Are Kat Johnston and Cooper Dawson Still Together After Below Deck Med?

Kat Johnston and Cooper Dawson initially seemed capable of becoming one of Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11’s rare boatmances that might survive beyond the yacht. They connected quickly, genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, and continued seeing each other even after deciding to hide the relationship from the rest of the Akira One crew.

The arrangement becomes increasingly complicated as the season progresses. Gen Lillie’s flirting puts pressure on Kat, Cooper becomes uncomfortable with the seriousness of the relationship, and Episode 15 exposes an even bigger problem: Kat and Cooper do not appear to have the same expectations about what happens once the charter season ends.

Related: What Happened to Michelle on Below Deck Med? Her Shoulder Injury Explained

Are Kat Johnston and Cooper Dawson Still Together?

No. Kat and Cooper are not together after Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11, and Kat has since indicated that they are not even maintaining a regular friendship.

In an August interview, Kat said she and Cooper were no longer talking and explained that contact after filming had become increasingly sporadic. She said they traveled home on the same flight, spent some time around each other afterward and occasionally exchanged messages, but their relationship eventually faded completely.

That means viewers watching their secret romance unfold already know that the boatmance does not become a lasting relationship. Kat has also discussed getting closure from the experience in a later podcast appearance, reinforcing that she now views Cooper as a relationship from her past rather than a current partner.

What Happened Between Kat and Cooper on Below Deck Med?

Kat and Cooper’s attraction develops naturally during Season 11, but attention from the rest of the crew quickly becomes a problem. Cooper does not enjoy having everyone comment on their relationship and eventually begins pulling away when the boatmance starts feeling too public.

Rather than ending things completely, Kat and Cooper decide to continue seeing each other in secret. Bravo has shown Cooper acknowledging that they are hiding their connection while Aesha and Kayley quickly suspect that the supposed breakup is not real.

That secrecy creates another problem because Gen believes Cooper is available. She openly flirts with him, leaving Kat increasingly frustrated that Cooper does not establish clearer boundaries.

Kat later explained that the flirting was obvious and that she repeatedly wondered why Cooper would not simply shut it down if he was serious about her. She did not blame only Cooper, but she acknowledged that watching the situation unfold while sharing a cabin with Gen was difficult.

What Does Episode 15 Reveal About Their Relationship?

Episode 15 gives perhaps the clearest indication yet that Kat and Cooper want different things. Cooper talks to Joe about spending time with Kat in Dubrovnik after the charter season, but he does not want the trip to feel like a romantic vacation.

His solution is to invite Joe along. Cooper hopes that having his friend there will quietly communicate to Kat that he is not imagining the getaway as a serious couples trip, rather than having a direct conversation with her about his feelings.

Joe recognizes the problem and advises Cooper to be honest. Coming from someone whose own Below Deck romantic history has been complicated, the advice is surprisingly sensible.

For Kat, the problem is not simply whether Cooper wants a holiday with her. It is that she repeatedly has to guess what his actions mean instead of hearing clearly where she stands.

Did Gen Lillie Break Up Kat and Cooper?

Gen creates additional tension, but she does not appear to be the fundamental reason Kat and Cooper fail as a couple. Their different expectations were already becoming visible before Gen’s flirting became a major issue.

Kat has been clear that Gen’s behavior hurt her, particularly because she considered Gen one of her closest friends on the yacht. At the same time, she was also frustrated with Cooper for allowing the flirting to continue instead of setting firmer boundaries.

The deeper issue appears to be Cooper’s uncertainty about commitment. Episode 15’s Dubrovnik conversation illustrates that perfectly, because he is already looking for a way to make a potential post-season trip feel less romantic without simply telling Kat what he wants. Gen makes a fragile situation worse, but the relationship has cracks of its own.

What Happened Between Kat and Cooper After Filming?

Kat said that she and Cooper happened to take the same flight home after the season and also spent some time around each other in New York. She later saw him briefly in Los Angeles, while Cooper would occasionally contact her in the months that followed.

That communication did not develop into a relationship. By late August 2026, Kat said they were not talking at all, and she suggested that their contact had effectively ended after her Watch What Happens Live appearance.

Kat also admitted that one thing she might change is how forgiving she was while the relationship was happening. She had strong enough feelings for Cooper that she often found explanations for behavior that was hurting her, something she now recognizes more clearly after watching the season back.

Could Kat and Cooper Get Back Together?

There is currently no reliable indication that Kat and Cooper are trying to reconcile. Kat’s recent comments suggest she has moved on emotionally, while she is also preparing for a new chapter of her life away from the circumstances in which their boatmance began.

She has said that she is planning to move to London and is taking a break from full-time yachting, although she remains open to temporary work and potentially returning to Below Deck.

That makes the remaining Season 11 episodes less about whether Kat and Cooper eventually become a long-term couple and more about understanding how their relationship falls apart. Episode 15 is an important piece of that story because Cooper’s plan for Dubrovnik makes the mismatch between them increasingly difficult to ignore.