“Queer Eye has been the most amazing gift that I couldn’t have ever imagined,” said Bobby Berk, signing off from the Emmy-award series after eight seasons. “It’s been a life-changing moment. 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.”
With the Netflix show’s seven-year contract coming to a close, the beloved co-host had started making plans for the next stage of his career. But, according to Berk, the Hollywood’s actors and writers strike meant that Netflix was lacking new original content, and so, unexpectedly to him at least, renewed the reality TV series.
His co-stars signed back on for more episodes, but Berk, the interior designer of the crew (the five gay presenters, brought in to transform someone’s life, are respectively experts on fashion, diet, culture and lifestyle, grooming and design) already had projects in the works, so decided not to return.
“All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren’t coming back, I just wasn’t willing to change those,” said Berk to Vanity Fair. “We had mentally just prepared ourselves to move on – that’s why I left.”
It meant the line up, which includes Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown, Tan France, was lacking an interior designer, and fans were distraught.
They needn't have been: Netflix has found a fabulous replacement in Jeremiah Brent, a high-profile celebrity interior designer. Here’s everything to know about the new Queer Eye star.
So who is Jeremiah Brent?
Brent is an accomplished interior and furniture designer from California, who is now based in New York. Married to fellow designer Nate Berkus, he has designed homes and commercial properties for high-profile clients, such as the offices of media personality Ryan Seacrest.
Now with offices in LA and New York City, the designer has been listed on Architectural Digest’s AD100, has had his own home featured in the magazine, and recently published his first book, The Space That Keeps You.
He’s starred on other TV shows
Queer Eye will not be Brent’s first foray into TV – far from it. The 39-year-old worked with celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe on her series The Rachel Zoe Project (2011) and he featured in Oprah channel home renovation show Home Made Simple (2015). Since 2017 he has been co-hosting TLC’s renovation reality TV show, Nate & Jeremiah by Design, alongside his husband.
Since 2020 he has also starred in Say I Do, a TV show in which three specialists help a contestant secretly set up their wedding in under a week. In the show Brent was focused on designing the wedding space, working alongside a food and fashion expert – an extremely similar set up to Queer Eye, suggesting Brent will be more than ready to step into his new role.
His husband is also a high profile designer
He has been married to 52-year-old Nate Berkus since 2014, and the couple share a son and a daughter. As well as co-hosting a TV show together, Berkus and Brent have have designed a line for furniture company Living Spaces since 2018.
Nate Berkus has also enjoyed an impressive career, starring in TV shows, releasing products and publishing books. Since the Noughties he has worked in TV, hosting Oprah's Big Give in 2008, his own talk show, The Nate Berkus Show, between 2010 and 2012, and American Dream Builders in 2013.
In 2014 the couple starred together in Banana Republic's "True Outfitters" adverts. According to the New York Times, it was a landmark moment: “In the magazines in which the campaign is now starting to appear, including InStyle and Rolling Stone, Banana Republic is the only clothier to present a same-sex couple amid the ad pages,” it said.
The pair’s renovated Fifth Avenue home was featured in Architectural Digest in 2022.
What has Brent said about his new role?
The designer hasn’t made a formal statement yet. Instead, he reshared a news story about his new role, adding a black love heart to the post. Tan France also posted a picture of Brent on his Instagram stories, saying, “Help us welcome him to the Fab Five!!”
