Bobby Berk explains leaving 'Queer Eye,' confirms drama with Tan France: 'We will be fine'
After a couple months of speculation, Bobby Berk is setting the record straight on why he decided to leave Netflix's "Queer Eye."
Berk told Vanity Fair in an interview published Thursday that he'd been under the impression that the Fab Five's time together was over when their contracts expired in 2022, and he'd moved on to other endeavors when he was contacted about signing a new contract to appear on the show.
"The Fab Five and the crew, we all stood there, and we took pictures and cried," Berk said of the last day of filming. "We thought we were done. Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things."
Bobby Berk didn't think 'Queer Eye' would come back after Season 8
"Queer Eye," a reboot of the 2000s show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," debuted on Netflix in early 2018 with a whole new cast of experts: Berk, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown and Tan France.
Then, in November, the author and interior design firm founder announced "with a heavy heart" that Season 8 – which premiered Wednesday – would be his last.
Berk told Vanity Fair that the other Fab Five members were considering not signing on for more "Queer Eye" when they were presented with the option last fall. He did not sign the contract.
"We'd just assumed that the show wouldn't come back if we all didn’t come back," he explained. "I was like, I’m not going to be having FOMO 'cause the show is not going to happen. I had become at peace with it."
He added, "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."
It wasn't easy leaving the Fab Five: "'Queer Eye' has been the most amazing gift that I couldn’t have ever imagined," Berk said. "I’m leaving something that is a huge part of my life. Even though it’s my decision, it still wasn’t an easy one."
In January, "Queer Eye" won a Primetime Emmy Award in the outstanding structured reality program category for the sixth time in a row, earning Berk, who was credited as a producer, his first Emmy.
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Bobby Berk confirms he and Tan France had 'a situation'
When Berk announced his departure from the show, rumors swirled about there being friction among the effervescent and seemingly close-knit Fab Five. Berk confirmed what fans noticed: that the interior design expert had unfollowed costar France, the fashion guru, on Instagram.
"I want people to know that Tan and I — we will be fine," Berk told Vanity Fair.
"Tan and I had a moment," he said. "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."
Berk added, "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."
They have been on better terms recently, he said, as the two "embraced each other" after they won an Emmy earlier this month.
'It's not been an easy decision':Bobby Berk announces he's leaving 'Queer Eye'