Bobby Berk opened up about his Queer Eye departure — and what’s next for him.
“I’m feeling great,” Berk, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Gold Gala in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, May 11. “You know I had a really great experience for seven years. And you know, for me, it was just time to move on to other things.”
He continued, “I had made peace with that at the end of New Orleans two years ago because we all thought that was the end and I started working on other projects.”
As for what those other endeavors will be, Berk teased that he’s working on projects both in front and behind the camera.
“There’s some scripted shows that I’m in development on,” he added. “So a lot of fun things and then of course my design firm. I’d had it before Queer Eye and still have it. It’s been a lot of fun.”
While navigating a new career path, Berk noted that he has his husband, Dewey Do, to lean on.
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“My husband and I have been together for 20 years last week, which we both forgot until last night,” he said. “We were like, ‘Oh wait! Oh, wait, no, our anniversary passed or whatever.’ But to me, that’s a great relationship. Where it’s not about specific dates. We celebrate each other every day. He’s my rock, you know, he keeps me very grounded. Yeah, he’s my best friend.”
Berk, who said that he sometimes had to share personal stories to help people deal with emotions on the show, added that his husband has been there for him.
“I mean, there were a lot of times where I had to deal with some demons,” he said. “I had to deal with some trauma from childhood and adolescence that I didn’t want to and so he was always there to hold me when I come home and literally cry.”
Berk announced his exit from Queer Eye after six years in November 2023. “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season 8 will be my final season on Queer Eye,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “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.”
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Days after his post, a source told Us that his departure was “because he wasn’t vibing with the cast.” The insider added, “There were many challenges with scheduling [and] there was a loss of interest from Bobby filming the show. The network and the cast thought it was time to bring in fresh blood. His heart was not in it and the rest of the cast started to resent him because of that.”
A second source told Us that Berk “was not asked to leave” and the “decision was amicable.”
During an interview with Vanity Fair in January, Berk addressed his leave, noting that he and the rest of the original cast were ready to hang up their hat after their seven-cycle contract was up in September 2022. However, following the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, Netflix offered them a new contract for four cycles, which Berk thought he was going to sign along with his costars.
“We’d just assumed that the show wouldn’t come back if we all didn’t come back. 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,” Berk noted, adding that the other members renewed their contracts and Netflix decided they could “recast one person” — who was Berk.
While being initially “angry” with the turn of events, Berk noted that he had made plans he “wasn’t willing” to change.
With reporting by Lanae Brody