The Untold Truth About ‘Deadliest Catch’ Ex-Star

Jake Harris is an American fishermen and former reality TV star, born on 23 October 1986, in Seattle, Washington USA. He’s famous from his appearance in Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch”.

Early Life and Parent’s Relationship

Jacob Charles Harris was born the second child of Mary and Phil Harris. His father was Captain of the fishing crab boat Cornelia Marie, and partially owned it. There’s no information about Jake’s education, though it’s known that he along with his brother Joshua – “Josh” – lived a tough childhood due to the chaotic relationship their parents had.

In the book published in 2013 entitled “Captain Phil Harris: The Legendary Crab Fisherman, Our Hero, Our Dad”, written by both brothers, they revealed details of their childhood, their father’s difficult life and his troubled romantic relationships.

Phil met Mary – an exotic dancer and single mother of two children – around 1977. Falling in love rapidly, they started a relationship and welcomed Josh in 1983. However, the relationship was filled with mutual infidelity, worsened by Phil’s addiction to cocaine, alcohol and gambling. In 1991, the couple filed for divorce after nine years of marriage, though they were together for at least 14 years.

Phil won custody of his children after separation, then re-married in 1992 to a woman named Teresa. This second marriage didn’t work out either, as Jake and Josh’s step-mother emotionally abused their father, worsening his addictions and driving him to depression. It wasn’t until 2003 that Phil finally divorced the woman who his children had secretly nicknamed “Satan”.

Teresa – who is described in the book as “evil” – died in 2011 of a heart attack. Harris’ brothers, who were physically abused by the now-deceased woman during the years their father was married to her, weren’t saddened by the news. Josh wrote: ‘I didn’t feel bad. She was one of the meanest people I ever met.’

Career

Deadliest Catch

Phil Harris and his two children appeared for the first time in the second season of Discovery Channel’s reality TV show “Deadliest Catch” in 2004. Although it’s speculated that Jake and Josh learned how to fish from an early age, as their father Phil was an experienced licensed Captain, the brothers were only deckhands by the time the show started, and still vastly inexperienced.

In 2013 the Cornelia Marie underwent maintenance, and didn’t appear in the series’ during its seven and eight seasons, while Jake was featured working as a deckhand on the crab fishing boat Time Bandit, owned by the also “Deadliest Catch” stars Hillstrands brothers. The eighth season though, was Jake’s last time in the show, as he was arrested after its end.

Personal Life

There’s no information about Jake’s past romantic partners and current relationship. He doesn’t have any children, and his current marital status is single.

Father’s Death

On 29 January 2010, Phil Harris suffered a stroke while in Alaska during the Opilio crab season.

He was taken to Anchorage and underwent surgery as “Deadliest Catch” cameras kept recording the show as per Phil’s wishes. After surgery he showed promising improvement in his condition, but then suffered an intracranial hemorrhage that ended his life on 9 February that year.

The unfortunate event was broadcast on TV, with the deceased Captain’s family’s permission. ‘We obviously weren’t going to show anything that was distasteful’ said executive producer Thom Beers. ‘We were treading on really thin ice. Of course I had the shots of someone yelling ‘clear’ and getting the paddles out, but why would I show that? The whole point of it was to show that point-of-view of a family member at home who would get the call. That’s the way we all live. That’s how we find out how our fathers have died or passed away.’

Jake’s brother Josh appeared in ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’, declaring how difficult the situation was for him: ‘It was hard to live it, and it’ll be really hard to relive it’ he said in reference of his decision to watch the episode of the series in which his father died: ‘I want to see those final moments of my father’.

Drug Addiction

Before his father’s death, Jake Harris was struggling with his addiction to drugs, and continued doing so after his departing. In 2011 Derrick Ray, who replaced Phil Harris as Captain after his death, declared to Oregon Live his problems dealing with Jake’s addiction while on board: ‘He was smoking dope in Dutch Harbor when we were shooting scenes prior to his father’s funeral. There was a scene at night shot through the wheelhouse window, and I was looking at charts and he was stoned to bejesus. I sat and had dinner with him and watched him drool on himself. He was filmed smoking dope on the boat.’

