Queer Eye star Bobby Berk has opened up about his decision to step down from the hit Netflix show after seven seasons.
Towards the end of last year, Bobby announced he was stepping away from the “Fab Five”, and in the months since, speculation has been rife on social media about his reasons for doing so.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the design expert said he hoped to set the record straight once and for all.
Bobby began by saying that when the most recent season wrapped, he and the rest of the team “thought we were done”.
“Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on,” he explained. “I know I did, and I started planning other things.”
However, he claimed that when Netflix made an offer for another season, the remaining four members of the team decided to sign up after all, admitting he was “mad” – but only for “a second”.
Bobby insisted: “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.”
Since Bobby’s exit, fans have speculated that he and fellow cast member Tan France may have fallen out, after spotting they were no longer following one another on Instagram.
“Tan and I had a moment,” Bobby revealed. “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.”
Bobby went on to add: “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.”
With Bobby having now left the show, the forthcoming ninth season of Queer Eye will see a new member being added to the Fab Five to take over his regular duties.
The eighth season of Queer Eye – which will be the last with the show’s current “Fab Five” – is now streaming on Netflix.
Announcing his exit, Bobby previously told his fans: “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season eight will be my final season on Queer Eye. It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one.
“Although my journey with Queer Eye is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.”