Why Bobby Berk Really Left Queer Eye (And The Star Who's Replacing Him Next Season)
After spending eight seasons on "Queer Eye," interior designer Bobby Berk is a bona fide TV star. What may surprise fans, however, is that he nearly said no to auditioning for the successful series. At the time, he had plans to travel abroad for work instead; lucky for us all, he ended up attending the tryout shortly before he left town. "I didn't think it went well," Berk later admitted on the "Jennifer Hudson Show." "But then I got a call to come back to the final day of auditions."
A few weeks later, Berk heard that he had booked the job. He was immediately overwhelmed knowing he would be in a position to change people's lives in the same way that the original series had changed his. The original cast's inspiring work didn't stop when "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" did in 2007, and Berk is on the same mission now that he has officially announced his departure from the series.
The Fab Five has become like family to millions of households over the years — so when the news broke that Berk was going to be recast for Season 9 of "Queer Eye," it broke many fans' hearts. Since the report, rumors have been swirling around the Internet as to why he would leave such a successful gig. Did the Fab Five have a falling out? Did Netflix not want him back? How in the world can we carry on without the iconic interior designer?
Fans assumed he left the series because of his conflict with Tan France
When word got out that Bobby Berk unfollowed his "Queer Eye" co-star Tan France on Instagram in 2023, it sent shockwaves through the fandom. Berk and France's camaraderie on "Queer Eye" always seemed genuine, so fans began to question the group's overall dynamic and speculate about what in the world went wrong.
To help clear the air, Berk sat down for a one-on-one interview with Vanity Fair in early 2024 and spilled it all. Well, almost all of it. "There was a situation, and that's between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show," Berk shared. "It was something personal that had been brewing — and nothing romantic, just to clarify that."
Berk continued on to say that the two of them had a friendship that felt like they were brothers. That includes the fighting, which caused their friendship to collapse. Luckily, the two seemed to reconcile at the 2024 Emmys, and Berk has even admitted that he now regrets unfollowing his chosen brother on Instagram. "I can foresee in six months or a year, Tan and I at each other's house being good," Berk added. "The Emmys was already the first bandage on that wound." Evidently, France wasn't the only cast member with whom Berk clashed: As noted in a March 2024 Rolling Stone exposé, there were also rumors about behind-the-scenes drama between Berk and Jonathan Van Ness.
Turns out, the Fab Five's contracts ended
The Fab Five never thought "Queer Eye" would last more than eight seasons. Their contracts were up in September 2022, so when filming for Season 8 ended, they cried and bid their goodbyes. "We thought we were done," Bobby Berk explained to Vanity Fair. "Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things."
However, Netflix found themselves needing more original content when both the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America went on strike in 2023. The streamer approached the Fab Five, asking them to return for up to four more seasons of "Queer Eye." With the new plans that Berk had in place, he said no to a new contract. The four others said the same considering the show couldn't go on without Berk.
Netflix seemed to have other plans. They decided they could recast one star — so four of the Fab Five struck a deal to return to the series. When Berk heard this news, he was initially hurt, but respects the decisions each of them have made. "All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren't coming back, I just wasn't willing to change those. I would have had to pump the brakes on multiple other projects that are already in process," he said. "We had mentally just prepared ourselves to move on — that's why I left."
Bobby Berk has admitted that the series was a difficult one to make
Viewers have noted time and time again that interior designer Bobby Berk sure seemed to take on a lot of work when it came to creating impressive and shocking "Queer Eye" transformations. (And based on how much Berk could spend on "Queer Eye" renovations, they were all the more impressive.) However, creating such an inspiring series has been difficult for other reasons. "It's beautiful and amazing and heartfelt, and behind the scenes, it's an emotionally hard show to make," Berk told Vanity Fair.
When the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" first premiered in 2003, it was a monumental moment for TV. The show, which introduced the world to five accomplished queer men, was the first of its kind. As Berk told The List in an exclusive interview, it meant a lot to see the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" cast on the screen at that time. "They were the first gay people, real gay people, that I saw as [successful]," he said.
Being a part of the second generation of "Queer Eye" without question meant a lot to Berk, but it also stirred up his past trauma of growing up in a homophobic environment. "[The cast] had to open up wounds that we thought we had forgotten about and healed from, from our childhood and our past," he said in Vanity Fair. "That takes a lot out of you, to revisit those again in front of the world."
He's turned all of his attention to his interior design firm
Bobby Berk has had loads of success designing stunning spaces on "Queer Eye." However, few fans may know that he has always been running a successful interior design business just behind the scenes of the hit Netflix series. Stepping away from "Queer Eye" has helped him focus even further on growing his business even more than ever before. His ultimate vision is to open up the interior design industry to others who deserve the spotlight. "I want to create things, cultivate, and help discover talent that you don't see on TV — different nationalities, different origins of people in design," he told Vanity Fair. "It's my era of building and developing."
Whether it's designing the interiors of dozens of houses at a time, creating new pieces for his signature Bobby Berk collection, or divulging his design tips and tricks throughout the pages of his book "Right at Home: How Good Design is Good for the Mind," Berk continues to stay busy making the world a more beautifully designed place.
He also owns two vacation rentals and a wellness spa
In addition to designing houses, Bobby Berk has also taken his design talents to the health and wellness space. In 2021, he co-founded a spa in San Diego and Los Angeles named Mellow Massage. "Mellow is a safe space for all, a place to recharge your body and mind," he shared on their website. "All with spaces carefully curated and individually designed." It's since expanded to four locations.
Berk's vision hasn't stopped at his spas either. He has also designed two villas that the public can rent out and retreat to. A seven-bedroom home in Palm Desert, California was designed by the "Queer Eye" star in 2022. Casa Tierra, as he calls it, goes for $3,033 per night and has been featured in both Architectural Digest and Travel+Leisure. Berk's second property, named Casa Mallorca, is set to open up its doors to visitors in late 2024.
He now lives abroad in Portugal part time
When the "Queer Eye" alum isn't working on a new home in Southern California, he splits his time overseas with his husband. Bobby Berk has been married to maxillofacial surgeon Dewey Do since 2012, and the two began calling a small town in Portugal their home in 2024.
After taking a vacation there together to start off the new year on a relaxing note, the two knew they needed to buy a home there. They opted to purchase a home in the Algarve area, known for its beautiful beaches and, according to Berk, the incredible food. "The thing that I love about Portugal is that everything is so natural, all the food is so natural, that we ate sweets and bread every single day and didn't gain a pound," he laughed on the "Jennifer Hudson Show." "When I came home, I was like, 'There's no way I'm fitting into my Emmy outfit.' And I did!"
Jeremiah Brent is his replacement
At the end of February 2024, Netflix announced that the newest member of the Fab Five would be Jeremiah Brent. The interior designer has been seen on "The Rachel Zoe Project" and "Home Made Simple." Oh, and he's got his very own show with his husband: In 2021, Brent and Nate Berkus' series "The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project" premiered on HGTV.
Bobby Berk has known Brent for years, so when he heard that he would be his replacement on "Queer Eye," he knew that Netflix had made the right choice. "[He's] gonna be amazing," Berk shared with People. Netflix isn't new territory for Brent either, who hosts their reality series "Say I Do," where he helps couples create the big day of their dreams. Now, Brent is excited to transform heroes' lives as the newest member of the Fab Five. "I love those boys. I'm friends with them," Brent told People. "And I've got a lot of respect for what the show does and what it represents."
For now, we all have to wait anxiously to see what Season 9 of "Queer Eye" will look like when the new Fab Five helps out a new set of heroes in Las Vegas.