'Queer Eye' Announced the New Design Expert Replacing Bobby Berk

The Fab Five, as we know and love them, are changing. Last fall, Bobby Berk announced that he would be leaving Queer Eye and that Season 8, which was released in January, would be his last season of the show. On Tuesday, Netflix finally announced Berk's replacement: interior designer Jeremiah Brent. The rest of the cast will remain the same, so Brent will be joining returning members Tan France, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness for Season 9.

Brent's stepping into a pretty big role, not only because of the legacy of Queer Eye, but also because Berk was often considered to have the hardest job on the show, transforming entire home spaces in a matter of days. Below, learn more about Brent and the future of the show, plus everything we know about Berk's departure.

Who Is Jeremiah Brent?

Even if you didn't know Brent before the announcement, you're likely familiar with some of his projects (and/or with his husband). The interior designer and TV personality is married to fellow interior designer Nate Berkus, and the pair have done a number of design shows together, including TLC's Nate & Jeremiah by Design, HGTV's Nate & Jeremiah Save My House, and most recently HGTV's The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project. Brent and Berkus got married in 2014—making history as the first same-sex couple to hold their wedding at the New York Public Library—and they have two children, Poppy and Oskar.

Power couple resume aside, Brent's design and TV background speaks for itself. He got his start as a styling associate to celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe on the Bravo series The Rachel Zoe Project. He also hosted the Emmy-winning design series Home Made Simple for the Oprah Winfrey Network and he was the design expert on Netflix’s Say I Do. Brent is also the founder of the full-service design firm Jeremiah Brent Design and lifestyle brand ATRIO.

Not to mention, Brent was one of our designers for the 2018 Real Simple Home, so we're super excited to see him join the Fab Five for Season 9 of Queer Eye.

Why Is Bobby Berk Leaving Queer Eye?

While there is excitement surrounding the new addition to the Queer Eye cast, many fans were disappointed to hear about Berk's departure from the show. And Berk (who was one of the designers for the 2023 Real Simple Home) was definitely bummed about it too. On the social platform X (formally Twitter) in November, Berk posted a long thread announcing his exit and explaining how much the show meant to him. He started the thread by addressing it to the "Queer Eye Community who have become family to me," and ended it by saying:

"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."

As soon as Berk made the announcement, people started theorizing about his reasoning. There were rumors about an alleged feud between Berk and former co-star Tan France being the reason for Berk leaving. However, the designer addressed these in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying that he wanted to "extinguish some of the speculation" and that him and France "will be fine."

The real reason behind Berk leaving the show, he explains in the interview, is that his contract was up (along with the rest of the cast members' seven-cycle contracts) and he had already mentally moved on from Queer Eye after filming Season 8. Netflix, however, decided to renew the series and offer each cast member a new four-cycle contract—which Berk declined. He also says that the other cast members considered doing the same, but in the end decided to move forward with the series.

While Berk says that he was upset "for a second" at learning the show would be continuing on without him, he didn't want to give up on his plans for new personal projects ahead, which include expanding his design firm.