Who Is Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck on Below Deck? Meet Season 13’s Lead Deckhand
Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck joins Below Deck Season 13 with five years in yachting and a senior position on Captain Kerry’s exterior team. The South African yachtie is identified by Bravo in its pre-season preview as the lead deckhand, putting him directly beneath bosun Alex Wright aboard Azul V. Matt is already positioned to be more than…
Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck joins Below Deck Season 13 with five years in yachting and a senior position on Captain Kerry’s exterior team. The South African yachtie is identified by Bravo in its pre-season preview as the lead deckhand, putting him directly beneath bosun Alex Wright aboard Azul V.
Matt is already positioned to be more than a background deckhand. Bravo is teasing a major workplace clash between him and Alex, while the Season 13 trailer also shows a possible romance involving new stew Kaylee Brown. Between leadership tension and a fast-moving boatmance, Matt enters the Thailand season with several storylines already in motion.
Who Is Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck?
Matthew “Matt” Fitzpatrick-Buck is from Umdloti, a coastal town in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. Bravo says he has five years of yachting experience and names golf as his favorite activity away from work.
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Also Read: Who Is Alex Wright on Below Deck? Meet Season 13’s New Bosun
His official profile does not currently provide a birth date, age or zodiac sign, so those details should not be invented from unofficial biography sites. When Bravo asked Matt to describe Season 13, he called the experience “absolutely life changing.”
He also gave a very direct answer when asked about his special skill, describing himself as someone who makes things happen. The confidence behind that answer fits the personality Bravo appears to be teasing in his relationship with Alex.
Matt Is Season 13’s Lead Deckhand
Some early Season 13 cast announcements simply described Matt as a deckhand, but Bravo’s own October preview identifies him as lead deckhand Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck. That makes his role more senior than an ordinary member of the exterior team.
The distinction matters because Matt works immediately beneath bosun Alex Wright. Both men arrive with five years in yachting, so Alex may have the higher rank aboard Azul V while Matt brings a comparable amount of overall industry experience.
That creates an obvious potential friction point if Matt believes the deck team should operate differently from the way Alex is managing it.
Why Do Matt and Alex Clash?
Bravo has not yet released the entire context of their dispute, but the network is already promoting a preview in which Matt reaches a breaking point with Alex. The official Season 13 synopsis separately warns that power struggles and oversized egos create serious problems on deck.
Captain Kerry is also shown scrutinizing Alex’s decisions, which could affect the balance between bosun and lead deckhand as the season develops. However, Bravo has deliberately hidden the outcome, including which personnel changes or “shocking decision” Kerry eventually makes.
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That means Matt’s conflict with Alex should be treated as a confirmed Season 13 storyline, while any claims that Matt replaces Alex or receives a promotion remain speculation.
Is Matt Involved With Kaylee Brown?
The Season 13 trailer shows Matt kissing stew Kaylee Brown, introducing another storyline that crosses the exterior and interior departments. Kaylee then jokes that they will have to get married, while later footage suggests the attraction may not progress smoothly.
One trailer moment also shows Kaylee reacting after Matt says his IQ falls within the top seven percent globally. Without the full episodes, it is impossible to know whether that exchange is playful, part of a larger disagreement or editing designed to tease the season’s “rollercoaster romance.”
Bravo has not confirmed that Matt and Kaylee are still together after filming. For now, viewers can safely expect a boatmance between them during Season 13, but not assume it lasts.
Matt therefore enters Below Deck as one of the newcomers most likely to matter quickly. He has professional authority as lead deckhand, enough experience to challenge his boss, and a romantic storyline that could pull the interior department into the deck team’s already complicated season.
