Queer Eye‘s Bobby Berk has finally revealed the reason he left the super-successful Netflix show, and — as we suspected — it’s spicy.
Back in November, the Emmy award-winning host and interior design king announced that Season Eight would be his last season on Queer Eye. But due to a bunch of different reasons (that we’ll get to further on), fans suspected that it was due to a falling out between Bobby and his costar fashion expert Tan France.
So, why did Bobby Berk leave Queer Eye?
In a tell-all interview with Vanity Fair, he clarified that the group were only signed on for seven seasons so when they wrapped, he started planning for his future projects.
“We thought we were done. Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things,” he told the publication.
However, due to the lack of content released during the SAG-AFTRA strikes, he said Netflix renewed their contract. The Fab Five were offered a contract renewal, and Bobby decided not to sign along the dotted line. He claimed that the others were contemplating not signing either, but eventually ended up signing.
“There were definitely emotions. But each one of us had our reasons why we did what we did. I can’t be mad—for a second I was,” he explained.
“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. We had mentally just prepared ourselves to move on—that’s why I left.”
What happened between Bobby Berk and Tan France?
Fans of the show theorised that Bobby’s departure had something to do with Tan France, after noticing that Bobby unfollowed him on Instagram. Plus, Bobby wasn’t tagging Tan’s account when he posted pics of the Fab Five due to IG’s settings allowing only mutual followers to tag a public figure like Tan in images. After months of speculation, he has confirmed that there really was beef.
“I want people to know that Tan and I—we will be fine,” he said.
“Tan and I had a moment. There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing—and nothing romantic, just to clarify that.
“Should I have unfollowed Tan? No.
“Maybe I should have just muted him. But that day, I was angry, and that’s the end of it. We became like siblings—and siblings are always going to fight.”
However, Bobby says their relationship is slowly on the mend after they saw each other at the Emmy Awards.
“We both embraced each other, and we both said congratulations. And that’s where we are right now.
“I will always have a very special place in my heart for him and Rob [France’s husband] and the kids. I can foresee in six months or a year, Tan and I at each other’s house being good. The Emmys was already the first bandage on that wound.”
After all the years of being not only costars but a tight-knit pseudo-family, it’s great to hear that they’re handling their disagreements like adults and working their shit out.
Vanity Fair did note that Tan declined to comment on Bobby’s claims.
