What went wrong between Tom and Bobby from Queer Eye?

Queer Eye, a reality television series on Netflix has achieved immense success for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Since season 1 premiered back in 2018, this show has birthed spinoffs such as Queer Eye: Germany and Queer Eye: Brazil.

After the new season 8 of the show premiered on January 24, 2024, viewers saw The Fab Five: Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, and Tan France return as judges for a season filled with glam, fashion, and style.

Fans however were sad to find out that this would be the last season in which Bobby Berk will make an appearance. Bobby shared this news via his official Instagram confirming his departure back in November 2023, after his time on the show came to an end.

"It's with a heavy heart that I announce that Season 8 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."

Fans however wanted to know the reason behind this decision after rumours of feud between Bobby and his cast mate Tan France were circulated. Bobby addressed these rumours saying there was "something personal that had been brewing."

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Were Queer Eye co-hosts Bobby Berk and Tan France feuding?

The rumors about a potential rift between Tan and Bobby started after Bobby unfollowed Tan on Instagram. Fans were quick to notice how he would post group photos with his cast mates and not tag Tan.

According to a Vanity Fair article, published on January 24, 2024, he addressed these rumors stating there was a conflict between them but it had "nothing to do with the show." Bobby Berk further clarified that they are like siblings and "siblings are always going to fight."

“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.”

They however are on good terms now after winning an Emmy as the two "embraced each other."

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Why did Bobby Berk leave Queer Eye?

In the same interview, Bobby Berk revealed that the reason behind him leaving Queer Eye had mostly to do with the contracts he signed, not any dispute.

He and his castmates had previously agreed to sign a seven-season contract with Netflix. The estimated date for filming to finish was September 2022, but the streaming platform decided to renew the series for another season.

This last-minute decision was made back in the fall of 2023. During the same time, the writers and actors strike was going on which is partially the reason why Bobby decided not to sign another contract.

Also due to his commitments, he had to make this difficult decision. Bobby said:

“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. 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."

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All-new episodes of Queer Eye season 8 are available to stream on Netflix. To stay updated with more information regarding the next season follow the cast members' official Instagram account handles.