Why Did Andy Hillstrand Leave ‘Deadliest Catch’? His Exit Explained

Deadliest Catch fans were shocked when longtime favorite fishermen Jonathan Hillstrand and Andy Hillstrand left the show in 2017. However, while Jonathan returned in 2020, Andy has not come back.

While Andy has not publicly discussed his reason for leaving the show, there are a few factors that may have gone into it. Scroll down for everything we know and an update on where Andy is now.

Why did Andy Hillstrand leave Deadliest Catch?
It’s possible that some legal issues played a part in Andy’s decision to leave the show. In 2015, he and Jonathan were sued by one of their crew members, David “Beaver” Zielinski, who was injured on the job when a firework he was holding prematurely exploded.

The incident took place aboard Jonathan and Andy’s Time Bandit boat in 2013. Zielinski said the Hillstrands were responsible for his maimed hand because Time Bandit marketed the fireworks that were being used, according to News Times.

In 2017, a jury sided with Zielinski and he was awarded $1.35 million after testifying that the injury ended his career as a crab fisherman, according to Seattle PI. The jury initially determined that Zielinski should get $2.7 million in compensation, but later halved the amount after finding him half responsible for the injuries.

Years earlier, in 2010, the Hillstrands also found themselves at odds with Discovery after they were sued by the network for allegedly not finishing filming a spinoff they signed on for. They announced that they would be leaving the show, but ended up reaching a settlement just weeks later and returned.

“There was a lot of misunderstanding,” Andy told Entertainment Weekly. “We thought Discovery had everything they needed but then they came back and said they needed pickup shots so our schedule was pretty much screwed. It got to the point in our relationship where something had to change and we just said enough’s enough. So we butted heads for a while.”

It’s unclear if their relationship with the network improved in the years that followed.

What is Andy Hillstrand doing now?
Since leaving the show, Andy has retreated from the public eye. He and his wife previously owned Hobby Horse Acres, a horse ranch in Indiana, but have since sold the business. The couple managed a stable of horses and offered riding lessons to children at the 17-acre ranch.

He has been married to his wife, Sabrina, for more than 30 years. They have two daughters and some grandchildren.

After decades of battling brutal waters and risking his life on the tumultuous Bering Sea, “Deadliest Catch” star Captain Sig Hansen admits he’s starting to see things differently – especially when it comes to retirement.

The longtime star of the hit Discovery Channel series confessed that fear, loss and family have changed his perspective, and although the 59-year-old said last year that he had no plans to call it quits, he has now reconsidered.

“Well, I’m a fisherman. You’ve got to remember, you’re talking to a professional liar here,” Hansen joked in an interview with People. “No, I think I’ve got a few more years left in me. I think about it all the time and when I do think about ‘retiring,’ it’s only because I’ve lost so many people, and I’m more fearful every time we go out on the water.”

Hansen added that the fear has become harder to ignore as he and his crew braved unforgiving 50-foot seas in treacherous waters.

“Part of it is just, you think about your own mortality, and I’m fearful,” Hansen said.

“I don’t have the same mentality I did as before, where you look at everything as a challenge. And it’s still challenging, but it’s not the same.”

Hansen continued, “I’ve been there, done that, and now I want to spend more time with my family, my wife, look at all the years and decades that she’s given up for me waiting. It’s got to go the other way, and so you see things differently, that’s all.”

The Norwegian-American has weathered countless storms and personal health scares during his time on “Deadliest Catch,” including a heart attack in 2016 and the emotional toll of losing fellow fishermen over the years.

While Hansen isn’t quite ready to hang up his boots, he explained that his priorities may be shifting, as the call of home is growing louder than the call of the sea.

“I will continue to do it,” he says of captaining the Northwestern. “But retirement is obvious.”

These days, Hansen has a new reason to stay closer to home.

“I’ve got four grandkids now,” he continued to share with People. “I used to laugh at all these old-timers when they’d brag about their grandkids and talk about how that’s their whole world. I’m like, ‘You guys are nuts. Can’t we talk about fishing?’ And now, I’m one of those guys. Can’t help it. And I love it, I really do.”

In the Season 21 premiere of “Deadliest Catch,” which aired Friday, Hansen teamed up with returning captain Johnathan Hillstrand as the two headed to the abandoned Adak Island in search of a rumored giant king crab.

Co-captaining the Time Bandit, the veteran fishermen kicked off a modern-day gold rush – but the race for the rare crab took a dangerous turn when chaos erupted aboard the Titan Explorer and forced Captain Jake Anderson’s crew to abandon ship.

As the crews pushed into uncharted waters to secure the lucrative haul, they were met with brutal conditions and dangerous mechanical failures — turning the high-stakes hunt for crab into a fight for survival.

“Deadliest Catch” airs Fridays at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel.