defiance to Captain Lee's order to stay on the boat. In a first for his career, Captain Lee ended Delores' charter early and sent her packing.

However, while being escorted away on the tender, Delores jumped into the ocean. Bold move, lady.

Memorable Modern Family

Barrie boarded the Parsifal III with his blended family, including his current fiancé and his ex-husband, in season two of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. With such a large guest list, the crew was certainly put to work, especially chef Natasha. Not only did Barrie have no problem sending his breakfast back, but he also refused to have his family served buffet-style.

Fighting Over James

The first charter of Below Deck season eight was certainly a memorable one. We're, of course, talking about when the charter guests found themselves bickering over deckhand James Hough. Specifically, charter guest Shay called dibs on the British yachtie. However, her boatmance hopes were derailed when pal Lexi flirtatiously rode a jet ski with James. Thus, a fight broke out over dinner, which shocked the Below Deck crew.

Cougar Town

It was ladies night on the high seas in this episode of Below Deck Mediterranean, but as the drinks flowed, some of the women started to get a little handsy with deckhand Jack Stirrup. Thankfully, Captain Sandy swooped in to save the day.

Above Deck Hookup

The crew aboard this ship got a show they didn't ask for when two of the guests hooked up in the crow's nest, a part of the ship that everyone could see on camera.

Cleanup Crew

In the same episode that the crew witnessed the on-deck hookup of two of their guests, they also discovered that their passengers also had never heard of cleaning up after themselves when they stumbled upon a used condom on the nightstand.

Impossible Request

For the most part, the charter guest is always right. However, in season two of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, charter guest Erica requested that Captain Glenn Shephard do something to make the ship stop rocking. Unfortunately for Erica, they were in the middle of a thunderstorm and Captain Glenn didn't have the power to control the weather.

Other highlights from this charter group include a woman with hours worth of stories, bullying accusations among the ladies and so much more.

Gumball Drama

While many guests on Below Deck have been demanding, this may be the most ridiculous request because of how random it was. On one of the episodes, guests demanded gumballs, but not just any gumballs. They had to be colored gumballs and they even threatened to require they be delivered by helicopter if there were none on board.

Ghosted

Not every guest has found their trip to be a five-star experience, but usually they stick around to give feedback as to why. On this episode of Below Deck, we learn that a few of the guests straight-up ghosted upon arrival and fled the ship before even saying goodbye to the crew.

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