Worryied about his crew’s wellbeing, Ray called the police to the boat in an episode of the show: ‘The reason I made that phone call was to try to get him to snap out of it.’ (…) ‘The Coast Guard has a zero-tolerance policy. Having drugs on the boat is against the law. I have a captain’s license. I could lose my captain’s license. There’s footage of it and I knew he was smoking dope, and I was trying to get him to stop’.

He finished his explanation, making clear he tried to talk Jake out of consuming drugs on board of Cornelia Marie, though he confessed his efforts were futile: ‘When you’re a drug addict like Jake is, he didn’t care and Josh was covering his (brother) for a TV contract.’

Ray left the show and his position as Captain that year.

First Arrest

Only a week after his father’s death Jake was arrested in Seattle.

Dan McDonald, Washington State Patrol spokesman, declared to People details on Phil Harris’ youngest son arrest: ‘Mr. Harris was spotted driving a BMW 3 Series erratically Thursday evening by a citizen in Shoreline, WA. We were able to locate his vehicle by aircraft, and he was pulled over in the Seattle area. The car was registered to his father’.

Furthermore, Jake was found guilty of drink driving causing an accident: ‘He failed a field sobriety test, and refused to take a toxicological test.’ (…) ‘After further investigation, it was found that he was involved in a hit and run with another occupied vehicle earlier in the evening. He had rear-ended another car’.

There are no further details on Jake’s arrest, though he re-appeared in “Deadliest Catch” later that year.

Assault

In 2016 Jake entered intensive care, after being beaten and robbed while leaving Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Washington. Jake declared he was being driven home by a couple, but an argument ended up with Jake thrown out on a side road, with a broken skull and $2,400 missing. Spokane Police Department investigated the case, and two subjects were charged with robbery.

Second and Third Arrest

In April 2017, during a trip from Washington to Phoenix with an unidentified woman, Jake allegedly took her car without permission. He was arrested later in possession of said car, along with prescription drugs and crystal meth. Jake was released from jail, though he was booked for felony theft and possession of dangerous and illegal prescription drugs.

In January 2019 Jake was arrested for third time for alleged DUI, possession of drugs and a stolen firearm. The charges for gun possession were dismissed, as it was later known the arm was actually bought by him from an individual linked to armed robbery in 2018, though Jake was tested positive for drugs, and ounces of heroine were found in his home by police. In August that year, Jake was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Net Worth

As of mid-2020, Jake Harris has an estimated net worth of $100,000, accumulated from his work as a fisherman on board of Cornelia Marie, along with earnings from his appearances in “Deadliest Catch”.

Physical Appearance

Jake is a man of white ethnicity, with brown hair and grey eyes. He has a slender, young looking appearance, along with tattoos on his right forearm.

Thinking this could be the Harris Family #Christmas Card? #CorneliaMarie #DeadliestCatch #JoshHarris #JakeHarris pic.twitter.com/qLCTHANBup

— Josh Harris (@JoshHarrisDC) December 12, 2014

Interesting Facts

Jake Harris was described by his father as the most skilled fisherman of his sons, though it was his brother who re-placed Phil as Cornelia Marie’s Captain in 2015. Former Captain of Cornelia Marie Derrick Ray publicly revealed what he presumed to be the Harris brothers’ real motivation to board the fishing boat: ‘They didn’t want to be there. They’re not fishermen, neither one of them. … They want to make TV.’

Jake father’s Phil Harris only owned 25 percent of Cornelia Marie, as its 75 percent belonged to the woman the boat was named after – Cornelia Marie Devlin. In 2015 Jake’s brother Josh bought the boat along with other investors, who have made improvements to it.

Jake has two step older siblings on his mother side, though there’s no further information about them.