TLDR: Jake Anderson, 45, confirmed his divorce from wife Jenna on the Deadliest Catch Season 22 premiere on May 8, 2026. They had been together 17 years and married 13.
Jake blamed the split primarily on spending too much time away crab fishing.
The couple have three children. The divorce and its financial fallout play out across Season 22, with Jake temporarily stepping down from his captain’s role to work as a deckhand while his boat situation is resolved.
Jake Anderson has been on Deadliest Catch since 2007. He started as a greenhorn on the Northwestern under Sig Hansen, worked his way up to deckhand, then deck boss, then captain of his own vessel.
That trajectory — from nobody to captain over fifteen seasons — is the kind of story the show was built to tell. Season 22 tells a different kind of story.
What He Said on the Season 22 Premiere
The Season 22 premiere aired on May 8, 2026, and Jake did not ease into the news. He looked at the camera and said it plainly: “After 17 years being together, 13 years married, Jenna and I have decided to call it quits.”
He explained the reasons without deflection. “It’s due to a lot of things. The major one is that I’m gone too much crab fishing. But I got three little ones that need to eat, that have to go to school, that have to have doctor’s appointments, and I don’t have a job.” At the time the episode was filmed in fall 2025, he and Jenna had already been separated for eight months.
The three children he referenced are son Aiden, born January 2015, daughter Cadence, born June 2017, and son Luka, born March 2020.
The Financial Complication
The divorce did not arrive alone.
The Season 22 premiere also showed Jake meeting with a lawyer who delivered difficult news about his ownership stake in the Titan Explorer. “I don’t want you investing any more money in your ownership interest in the Titan Explorer because that could end up being an asset that needs to be divided in the case,” his attorney told him.
With the Titan Explorer’s future complicated by the divorce proceedings, Jake pivoted. He temporarily joined Captain Rick Shelford’s Aleutian Lady as a deckhand — a role he had not worked in eleven years — while his own boat, the Cornelia Marie, underwent generator repairs.
The Cornelia Marie is the vessel made famous by the late Phil Harris. After a successful catch on the Aleutian Lady, the Cornelia Marie was ready to sail again, putting Jake back in the captain’s seat.
A Career Built the Hard Way
Jake Anderson’s arc on Deadliest Catch has always been one of the show’s most emotionally resonant storylines. He arrived on the Northwestern as a young man dealing with the disappearance of his father Gary Anderson, who went missing in 2010.
His father’s remains were eventually found. Jake processed that grief publicly over multiple seasons and has been open about his past struggles with addiction and the personal discipline required to build a stable life.
The divorce and financial uncertainty of Season 22 represent a new chapter of difficulty for a man who has never pretended the life was easy.
Deadliest Catch Season 22 airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.
Did Jake Anderson get divorced on Deadliest Catch?
Yes. Jake Anderson confirmed his divorce from wife Jenna Anderson on the Deadliest Catch Season 22 premiere on May 8, 2026. He revealed they had been together 17 years and married 13 years. He attributed the split primarily to spending too much time away crab fishing. The couple share three children and had been separated for eight months at the time filming took place in fall 2025.
Why did Jake Anderson step down as captain on Deadliest Catch?
Jake Anderson temporarily stepped down from captaining during Season 22 because his divorce lawyer advised him not to invest further in his ownership stake in the Titan Explorer, which could become a divisible asset in the proceedings. While his boat the Cornelia Marie underwent repairs, Jake worked as a deckhand on Captain Rick Shelford’s Aleutian Lady. He returned to the captain’s chair once the Cornelia Marie was ready.
How long has Jake Anderson been on Deadliest Catch?
Jake Anderson has been on Deadliest Catch since 2007, making him one of the show’s longest-running cast members. He joined as a greenhorn on Sig Hansen’s Northwestern and worked his way up to captain over fifteen seasons. He is 45 years old as of 2026.
