Bobby Berk opens up on why he left 'Queer Eye'
Bobby Berk is opening up about why he's leaving "Queer Eye" after eight seasons.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the interior designer called the Netflix show "the most amazing gift that I couldn't have ever imagined" and said it's "been a life-changing moment."
"I'm leaving something that is a huge part of my life," he added. "Even though it's my decision, it still wasn't an easy one."
The main reason for his departure, Berk explained, was that the original Fab Five -- himself, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antony Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness -- had reached the end of their initial contract with the streamer.
"We thought we were done," he said. "Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things."
When Netflix opted to keep the show going, Berk said he decided not to continue and said his co-stars were on the same page -- until they weren't.
"We'd just assumed that the show wouldn't come back if we all didn't come back," he noted, saying he'd "become at peace with it."
Things apparently changed with the four other cast members and, as Berk reasoned, "with only one of us not coming back, Netflix felt [it] could recast one person."
Berk said there were "definitely emotions" but he came to terms with everyone doing what was best for them, adding, "I can't be mad -- for a second I was."
"All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren't coming back, I just wasn't willing to change those," he elaborated. "I would have had to pump the brakes on multiple other projects that are already in process."
Berk also addressed rumors that he and France had a falling out.
"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."
He added, "We became like siblings -- and siblings are always going to fight."
Berk noted that he and France shared a hug at the Emmys when he and the rest of the Fab Five won their first Emmys for "Queer Eye," which he said is "the first bandage on that wound."
"I will always have a very special place in my heart for him and Rob [France's husband] and the kids," he said. "I can foresee in six months or a year, Tan and I at each other’s house being good."
Season 8 of "Queer Eye" -- Berk's last in the cast -- is now streaming on Netflix.
