Why Did HGTV Star Bobby Berk Leave ‘Queer Eye’? His Exit & Tan France Drama, Explained

Bobby Berk is back on television screens with his new HGTV series Junk or Jackpot?, marking his return to TV after starring on Queer Eye for eight seasons.

With Berk back in the spotlight, there’s been renewed interest in his exit from Queer Eye, which was rebooted on Netflix in 2018 after originally airing on Bravo for five seasons from 2003 to 2007. Scroll down for everything we know.

When did Bobby Berk leave Queer Eye?

Berk left Queer Eye after Season 8, which aired in January 2024. He starred on the show alongside Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, and Karamo Brown for six years before his exit.

For Season 9, which came out in December 2024, Berk was replaced by Jeremiah Brent. Brent will also star with the other four original cast members in the show’s 10th and final season, which drops on January 21.

Why did Bobby Berk leave Queer Eye?

Berk announced his exit from Queer Eye in November 2023, two months before his final season aired. “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season 8 will be my final season on Queer Eye,” he wrote on Instagram. “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.”

In a subsequent interview with Vanity Fair, Berk explained that he made other commitments because he thought the show was over. He explained that he and his castmates had signed a contract that ended in 2022.

“We thought we were done,” he shared. “Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things.”

In fall 2023, the cast was offered a new contract amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which created a lack of original content. Berk assumed the rest of the cast wasn’t going to sign the new contract, so he opted not to. “We’d just assumed that the show wouldn’t come back if we all didn’t come back,” he continued. “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.”

The other four cast members ended up signing the contract at the last minute, but Berk had already made too many other plans when he thought the series wasn’t moving forward. “I just wasn’t willing to change those,” he said. “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.”

What happened between Bobby Berk and Tan France?

At the time of Berk’s exit, there was speculation that he decided not to return to Queer Eye because of a feud with Tan France. The rumors started after fans noticed that Berk unfollowed France on social media. However, in the Vanity Fair interview, he set the record straight.

“I hope this interview will help extinguish some of the speculation,” Berk confirmed. “I want people to know that Tan and I … we will be fine.” He did admit, though, that something had happened between the two, which they had moved on from.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

“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,” Berk added. “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.”

He also made sure to note, “I will always have a very special place in my heart for him and Rob [France’s husband] and the kids. I can foresee in six months or a year, Tan and I at each other’s house being good.”

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After Brent was announced as Berk’s replacement, France also shut down rumors that he pushed for Berk’s firing so Brent could be cast on the show. “My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired,” France insisted on Instagram. “Netflix and the production companies did a full-on casting. I didn’t prop my friend up for the job. They ended up getting it because they were the best person for the job. Am I so happy that they have the job? Uh huh! I really am, I think they’re going to be incredible on the show. But I didn’t get them hired by getting rid of somebody else.”

Junk or Jackpot?, Season 1, Fridays, 9:30/8:30c, HGTV