Below Deck’s Gary King and Bravo reach settlement with ex-crew member, Samantha Suarez

The sexual battery lawsuit filed against Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Gary King, Bravo and NBC has been settled, TMZ has reported.

New documents filed by makeup artist Samantha Suarez’s legal team state that the parties have reached a conditional settlement. That means the case will be dismissed as long as certain conditions are met. According to the filing, they now have 45 days to complete those conditions, and a request to dismiss the case is set to be filed no later than January 15, 2027. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Samantha, a hair and makeup artist, and camera operator Grey Duddleston filed the lawsuit in March 2025 against the production entities and Gary, whom they described as a “known drunkard and serial harasser.” Variety reported it was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Gary, Bravo and NBCUniversal, with the production companies behind the show also named.

The case centred on an alleged incident in summer 2022, when the show was filming season four in Sardinia. Samantha claimed production had asked her to take bottled water and snacks to Gary’s hotel room on July 3, 2022. She alleged he opened the door in his underwear and wouldn’t take the water, so she walked past him to put it inside the room, and that on her way out he lunged at her and physically restrained her.

Samantha claimed Gary pressured her to sleep with him and held the door shut. She alleged that when another crew member called and she answered her phone, he let her go and she was able to leave the room.

According to the lawsuit, showrunner Courtland Cox sent Suarez an email later that day saying Gary had admitted to her allegations and had been warned he would be fired if anything similar happened again. The suit also alleged the production company had decided to fire Gary from the show but was overruled by NBC.

Samantha and Grey, who were dating at the time, claimed they were both fired after reporting the incident and placed on a “do not hire” list. She alleged that the response to Grey reporting the incident focused on him instead, with an investigation into whether he had misused the walkie-talkie system.

Samantha’s claims included sexual battery, hostile work environment, retaliation and wrongful termination. In February 2026, a judge ruled the case couldn’t be forced into arbitration, allowing it to continue in court. Now, it looks like it won’t go any further.
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Samantha first went public with her claims in a Rolling Stone exposé published on August 24, 2023. That same day, Gary responded to people in his Instagram comments. He said the claims were far from the truth, writing: “She always wanted a platform and unfortunately I’m the unlucky target.”

He also claimed Samantha wasn’t being honest about their interactions, adding: “I’m not going to let some lying girl get to me.” When someone asked him directly whether Samantha was lying, he replied: “Yes she is.”

He challenged people to name anyone from the show he had harassed, writing: “Please tell me who I’ve harassed”. The comments were later deleted. In October 2024, as season five aired, Gary claimed he was being edited out of the show. He wrote: “Scary how one person’s lies can ruin someone’s career and livelihood.”

When the lawsuit was filed in 2025, reports noted Gary had denied the allegations. When the allegations first came out, a Bravo spokesperson said: “Bravo is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.” The network added that the concerns Suarez raised in July 2022 were investigated at the time and that action was taken based on the findings. 

After the Rolling Stone report, Gary was removed from the lineup of speakers at that year’s BravoCon. However, he still appeared in Below Deck Sailing Yacht season five, as it was filmed before the allegations came out.

The show hasn’t been back since. In November 2025, Bravo’s SVP of unscripted production Noah Samton told The Hollywood Reporter the show “is not happening” at the moment, and it has not officially been renewed.

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